$$ For Maids

[brandie]

Could someone please tell me what the average fees are for a live-in maid??

Seems like there is no set price, and we would like to know if we are paying the normal expected price, or if we are being cheap!!

Any info on this topic is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

[jdinasia]

search function might prove useful about now!

[brandie]

search function might prove useful about now!

I have but all the info seems to be from 2006 or later, just thought that prices would have gone up!

[brandie]

search function might prove useful about now!

I have but all the info seems to be from 2006 or later, just thought that prices would have gone up!

Sorry I meant 2006 or earlier!!!!

[twschw]

It might help if you state what you are paying your maid then use the responses to ascertain if you are paying the going rate.

[brandie]

It might help if you state what you are paying your maid then use the responses to ascertain if you are paying the going rate.

ok, well, 11,000 bhats per month. Live in, 6 days a week. Keeping house, laundry, ironing, cooking a few meals a week, the odd child care(like twice a month, or so), but my kids are all in school. But there are 5 of us in the family.

My kids and I are actually just moving to Bangkok in a few months, my husband is already there, and has been asked by a guy at work (who is leaving the country) if we wanted to hire his maid. He currently is paying her11,000 bahts/month. Just wanted to know if that was fair or not.

[quiksilva]

11000 for a family of 5 sounds reasonable. I am paying 7500 for live in maid who works 6 days a week, and its just my wife and I in the house.

[clausewitz]

11,000 baht a month is about double the usual rate for a live in.

[t.s]

11,000 baht a month is about double the usual rate for a live in.

for a maid, it is quite expensive, for a nanny who does housework it is reasonable.

[bkkmei]

by the way

do you give any tips / bonuses at Songkran?

I already give 13th month.

[MrPaddy]

That is ridiculous.

We pay 7000 for live in with 2 days off per month.

She does everything for this, even cooking and gardening, washing, care of the kids etc. No set rules what to do and not to do, she is a jack of all trades and does whatever needs to be done on that particular day.

For a guideline, before coming to us, she worked for a well off Thai family and was paid 6000b for the previous 4 years.

This is an excellent maid/nanny, you could not get better.

By paying more, you do not guarantee getting anyone better. Last year we went through several that were next to useless and were paid between 6 and 8000.

Best bet is to offer around 5000 for first month and see how well she works. If excellent work then tell her you will raise it to 6000 for 6 months and then 7000 for balance etc if still doing really good job.

We are a family of 4 also with young children, so workload is more than with all kids at school etc.

This is in Bangkok also, cheaper in the country areas still.

No bonus at songkran, but for new years it is normally a full months pay as bonus. This can be arranged for the thai new year instead of the normal new year if suits.

Edited April 3, 2008 by MrPaddy

[brandie]

by the way

do you give any tips / bonuses at Songkran?

I already give 13th month.

I've been told that it is almost expected, so probably will!

[brandie]

That is ridiculous.

We pay 7000 for live in with 2 days off per month.

She does everything for this, even cooking and gardening, washing, care of the kids etc. No set rules what to do and not to do, she is a jack of all trades and does whatever needs to be done on that particular day.

For a guideline, before coming to us, she worked for a well off Thai family and was paid 6000b for the previous 4 years.

This is an excellent maid/nanny, you could not get better.

By paying more, you do not guarantee getting anyone better. Last year we went through several that were next to useless and were paid between 6 and 8000.

Best bet is to offer around 5000 for first month and see how well she works. If excellent work then tell her you will raise it to 6000 for 6 months and then 7000 for balance etc if still doing really good job.

We are a family of 4 also with young children, so workload is more than with all kids at school etc.

This is in Bangkok also, cheaper in the country areas still.

No bonus at songkran, but for new years it is normally a full months pay as bonus. This can be arranged for the thai new year instead of the normal new year if suits.

Thanks for the info. very appreciated. The guy from my husbands work is currently paying her 11,000 bahts, and he's a single guy. We had said that we wouldn't pay her more, until we saw how she works! From what I have read, he is really over-paying.... is it fair to say she can come work for us but at a lower rate until the trial period is over?? The maid approached her current employer and had asked him to see if the family replacing him would consider hiring her on as a full-time live in maid. (Probably only for a year or so as she is getting married next year!!!) This guy thinks we should pay her more since there are 5 of us, and was only one of him!

Edited April 3, 2008 by brandie

[ArtfulD]

A lot of farangs heavily over pay maids etc....11 000 a month is too much..IMHO MrPaddy is far closer to the mark...including the days off per month...farangs still tend to compare it to "back home" and feel a sense of guilt about wages, days off, hours etc....

[BigSnake]

Our friends (four) that have maids pay between Bt8000-10000, they have kids, my opinion this should be extra.

[RueFang]

My friends (couple, no children) pay their maid 10,000 per month. She works full time in the apartment Mon-Friday, does everything and is the best cook I have ever known! She also gets bonuses for birthday, new years (both) and christmas. For a large family expecting a bit of everything I would think about 10,000 is very reasonable. Just because some people get away with paying their maid 6 or 7000 baht a month for doing so much, doesn't mean that it should be done if you can afford a bit more for so many services.

[Ulysses G.]

