Hi,

Sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong place. Anyway, I just moved to Bangkok with my wife and two very small children. We want to hire a part-time nanny. Can anyone tell me what typical and fair rates are for a Thai/Filipina or Burmese nanny are? By the hour? How about if she worked by the week (say, 30 hours)?

Also, I've heard that it's illegal to hire someone who does not have a proper work permit. I'm here on a proper visa, but not with a big company, so I can't afford to get busted. Can anyone tell me how dangerous it is to hire, say, a Burmese nanny. The reason I ask is that I've heard from several people that Burmese ladies make the best nannies.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I know 2 burmese ladies living in thailand on low wages. I strongly advise against it. Bad idea.

Only hire a Thai, you are breaking the law hiring an illegal.

You've probably heard that Burmese nannies are the cheapest, which is often true. But keep in mind that that they might not be the "best." One issue to remember is the language barrier. I have some friends who have Burmese nannies/maids. They're sweet ladies, and they work hard. The problem is that not all of them speak any OR Thai, so communication has been almost impossible. If your nanny only speaks Thai, it's easy to find someone to translate, write out instructions for her, etc. It's not so easy if your nanny only speaks Burmese. And for obvious reasons, it's important that you can communicate effectively with your nanny.

For some reason it won't let me edit my last post, but it was supposed to read:

"..not all of them speak any English OR any Thai..."

Lots of people prefer Burmese nannies because their level of English is much higher than the average Thai nanny. A good Thai nanny who speaks English will want a lot more per month because she speaks English, whereas a Burmese nanny who speaks fluent Thai and English will be much cheaper. I've personally found Burmese nannies more reliable and more willing to do things my way rather than the way they think is better. But I also know some great Thai nannies.

But of course there are good and bad nannies, regardless of where they are from.As long as they have the correct papers to be here, pick the best applicant, Thai or Burmese.

Only hire a Thai, you are breaking the law hiring an illegal.

Uhm...... aren't you making a knee-jerk assumption there? Not all non-Thais working in Thailand are "illegal".

We worked with an agency to find a nanny for our child, there were options for non-Thais that of course involved proper work papers.

If you are happy with your non-Thai staff, it is very simple and easy to legalize them.