The Hong Kong High Court on Monday heard closing submissions in a judicial review filed by a Filipino domestic worker against the “live-in” rule for maids, with her lawyer alleging that the rule forces domestic helpers to be on call 24 hours a day.
Paul Shieh, the lawyer representing the Filipino petitioner, argued that the live-in rule should not segregate work time and rest time for employees in a way that puts them at risk of being abused, Sing Pao reported.
There are some domestic workers who do not want to live with their employers and the law should take this into consideration, Shieh told the court.
Meanwhile, the government should provide evidence and figures on the impact of lifting the rule that it uses to justify the policy, such as impacts on labor-market, housing and insurance issues.
Shieh argued earlier that the live-in rule was unconstitutional and violated the Bill of Rights. He said the legal challenge was aimed at giving domestic workers a choice on where they can live. It did not seek to force all helpers to move out of their employers’ homes.
Lawyer Benjamin Yu, arguing for the government, said domestic workers should report to the Labor Department if their employers violate their employment contract, including failure to allow a weekly 24-hour rest day. The risk of such abuses has no direct relation to the live-in rule, he told the court.
The High Court reserved judgment in the case.
Read: Legal challenge against live-in rule for domestic workers
reporting the employers of violating the rest days of their helper also put the workers at risk being terminated as it will result for the employer to get angry at their helpers. so easy to say that helpers report to labour department when obviously helpers are afraid to lose their job
That’s right. Especially those who are newcomers, who are in great debts back home before they secured the job here, they wont report such things and they just ended being abused in terms of working hours. Some i knew works until 12 midnight because their employers start eat dinner at past 9pm. Then start working the following day same time she started day before, and that’s 6am!
Yes of course the maid can always report the employer about such abuse..the thing is when that thing happen,the employer can always find or make reason to terminate the employee..and who can ever tell that the real reason is because the maid have complained..
a lot here are being abused but just keep silent coz they are afraid of being terminated…almost all helpers here cannot enjoy the so~called 24hrs rest day as the employer still ask them to work before and after their holiday…we know it very well that its against the law but we just keep silent coz we dont want to lose our job as it takes lots of money finding new employer….so sad!
A friend of mine is new in hk and the employer ask her to work during her rest day,and she will go out at 10:00 or 11:00 a m and she will go back home at 7:00 p.m . she only got twice a month rest day and sleep at 12 midnight wake up at 5:30 a.m and she is afraid to complain and lost her job.
What about those who sleeps with the child and no private room….so automatically…during rest day..oblige to work…especially the child is drinking milk….at night…and dawn….stressful….like me if i got disturb in sleep it takes 2 hours before i can go back to sleep…or i dont sleep any more….just the good thing is i have the chance to sleep noon…but this is my sleeping dis order already…..
Just to avoid some of this common problems of the helper here in hk, first takes time to read are contract before we sgn,it’s written there are rights…once we agree on what the employer put in their I think it’s our fault as well because once we sign it in there too it’s means were agree so what for we complain if the first place we already agreed to them.. second while in the interview tell them everything what u want and what u doesn’t want same as them…they some agency forcing us to answer one of the questions in their resume like "are u willing to do ur work before u leave the house and after u come back every ur off" they will force u to say yes.. there reason is he employer will hire u…so guys try to think first before u apply….
Well said aisha! Im with you
Its true..
The due process that an employee had to face after reporting abuses of employers is the reason behind on why many maids don’t report such cases especially if they are newcomers. It takes the right of an employee to have the regular source of income and then cause financial loss on their part. Another reason is termination, everytime a helper report a case of abuse they are threatened of lossing their job.
Now, the labor depqrtment should take some steps on how to prevent such causes to happen and living out should be recommended as this will give time for the helper to rest for the next working day. Unlike when living in with the employer, their is always the risk of abuse, sleeping with the ward, tending to wards needs at night time as most employers don’t want to sleep or look after their kids at night. their reason is because they hired a helper to tend to such babysitting 24hours.
i am also forced by my employer to work when i arrived home from my day off…sometimes i worked untill 12:00 am especially if they have guest during my day off…i am scared to report this situation of mine bcz of the word "terminate"…i need my job but it’s against my will to work when i arrived home from my day off….