I have a few workers that I pay FAR more than any going rate, but they are worth FAR more than I am paying them and I have been able to trust them with large amounts of money over many years.

The cheapos don't seem to take such things into account!

Edited April 4, 2008 by Ulysses G.

[brandie]

Thanks everyone for your comments!!!

[MrPaddy]

Well, as a 'cheapo' our 2 best maids/nannies we have been able to trust totally.

It is fine to say you trust them with money, we do also as we leave money, c/c cards. passports etc all around the place at times and in 5 years nothing has gone missing.

However we have trusted 2 maids/nannies with far more than money, our children.

It is a simple fact that many foreigners over pay, it must be the guilt thing. If you want to and can afford it then up to you I guess. But simply be aware that the Thais pay the going rate and if it is good enough for them, then so be it.

Unless of course you are a supporter of dual pricing, then go ahead and pay double, triple the normal rates for less work.

Remember our nanny worked for wealthy Thais for 4 years at 6k a month. Our old nanny that left after 3 years for various reasons and then wanted to come back, but we could not take her as we had someone else, she now works for a wealthy Thai family, very wealthy and she is worked to the ground and treated like crap and gets 8k.

[soundman]

7,500B for trained (agency) Thai nanny, 4 days off per month. Agency keeps one month of their wages as security guarantee.

2,700 - 3,500B for Laos house staff. No assigned days off. They pretty much just folow the family work patterns. (Up to you whether you register them for work or not. Suggest one does. )

Soundman.

[freitag1]

How are these "agency nannys"?

My girlfriend always tells me all the maids she and her family had were just good for the most basic things and didn't do a proper job when it came to cleaning or cooking. We are superbusy with our work so we rarely have time to cook or look after our house like we would like to. A nanny would make absolutely sense. We also have a extra nanny room in our house that we don't use.

[MrPaddy]

We have had 3 excellent nanny/maids over time. The one we have now is the best of them all, but the other 2 were great also.

The worst we have had were 3 or 4 in a row from an agency. An agency is no guarantee of success I have found and they ask for more every time.

The OP who has the friend paying 11k, I would presume he simply called an agency and got one from there. These agencies always quote from 8 to 12k, but if you know about this kind of thing you can tell them no way and they will find you one for the near right price. Problem is some are good and many are not.

[soundman]

How are these "agency nannys"?

My girlfriend always tells me all the maids she and her family had were just good for the most basic things and didn't do a proper job when it came to cleaning or cooking. We are superbusy with our work so we rarely have time to cook or look after our house like we would like to. A nanny would make absolutely sense. We also have a extra nanny room in our house that we don't use.

We have used two "agency" nannies. Very happy with both. That is not to say they will all be good. Don't expect nannies to cook and clean for the family. They may, however, it is generally not part of their job description.

Laos & Burmese house staff are hit and miss. One decent one in every three in my experience.

Cheers,

Soundman.

[brandie]

7,500B for trained (agency) Thai nanny, 4 days off per month. Agency keeps one month of their wages as security guarantee.

2,700 - 3,500B for Laos house staff. No assigned days off. They pretty much just folow the family work patterns. (Up to you whether you register them for work or not. Suggest one does. )

Soundman.

Sorry, but what is 'Laoshouse staff' ???

[soundman]

7,500B for trained (agency) Thai nanny, 4 days off per month. Agency keeps one month of their wages as security guarantee.

2,700 - 3,500B for Laos house staff. No assigned days off. They pretty much just folow the family work patterns. (Up to you whether you register them for work or not. Suggest one does. )

Soundman.

Sorry, but what is 'Laoshouse staff' ???

House staff of Laos nationality.

[brandie]

7,500B for trained (agency) Thai nanny, 4 days off per month. Agency keeps one month of their wages as security guarantee.

2,700 - 3,500B for Laos house staff. No assigned days off. They pretty much just folow the family work patterns. (Up to you whether you register them for work or not. Suggest one does. )

Soundman.

Sorry, but what is 'Laoshouse staff' ???

House staff of Laos nationality.

LOL ok, thanks!!!!

[drbill]

I live in a village in the Phutta Monton Sai Song area not far from the Ring road. A 5 day/wk experienced 40' ish maid 4500 Baht/mon & occasional 500 Baht bonus for about 8 hrs/day...oversees our house,cleans,cooks,washes clothes,irons,very clean,polite and honest and has been with us for 5 years. 2200 baht for a young Lao girl who helps and lives in with us all the time.

[fanciman]

If you are quite rich, ie, Westerners in Thailand with so much money you can have a maid/nanny, I would look at it this way:

The difference between 6000 baht and 11000 baht a month to you is nearly negligible, but the huge positive impact that extra money has for your maid is enormous. Happily pay the 11,000 chuck in a tip occasionally.

Do you have any idea what she will do with that extra money? I am sure it will be very wisely spent.

[Lancashirelad]

How many who employ maids/nannies pay their employers national insurance (equivalent) contribution for the girl?

..... and please don't tell me there's no such thing in Thailand.

[Naam]

How many who employ maids/nannies pay their employers national insurance (equivalent) contribution for the girl?

..... and please don't tell me there's no such thing in Thailand.

i pay!