Maid Agency in Singapore | Since 1986 - Universal Employment Agency Pte Ltd

FAQs Frequently Asked Questions

I wish to let my maid transfer, what are my responsibilities?

Written consent must be given. You must continue to pay the maid levy up to the day before the new Work Permit is issued. If the maid's medical was done five months ago, as her employer still, you are responsible to send the maid for her 6-Monthly Medical Examination if required.

In the event that the maid's transfer is unsuccessful and the Work Permit is cancelled or expires, you as the current employer must repatriate the maid within 14 days from the date of the Work Permit cancellation/expiry.

The maid is only allowed to start work with the new employer after the Work Permit has been issued in the new employer's name and any outstanding salary should be paid on the day you release her.

For the purpose of transfer, you will not need to pay anything to the maid agency unless you require the agency to provide food and accommodation for the interim. However, do note that the salary of the maid is to be paid even though she may no longer be performing any work for you while staying with the agency.

Also bearing in mind that the pandemic isn't over and it is everyone's responsibility to be socially responsible by practising social distancing at all times. Therefore, a ZOOM / Video call will be conducted instead during this pandemic and we seek your understanding in this.

How much is the maid's levy?

The maid's levy is either $300 (normal) or $60 (concession) and to be paid by the employer at the end of each month via GIRO. The maid Work Permit will be cancelled if you fail to maintain a valid GIRO account.

The levy for each month is payable by the employer at the end of each month. The payment due date is the 14th (for manual payment) or 17th (for GIRO payment) of the following month. If the 17th is a non-working day, the deduction will be made on the next working day.

Levy Concession

You can apply for a levy concession for up to two Maids if you satisfy any of the following conditions:

Condition A
i.The employer or spouse has a child who is a Singapore citizen and below 16 years old living with him/her
ii.The employer or spouse has a grandchild who is a Singapore citizen and below 16 years old living with him/her.

Condition B
i.The employer or co-residing spouse is a Singapore Citizen aged 65 years or above
ii.The employer or spouse is a Singapore Citizen and the other party is a Singapore Permanent Resident aged 65 years or above, both of whom live at the same registered address as in the NRIC.

Condition C
i.The employer or spouse has a parent, parent-in-law, grandparent or grandparent-in-law who is a Singapore Citizen aged 65 years or above, living with them at the same registered address as in the NRIC
ii.The employer or spouse is a Singapore Citizen and has a parent, parent-in-law, grandparent or grandparent-in-law who is a Singapore Permanent Resident aged 65 years or above, living with them at the same registered address as in the NRIC.

Condition D
Employers with disabilities or who have family members with disabilities and require a full-time caregiver assistance in daily activities (washing/bathing, feeding, going to the toilet, dressing and mobility).

For more information about levy, click here to go to the Ministry of Manpower website or you can also click here to read our article on Maid Levy.

How long will it take for the Work Permit application to be approved by MOM?

Step 1: Submission of Application
We can only proceed with this step once all required documents has been handed over to us.

Step 2: Assessment and Approval
It takes up to seven days to process a Work Permit application with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for your maid on your behalf.

Note: If your maid's Work Permit application is rejected by MOM, we will then proceed with Step 3.

Step 3: Appeal
It takes up to 14 days for the Appeal to be accepted and Work Permit application to be approved by MOM.

Who can hire a maid in Singapore?

As long as you are a working adult who is a Singapore Citizen or a Singapore PR or a foreigner with valid employment pass, you may hire a maid.

If you do not have any income, you will be required to show proof of a minimum sum of SG$50,000 fixed deposit before submitting the work permit application for the maid.

Should I hire a babysitter or a maid to care for my baby?

Besides cost, trust is the utmost importance when entrusting your precious baby to someone to look after while you are at work. We will usually advise to look for a babysitter first and more importantly, she has to be a trusted recommendation.

If that fails, then consider hiring a maid but at the start, please ensure you have your mother or yourself to supervise the maid until trust and confidence has been firmly established.

Remember, the maid most likely has to juggle a few roles, such as housework and cooking, so do be patient with her during the early stage.

And we do have transfer maids experienced in infant care in case you need someone fast as hiring a transfer maid is the fastest option especially during this pandemic.

