Internal agreement between maid/ nanny and the sponsor

Sorry just catching up with back pages - could I have a copy of your MIL list please. jalilimb at eim dot ae Thanks

Personally, I would not draw up a handbook or contract with 'them'. I would give them a list of chores to do and approximate hours, but nothing hard and fast. Rules are strange to a lot of maids, and they appear to like to be controlled. For many of them, as women, they have been 'controlled' all of their lives, especially those from the Sub-Con. They sometimes work better with more constraints. Kindness is a great thing, but firmness must come with it, and you may find that many times that they are being co-erced by family members. I would also make it clear that they should not commit or ask about illegal acts. An employment handbook is a list of rules and regulations of employment. It is guidelines of your rights and what an employer expects from you. Put it in writing then when she needs to take a week off a the drop of a hat for her third cousin twice removed's funeral you can say "No, bereavement leave is only for immediate family and in order to take a weeks leave you must give two weeks notice". It is not just for the employee's benefit but also for the employer to be able to reference to it every time they are asked something unreasonable and hopefully get asked less unreasonable things in the future. 90% of expats are not aware of all the laws and regulations here. One of the things DH has had to do for his professional post graduate educated staff is give them a list of the more obscure rules in the UAE. So how can you expect a maid to be aware of these? Then she's not permitted to ask about them if something is legal or not?! I work extra hours all the time and I am not paid for them. I am systematically called in when they need me or called to Saudi at the last minute. Argh.... DCC, Maid contracts do not fall under the labour law you know. It is an entirely different thing. Ahh sorry I thought what you did was employment and what the maid did was employment. Must be mistaken. Both are employment indeed but not the same category of employment as per the UAE Law. Until this changes, I am not doing anything "outside the law" if I don't fix an OT rate for my maid or give her the notice she is due. Voila! Its funny how quickly people who come here forget their roots. Yes, you are correct! I mean, so many Western expats come here and hire maids yet that is so foreign in their cultures! I mean, like, you'd never get a live-in maid in the Ukay! While I was growing up in London we had a live in nanny. She even came on holiday with us. We had her until I started proper primary school (age six/seven I think). Then I had a babysitter after school and later I went to boarding school. My father had a live in nanny, a maid/cook and a gardener when he grew up (three live in staff). His sisters were very sickly as babies and required round the clock care and he lived in a large mansion in Yorkshire with a clock-tower and servants quarters attached, I believe the nanny lived in the house but the maid/cook and gardener (a married couple) lived in the quarters below the clocktower which were self contained. He too went to boarding school later, although his sisters did not. My mother had a live in maid/cook and a house boy when she was growing up. Myself and my father both grew up in the UK. All staff had a full and proper employment contracts the same as any other employee at that time. My mother's family's staff did not have such employment contracts they were not deemed necessary. But then she grew up in apartheid South Africa where I think the belief was those 'inferior' people could not cope with rules and regulations and it is best to just tell them what you want done when you want it done. After much condemnation by the rest of the world the apartheid in South Africa was abolished and it was realised that those inferior people were in fact equal to others and able to cope with employment with contracts, structure and such like. Any person I employ will have the same terms and conditions of their employment than that of any other person regardless of race, nationality or education. Good for you! Humanity needs people like you!