I agree with this sentiment
Lucky for those who have the so-called 24hr holiday. In most cases, we usually go out from the house at 7am( others, much later coz they have to prepare somethings for the employers first). Then go home before 9pm( again, for some, earlier so that they can prepare dinner). When u get to the house, d work starts again. If u don’t clean up their whole day mess, ul have to deal with it the following morning which will be more messier than s night before.
Even when u get to bed early, hu can really sleep when every one else r still up banging things and talking?
Just saying.
I just want to ask if the cctv camera is pointing in your room, is this kind of violation? Because my employer doing that to me, i dont have door in my room only curtain and only can pull down at night when i was about to sleep.
how can a domestic helper report to labiur when the off day usually given in Sundays or Saturdays.
laor office is closed
Yeah like me, I need to be on duty for 18 hours in 6 days a week, I just have 6 hours of rest in 24 hours, don’t have proper place to sleep and sometimes don’t have food to eat,. And I have only 10 hours off every Sunday and still need to work every Sunday. kind of inhumanity treatment
Atty. Yu, if iam your domestic helper and i will report you to the labor for violating the employment contract, im sure youre not happy and that will make tension on the employee and employer relationship that surely ends in termination of the contract. Its always a lose – lose situation on helpers part for if they complain employers tends to give them more hardtimes, if they keep silent they are exploited. Leaving out with their employers after work is their only consulation to relax properly wthout pressure from orders by their employers.
musta na kaya sila
Because of fear to tell the problem is the main reason why we are being abused,folks. We don’t express our feelings for the benefit of many,we are selfish sometimes…
24 hours rest day for the helper?? I dont think alot of the helper don’t get that 24 hours rest day. Coz some employers give time to the helper what time they leave in the morning and let them work first before taking the off. The helper have curfew and when they come home rhe employer again let them work before they go to bed. Is that a 24 hours rest day??? They let the helper works 6 days 24 hours a day but they can’t give 1 day 24 hours rest day to the helpers!!!!!!!!
You mean the law of the agency? Often times the law of the agency violates the labor laws. Employers and domestic helpers must follow what is stated in the labor laws for domestic helpers. Agencies knows the labor laws but they bypass and ignore it
They ignore the law to attract more employers.
24 hour rest day should be implied.It is only once a week that we can get up late and take our time for ourselves to breath free and relax,but not all employers are considerate,meaning not helpers including me have this luxury on day offs. I get up early on day off prepare my self and wait for the kids to wake up take of them and wait for the bosses to wake up on or before 9 amd comes back in the house full of mess and take care of children intil they sleep again.But how to complain?when you can get terminated.
Authorities should inforce this law to be fair.
Helpers are being abuse with the fear of termination.
yes its true..
So true ..
Very easy for them to say report your employer if they violate laws… yet they cannot give assurance or protection to helpers of not losing jobs once we report our employers…i just wish my boss would pay me my long service :)so i have a good remembrance of them and my stay here in HK
This situation is like mine when I first arrived here in HK way back 2012
domestic helpers are prone to abused by their employer when living in w/them,esp if the employer is abusive&treat their helper as robots,i don’t want to compare it to animals because sometimes the employer treats their dogs/cats better than the helper…just like my sister, she just have noodles for lunch EVERYDAY!!!&still has to work even day off before she go out!!the working time is 6 until 12am!!!
????
Just like me now.
I started work 6:30 and end up at 10:30 or 11.
If saturday i worked untill 12 or 1am.
It depends on what time they will be home from their work. ????
Yes it’s easy to say report the abuse to labor if there is but u can’t even protect us from abuse we get living in 24 hours a day .and it make it worst once they got reported.
For my opinion , we ,domestic helpers should have working time limit, especially during night time. Those without their own rooms, employers should let them live out. If they can’t afford ,so better not get a helper. Those live in with their own rooms ( I prefer) should have working time limit. After their working time they can go into their rooms, without disturbance.
Mostly of the helpers is not getting the 24hrs rest due to mostly of employers ask them to there task before they go for holidays or if not when come back home from holidays they still have to there work mostly in the kitchen.
Exactly
Agree its true…like ny employee smoking in the kitchen in i got ni where to eat gor , lunch break dinner,they no consideration,
Aisha Ahmed,,, well said I’m agree with you,,,
Thats true Aisha Ahmed, even me i dont wanna lose my job, and im not complaining even my holiday you need to tidy up the house bfore you leave and washing the dishes and tidy up again when i come back home