What kind of after-sales service does your maid agency provide once we hire a maid from you?

We are just a phone call away should you have any questions regarding your maid. If things are not working out with your maid, we will provide free maid-counselling service at our office if needed and if that still doesn't work, we will provide a timely replacement depending on the terms of the service agreement.

Besides Counselling Service for your maid, we also provide services like Home Leave Processing, Work Permit Renewal, Passport Renewal and Maid Repatriation Service.

Do you have experienced caregivers for elderly care?

Yes we do but they are in short supply. The experienced caregivers are usually from the Philippines who were not able to complete their nursing course due to lack of money. Hence they are seeking employment in Singapore but mainly performing caregiver's services to the elderly and will not be doing housework and cooking for the entire family except for the elderly whom she is caring for.

Salary wise will come at a premium for their expertise but they are definitely the cheapest available option comparing to a nurse or an elderly home which is in short supply any way.

However, in recent times, hiring a Myanmese Maid is an increasingly popular choice for taking care of elderly. Also there are Myanmese Maids who are trained in caregiving. Check with us on availability should you require to hire an experienced caregiver for your elderly today!

My friend has introduced their Filipino maid to us because she doesn't need a maid anymore, can you help with the paperwork?

Yes we certainly can. This is a procedure referred to as Direct Hiring in our industry and we only perform the documentation / paperwork in assisting you to obtain the Work Permit for your maid.

While we cannot guarantee an approval by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) but what we can guarantee is that as long as you fulfil the criteria to hire a maid and even if you do get rejected, we will use our expertise to submit an appeal to MOM to obtain a favourable outcome at no additional charge.

My previous Indonesian maid wants to come back to work for us, can you assist? I will employ her as our second maid as our current is a Myanmese maid.

Sure! So far, we have a 100% success rate to help employers direct hire their previous Indonesian maids back to Singapore. As long as she has no adverse records with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and you fulfil the criteria by MOM to hire her as an additional maid.

Does your maid agency do recommendation of helpers?

Yes we do. We will use our more than 30 years of experience to recommend the most suitable domestic helper based on your requirements at that point of time.

Different household has different needs and at different point of time we will also have different domestic helpers available.

While we do make recommendations, the ultimate decision still lies with you and we will simply advise you after you have interviewed the domestic helpers presented to you for your consideration.

Do you have part-time maids?

No. We only place out full-time maids mainly from the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Indian and Sri Lanka. Our maids are mostly experienced maids in Singapore, some are on transfer and some have decided to go back first to have a rest before starting a new 2 years contract.

Can you assist my current helper to find a new employer?

Yes we can. Please allow your helper to visit our office @ Lucky Plaza #03-52 and we will first screen her suitability for our clients. If she is suitable, we will next pass her a set of forms for you to sign. Subsequently, interviews will be arranged at our office and usually we are able to find a new employer for your helper within 2 weeks. Some even on their first day of interview. Give us a call @ 6735 3456 should you have more queries.

Can I transfer my maid to your agency?

The short answer is yes BUT it is subject to availability and our assessment of your maid for her suitability for transfer. You may wish to read more about this in our article here.

Why should I choose Universal Employment Agency Pte Ltd over other Maid Agencies in Singapore?

With more than 30 years of experience, Universal Employment Agency Pte Ltd is confident in finding you the right maid for your family!

We are able to assist your family to find a suitable maid because of our wide network and esteemed reputation built up over the many years. We are able to source for experienced Filipino, Indonesian and Myanmese Transfer Maids who have finished their contract(s) and able to transfer anytime.

Extensive background checks and interviews will always be conducted before we present to you potential candidates for your consideration.

Being one of the oldest maid agency in Singapore, it is no surprise that our experience has allowed us to achieve 1 of the highest retention rate according to the Ministry of Manpower and we are highly rated on both Google & Facebook as well.

So look no further, and give us a call at 6735 3456 and we will be more than happy find the right maid for your family now!

What is the minimum wage for a maid in Singapore?

Ministry of Manpower (MOM) does not stipulate a minimum wage and would prefer market force to determine the salary.

How to hire an additional maid?

If your family nucleus consists of 2 children under 18 or 1 child under 18 and 1 elderly above 65, you should be able to qualify for an additional maid. Your combined annual income should at least be SG$50,000 and above.