Personally, I would not draw up a handbook or contract with 'them'. I would give them a list of chores to do and approximate hours, but nothing hard and fast. Rules are strange to a lot of maids, and they appear to like to be controlled. For many of them, as women, they have been 'controlled' all of their lives, especially those from the Sub-Con. They sometimes work better with more constraints. Kindness is a great thing, but firmness must come with it, and you may find that many times that they are being co-erced by family members. I would also make it clear that they should not commit or ask about illegal acts. An employment handbook is a list of rules and regulations of employment. It is guidelines of your rights and what an employer expects from you. Put it in writing then when she needs to take a week off a the drop of a hat for her third cousin twice removed's funeral you can say "No, bereavement leave is only for immediate family and in order to take a weeks leave you must give two weeks notice". It is not just for the employee's benefit but also for the employer to be able to reference to it every time they are asked something unreasonable and hopefully get asked less unreasonable things in the future. 90% of expats are not aware of all the laws and regulations here. One of the things DH has had to do for his professional post graduate educated staff is give them a list of the more obscure rules in the UAE. So how can you expect a maid to be aware of these? Then she's not permitted to ask about them if something is legal or not?! I work extra hours all the time and I am not paid for them. I am systematically called in when they need me or called to Saudi at the last minute. Argh.... DCC, Maid contracts do not fall under the labour law you know. It is an entirely different thing. Ahh sorry I thought what you did was employment and what the maid did was employment. Must be mistaken. Both are employment indeed but not the same category of employment as per the UAE Law. Until this changes, I am not doing anything "outside the law" if I don't fix an OT rate for my maid or give her the notice she is due. Voila! Its funny how quickly people who come here forget their roots. Yes, you are correct! I mean, so many Western expats come here and hire maids yet that is so foreign in their cultures! I mean, like, you'd never get a live-in maid in the Ukay! While I was growing up in London we had a live in nanny. She even came on holiday with us. We had her until I started proper primary school (age six/seven I think). Then I had a babysitter after school and later I went to boarding school. My father had a live in nanny, a maid/cook and a gardener when he grew up (three live in staff). His sisters were very sickly as babies and required round the clock care and he lived in a large mansion in Yorkshire with a clock-tower and servants quarters attached, I believe the nanny lived in the house but the maid/cook and gardener (a married couple) lived in the quarters below the clocktower which were self contained. He too went to boarding school later, although his sisters did not. My mother had a live in maid/cook and a house boy when she was growing up. Myself and my father both grew up in the UK. All staff had a full and proper employment contracts the same as any other employee at that time. My mother's family's staff did not have such employment contracts they were not deemed necessary. But then she grew up in apartheid South Africa where I think the belief was those 'inferior' people could not cope with rules and regulations and it is best to just tell them what you want done when you want it done. After much condemnation by the rest of the world the apartheid in South Africa was abolished and it was realised that those inferior people were in fact equal to others and able to cope with employment with contracts, structure and such like. Any person I employ will have the same terms and conditions of their employment than that of any other person regardless of race, nationality or education.

Does any of you has a link for unified domestic workers contract ( the one set by government/immigration)or a blank copy of it? It is not a unified contract, it varies between different employers.

I work extra hours all the time and I am not paid for them. I am systematically called in when they need me or called to Saudi at the last minute. Argh.... DCC, Maid contracts do not fall under the labour law you know. It is an entirely different thing. Ahh sorry I thought what you did was employment and what the maid did was employment. Must be mistaken. Both are employment indeed but not the same category of employment as per the UAE Law. Until this changes, I am not doing anything "outside the law" if I don't fix an OT rate for my maid or give her the notice she is due. Voila! Its funny how quickly people who come here forget their roots. Yes, you are correct! I mean, so many Western expats come here and hire maids yet that is so foreign in their cultures! I mean, like, you'd never get a live-in maid in the Ukay!

Does any of you has a link for unified domestic workers contract ( the one set by government/immigration)or a blank copy of it? you get that at Immigration when you hand over her passport. They fill in the maids name, her salary and the sponosrs name. They also keep one a signed copy with all her paper work. Both parties sign it in front of somone at the DNRD <em>edited by mushypeas on 04/02/2013</em>

I have sent emails so you can take down your contact details Could you please do the same for me :)? S A T C H L E E @ y A h O O. D E

If you were being called in on that basis, without overtime pay, I'm sorry but you are clearly relatively senior; as I said in my first email. Likewise your DH. And your pay reflects that. Absolutely wrong. I was very junior, and yes he is senior. It is perhaps an area that you cannot identify with.

