How Much You Pay For Your Helper

[wana]

20k for a maid is quite substancial .......especially if shes getting a room + meals included

labourers on a construction site get a hell of a lot less ,some 6k etc and security guards dont get much more

[carmenshih]

The Thais you know may be paying that because they are wealthy and generous but no it is not average.

I know many Thais who have graduated college and are starting at 20k a month. By the time you add food and shelter to 12k a month they are in the same range if not higher depending on the quality of food and housing accomodation.

If you are happy then don't sweat it, I was not trying to be snarky, mearly making a joke.

No worries, I may pay a little above average, but Pattaya's not your average town. Wages vary across Thailand just as they do in every other country. It's all about supply and demand. In some places services are cheaper than in others. And when you find good employees, and want to retain them, then it makes sense to reward them

...especially when they are with you since years, have been trained by the Mrs, know all your preferences and dislikings and are honest. then you give a flying fàrt about the irrelevant earnings of a college graduate or his lecturer.

This is a very good point - once you find staff you are happy with it doesn't matter whether you pay 5k/10k/20k... it's peanuts when you convert back into euros/dollars/pounds... the best answer (which summarises all of the answers above) to the OP's question (How much do you pay for domestic staff?) is NOT MUCH

That's very true, for us, it just a very little money. But the point is that I don't wanna the helper thinking we are easy to compromise once they ask for more. They know their market place, always ask for a ridiculous raise, like 30% or above, they know it cost us nothing, eventually they keep asking for more and more, I don't wanna this to be happened.

Also, I found my live in maid become lazier since I treat her like a family member, but the reason I treat her better than other helper coz she will take care my 5 month baby when we were out for a break on Sunday, say 3-5 hours. I am afraid she may hurt my baby when we were out though I have installed camera at home but I cannot stick with the cam all the time

[Naam]

20K isn't peanuts....for that you can easily get one half day in Europe who will do more than a Thai full day.

nobody pays a maid 20k in Thailand, at least not yet. however, the time will come. and that a European maid will do in half a day the work of a local maid is a generalising claim without any real basis not to mention that EUR 500 (20k Baht) will cover not more than 40 working hours of a lady in Germany who knows her job. compare that with the average working hours of a local live-in employee who is also available at short notice if you require her services.

summary: one should not compare apples with strawberries.

[Naam]

That's very true, for us, it just a very little money. But the point is that I don't wanna the helper thinking we are easy to compromise once they ask for more. They know their market place, always ask for a ridiculous raise, like 30% or above, they know it cost us nothing, eventually they keep asking for more and more, I don't wanna this to be happened.

that never happened in seven years!

[Sakeopete]

We had 2 full time live in maids, they shared the same room. Pay 3500 per month no days off. The better of the two we kept and pay her now 5000 per month to work alone.

She is a hard worker, 20 y/o but speaks no English. Dumb as a sack of nails can not read or write she is Cambodian. However rocket science isn't a requirement for domestic help.

She loves the kids and the kids love her. She is always smiling and cheery.

My wife buys her toiletries and clothes plus we bought her a phone so she can call her family.

She went back home for Songkran I gave her one months pay for bonus.

We are happy with her, I often forget money in my pants pocket and find it on my desk after she does laundry. Honest girl we have never found anything missing.

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[Naam]

Dumb as a sack of nails can not read or write... However rocket science isn't a requirement for domestic help.

we reached an important point. in this thread we submit and unfortunately mix our opinions, experience and salaries about "domestic help, maids, nannies and housekeepers" without clearly differentiating work schedule and responsibilities.

let the record show that "a domestic help is not a housekeeper" and "a nanny taking excellent care of children is not a maid doing cleaning and laundry".

p.s. and those who possess a wealth of no idea because they never had domestic employees, but met somebody in Soi hok bar who's uncle living in Nakhon Nowhere had a maid several years ago are kindly requested to refrain from adding irrelevant advice based on hearsay.

Edited April 15, 2012 by Naam

[BigJohnnyBKK]

The huge variable here is English speaking.

Without that I pay B250 per day, she usually doesn't want more than two or three days off a month. Free night off per week, sometimes more, and when my ex takes the kids she only needs to come around for a few hours per day.

I give her the occasional random cash bonus or free days off, plus a B12,000 annual bonus paid before Song Kran - actually 1000 per month accumulated on the basis that she gives me at least two months notice, time to find a replacement (I'm a single father). Also five free days off at Song Kran (kids upcountry at grandma's anyway).

I wouldn't be surprised if you'd need to pay up to double this for English-speaking. There are so many reasons for learning Thai here I'd recommend that in any case, you can teach her enough English in a year or two anyway if that's important for other people/reasons. Do **not** think your maid can teach you Thai, and of course don't think you can get extra services from her, lot more trouble than its worth mixing up the traditional roles.

BTW I went through eight lousy maids before finding this one, most see a farang employer as an easy touch. The agencies for Burmese girls are also OK, will let you exchange in the first month, maybe more likely to get English at a reasonable rate.