Am I responsible to buy an air ticket and repatriate my maid when she is the one whom initiated to break the contract prematurely?

The hard truth is yes. As her employer, even if your maid has only worked for you for a day, the fact is you are her employer and the Ministry of Manpower takes this very seriously should any complaint be made against you for forcing your maid the pay for her air ticket back to her country of origin.

A good alternative to sending her home should your maid still wish to work in Singapore, is to simply allow her to transfer. This way, you get to save back the cost of the 1-way air ticket and save yourself the trouble to send her to the airport for her flight.

And if you have hired her from a maid agency, simply approach them to see if they are willing to assist with her transfer to another employer. Otherwise, simply approach another maid agency like us and we will advise you accordingly if we can help her transfer or not.

Are you a licensed MOM maid agency?

Yes we are a licensed maid agency with the Ministry of Manpower, for over 30 years and counting. We have served 3 generations and definitely look forward to serving more generations to come.

This is our Employment Agency Licence Number 87C4847 and you may check it on the Ministry of Manpower website here

Is a domestic helper and foreign domestic worker the same person?

Yes, they are the same person. More commonly referred to as Maids in Singapore. Although maids isn't the best way to describe our wonderful domestic helpers, our preference is to refer to them as helpers but the Ministry of Manpower refers to them as Foreign Domestic Workers (FDW).

We prefer someone with reference and good working experience whom we can interview in person, does your agency have any experienced transfer maid?

Most definitely. In fact, not many agencies in Singapore have transfer maids especially during this pandemic but we are able to do so as a result of our extensive network built up by virtue of trust and word of mouth to spread the Universal brand name to the maids in Singapore.

We have successfully placed out many experienced transfer helpers to both local and expatriate families in Singapore for many years. If you need an experienced maid urgently, then choosing a maid on transfer is probably the fastest option you have. Speak to us today!

Do note that during this pandemic, social distancing has to be observed whenever possible, so most of the times, it will be a ZOOM / Video call for the interview.

Would you consider your agency to be the best maid agency in Singapore?

We wouldn't want to agree or disagree but we would rather let our more than 30 years of track record do the talking.

While we can never guarantee the best maid, what we can guarantee is our professionalism and service to serve you and to find you the right maid based on your requirements. Every family has different requirements and every maid is different too.

However, what makes us different from other maid agencies is our ability to understand both our customers' needs, the employer and the maid to ensure a successful match.

In addition, we have 1 of the highest retention rate according to the Ministry of Manpower which you can check here. And we are also highly rated on both Google & Facebook. Go check out our reviews and see what our customers have to say about us.

I am a first-time employer and ready to hire my first maid, what should I do?

The first thing to do is to give us a call @ 6735 3456 and provide us with your detailed requirements. Same time, you should complete your Employer's Orientation Programme (EOP) which is a mandatory training programme for all first-time employers who wish to employ a foreign domestic worker (FDW).

To sign up, you should have your SingPass ready and the fee for Online E-Learning is S$46, payable with your Visa/Master cards or Internet Banking. It will take you no more than 2 hours usually to complete the course online and once that is done, please print out a copy of your EOP Certificate and give it to us.

I wish to hire a transfer maid and wish to conduct the interview at my home, is it possible?

Our company's policy is strictly no. For safety reasons and also for the lack of time. If the transfer maid travels all the way to your home and back to our office, she only has 1 interview. But if the interview is done at our office, she may have 3 interviews, thus increasing her chances of getting a confirmed employer faster. Most transfer maids actually have limited time and they can't afford to lose precious time.

Can my FDW follow my kids to my Mother-In-Law house and do the housework there while my MIL takes care of my kid?

You will need to make a formal declaration to the Ministry of Manpower that your Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) will have to perform her care duties for your kids at your MIL house and she must not do any housework or cooking in your MIL house unless the cooking is for your kids. Do take note that your FDW should always reside and perform housework only at your residence.

This is also provided your kids are at your MIL house.

It cannot be a situation whereby you simply instruct your FDW to go do some minimal housework at your MIL house and your kids are not there.

MOM takes a serious view on this matter and you should not breach this at all times.