I work extra hours all the time and I am not paid for them. I am systematically called in when they need me or called to Saudi at the last minute. Argh.... DCC, Maid contracts do not fall under the labour law you know. It is an entirely different thing. Ahh sorry I thought what you did was employment and what the maid did was employment. Must be mistaken. Both are employment indeed but not the same category of employment as per the UAE Law. Until this changes, I am not doing anything "outside the law" if I don't fix an OT rate for my maid or give her the notice she is due. Voila! Its funny how quickly people who come here forget their roots. what roots?

Your notice period was 'to be decided upon'? I don't believe you. And though there are generally caveats around the days off for Eid etc (more junior staff - if you have to work Eid you get overtime pay; more senior staff - your salary is enough that if you have to work Eid it's tough) the overall principle is clear in every employment contract I've seen. I really do not care if you believe me or not. I was called in many weekends and double shifts (24 hrs) without notice, and leave as and when they agreed. DH also works for the Govt and his hours are all over the place. He is often called in to work without warning. My maid works as and when I need her. She does not find it strange at all. edited by CallMeMaybe on 04/02/2013 OK, and you had a notice period to be determined???? If you were being called in on that basis, without overtime pay, I'm sorry but you are clearly relatively senior; as I said in my first email. Likewise your DH. And your pay reflects that. My maid also works as and when I need her, particularly when I have to travel. That is not necessarily the issue; the issue is what the underlying principle is (in our case 'you have Fridays off and public holidays; if we can't do that we will make it up another way)

I work extra hours all the time and I am not paid for them. I am systematically called in when they need me or called to Saudi at the last minute. Argh.... DCC, Maid contracts do not fall under the labour law you know. It is an entirely different thing. Ahh sorry I thought what you did was employment and what the maid did was employment. Must be mistaken. Both are employment indeed but not the same category of employment as per the UAE Law. Until this changes, I am not doing anything "outside the law" if I don't fix an OT rate for my maid or give her the notice she is due. Voila! Its funny how quickly people who come here forget their roots. No I haven't forgotten how to be a human being. My maid has been with me for almost 3 years and we are signing up to a 4th contract next month..... I just don't wish to put things in a contract when it is not required by law. Why would you?

Oh and FYI - notice periods work both ways. Sometimes it is to the benefit of the maid that there is no mention of required notice period in a contractual form..... since a lot of them seem to have dying uncles and aunts that they must rush off to see before they die at the drop of a hat.

I work extra hours all the time and I am not paid for them. I am systematically called in when they need me or called to Saudi at the last minute. Argh.... DCC, Maid contracts do not fall under the labour law you know. It is an entirely different thing. Ahh sorry I thought what you did was employment and what the maid did was employment. Must be mistaken. Both are employment indeed but not the same category of employment as per the UAE Law. Until this changes, I am not doing anything "outside the law" if I don't fix an OT rate for my maid or give her the notice she is due. Voila! Its funny how quickly people who come here forget their roots.

I work extra hours all the time and I am not paid for them. I am systematically called in when they need me or called to Saudi at the last minute. Argh.... DCC, Maid contracts do not fall under the labour law you know. It is an entirely different thing. Ahh sorry I thought what you did was employment and what the maid did was employment. Must be mistaken. Both are employment indeed but not the same category of employment as per the UAE Law. Until this changes, I am not doing anything "outside the law" if I don't fix an OT rate for my maid or give her the notice she is due. Voila!

I used to work for Dubai Govt and that was how it was for me. Your notice period was 'to be decided upon'? I don't believe you. And though there are generally caveats around the days off for Eid etc (more junior staff - if you have to work Eid you get overtime pay; more senior staff - your salary is enough that if you have to work Eid it's tough) the overall principle is clear in every employment contract I've seen. As all gov and semi gov entities fall outside the labour law, what she says is correct. and domestic employees also fall outside the labour law. I know both of those things. However, I still don't believe that your notice period, either way, was to be decided on, or that there were no written provisions relating to Eid and the like. And I work for a semi-government entity; I'm perfectly well aware of its legal status. What I am talking about is simply good (not even 'very good') employment practice; I don't believe I mentioned legal obligations.

I work extra hours all the time and I am not paid for them. I am systematically called in when they need me or called to Saudi at the last minute. Argh.... DCC, Maid contracts do not fall under the labour law you know. It is an entirely different thing. Ahh sorry I thought what you did was employment and what the maid did was employment. Must be mistaken.

I work extra hours all the time and I am not paid for them. I am systematically called in when they need me or called to Saudi at the last minute. Argh.... DCC, Maid contracts do not fall under the labour law you know. It is an entirely different thing.

I used to work for Dubai Govt and that was how it was for me. Your notice period was 'to be decided upon'? I don't believe you. And though there are generally caveats around the days off for Eid etc (more junior staff - if you have to work Eid you get overtime pay; more senior staff - your salary is enough that if you have to work Eid it's tough) the overall principle is clear in every employment contract I've seen. As all gov and semi gov entities fall outside the labour law, what she says is correct. and domestic employees also fall outside the labour law.

I used to work for Dubai Govt and that was how it was for me. Your notice period was 'to be decided upon'? I don't believe you. And though there are generally caveats around the days off for Eid etc (more junior staff - if you have to work Eid you get overtime pay; more senior staff - your salary is enough that if you have to work Eid it's tough) the overall principle is clear in every employment contract I've seen. As all gov and semi gov entities fall outside the labour law, what she says is correct.

Your notice period was 'to be decided upon'? I don't believe you. And though there are generally caveats around the days off for Eid etc (more junior staff - if you have to work Eid you get overtime pay; more senior staff - your salary is enough that if you have to work Eid it's tough) the overall principle is clear in every employment contract I've seen. I really do not care if you believe me or not. I was called in many weekends and double shifts (24 hrs) without notice, and leave as and when they agreed. DH also works for the Govt and his hours are all over the place. He is often called in to work without warning. My maid works as and when I need her. She does not find it strange at all. <em>edited by CallMeMaybe on 04/02/2013</em>

I would not discuss the following with a maid except to say that they will all be decided upon depending on the circumstances: Holidays, Days off for Xmas, Eid etc Notice periods Overtime I agree with the above100% Really? Would you also agree if your employer told you the same? I used to work for Dubai Govt and that was how it was for me. Your notice period was 'to be decided upon'? I don't believe you. And though there are generally caveats around the days off for Eid etc (more junior staff - if you have to work Eid you get overtime pay; more senior staff - your salary is enough that if you have to work Eid it's tough) the overall principle is clear in every employment contract I've seen.

I would not discuss the following with a maid except to say that they will all be decided upon depending on the circumstances: Holidays, Days off for Xmas, Eid etc Notice periods Overtime I agree with the above100% Really? Would you also agree if your employer told you the same? almost cross posted, saying the same thing.

I would not discuss the following with a maid except to say that they will all be decided upon depending on the circumstances: Holidays, Days off for Xmas, Eid etc Notice periods Overtime I agree with the above100% Really? Would you also agree if your employer told you the same? I used to work for Dubai Govt and that was how it was for me.

Personally, I would not draw up a handbook or contract with 'them'. I would give them a list of chores to do and approximate hours, but nothing hard and fast. Rules are strange to a lot of maids, and they appear to like to be controlled. For many of them, as women, they have been 'controlled' all of their lives, especially those from the Sub-Con. They sometimes work better with more constraints. Kindness is a great thing, but firmness must come with it, and you may find that many times that they are being co-erced by family members. I would also make it clear that they should not commit or ask about illegal acts.

I would not discuss the following with a maid except to say that they will all be decided upon depending on the circumstances: Holidays, Days off for Xmas, Eid etc Notice periods Overtime I agree with the above100% Really? Would you also agree if your employer told you the same?

I would not discuss the following with a maid except to say that they will all be decided upon depending on the circumstances: Holidays, Days off for Xmas, Eid etc Notice periods Overtime I agree with the above100%

I would not discuss the following with a maid except to say that they will all be decided upon depending on the circumstances: Holidays, Days off for Xmas, Eid etc Notice periods Overtime

I have sent emails so you can take down your contact details