The key IMO is getting to know middle-to-upper class Thais who have upcountry connections through which they get their servants.

Edited April 15, 2012 by BigJohnnyBKK

[BigJohnnyBKK]

we don't live in BKK but in Pattaya and employ a married couple who's salaries and perks amount to approximately THB 26-28,000 Baht a month. the latter is a rather conservative estimate because it does not reflect the blocked capital cost of a small house i built for them next to ours for which i paid THB 650k.

work schedule 5 days a week plus an hour each on saturdays and sundays except when we have guests. the lady is with us 7 years, the husband since 6 years. no communication problem, we can converse with them in three languages, instructions can be given in writing in two languages.

i don't want to list the perks because that would only invite some resident clowns, who possess a wealth of no idea concerning domestic employees, to make irrelevant and unqualified remarks.

Let me know if a position opens up, I'd be interested.

[travelmann]

8000 a month, wifes sister and husband (TOTAL for both) includes free house and electric ( no aircon) and about 8 rai of land to grow whatever they want on, Hua Hin area.

They speak no English.

They should be able to get about another 10k a month if they grow the right thing on the land so total would be 18k a month + the above mentioned perks.

Edited April 15, 2012 by travelmann

[Naam]

we don't live in BKK but in Pattaya and employ a married couple who's salaries and perks amount to approximately THB 26-28,000 Baht a month. the latter is a rather conservative estimate because it does not reflect the blocked capital cost of a small house i built for them next to ours for which i paid THB 650k.

work schedule 5 days a week plus an hour each on saturdays and sundays except when we have guests. the lady is with us 7 years, the husband since 6 years. no communication problem, we can converse with them in three languages, instructions can be given in writing in two languages.

i don't want to list the perks because that would only invite some resident clowns, who possess a wealth of no idea concerning domestic employees, to make irrelevant and unqualified remarks.

Let me know if a position opens up, I'd be interested.

are you fluent in English or German including reading and writing?

[nocturn]

^8K for half a day's work 5 days a week. Do you realise that's more than most English teachers get paid?

A maid is worth more than a teacher.

is a "domestic helper" worth more than a maid?

I have a nanny that cleans she makes 10k, live out unless i ask her to stay over.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

are you fluent in English or German including reading and writing?

Yes English, some German from childhood - my mum's German - and as a teen lived in Munich and Stuttgart for 2 years altogether.

[Newguy70]

Somebody should translate this thread and post it on Pantip. Thai people will probably be going door to door and stopping farang in Big C asking if they can quit their profession and become a maid.

Rubbish, the vast majority of Thai domestic workers are employed by Thai families, on similar terms and conditions

I wouldn’t agree with that, exactly.

From experience I know that service staff expect the farang to pay more for their services.

An uncle of the wife in Bangkok has had several Thai lady live in housekeepers over the years, most staying about 3 years before they decide to move on. He pays a maximum of 5000 baht per month with one day off per week, including food and has never had any problems finding live in housekeepers. I also know of several other Thai families that pay roughly the same. Some time ago the wife and I decided to hire a live in housekeeper and the wages were discussed with them on the phone when they inquired about the job, which many were quite happy to accept. When some women turned up for an interview and saw me, than everything changed and they begun quoting some ridiculous prices and in the end we gave up.

But by judging what you have quoted you appear to be someone who is not pushed for money and probably financially better off than a lot of us. For me anyway 24000 baht a month for staff would be out of the question and I guess the same applies to the majority of us.

My answer to the OP is, as a farang he should expect to pay more, mostly the prices I have already quoted in my previous post and the prices quoted in your post.

Agreed with 100%. Last year I was in a housing project on Lad BlakHao, in Lad Prao. Have a few people on Thai TV who live in the development, all pretty much paid around 5,000 to 5,500 Bht per month to have the live in maid, plus the maid stays with the family at the house or townhouse.Duties usually included laundry, washing of cars, cleaning, cooking, and runnng out for grocerys all on a daily basis.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Newguy70

[yannic]

we have a Filipina maid (worked with us for more then 4 years in the Philippines) live in, has a full yearly renewable visa, doesn't need to go to Immigration or making visa runs, get's 8,500 Baht a month plus a very good health insurance of about 1,050 Baht a month. Her salary has about trippled from the Philippines to Thailand. She is very happy with the salary, takes care of our 2 1/2 year old daughter often when she is not in kindergaren and also in the night if the daughter cries, cleans, washes, cooks does everything. Never has a day off, takes about 3-4 weeks vacation per year when we are in our home country. Is part of the family and trips, lives in the guest room, as long as their is no guest. She is extremly honest, orderly and I could not imagine having a better help ever! She took care of our daughter from birth on when my wife was still full time working in the Philippines and our daughter loves her.

Her sister is asking to come over to work as a maid or nanny as well but you have to take care of the Working permit and visa. So if anyone is interested to get an honest maid who will be happy for about the same salary and insurance, please contact me.

I don't know why someone warned from Pinays, as you can not generalise a few people with the whole nation. He probably made some bad experiences before, doesn't mean all are like this...

[Naam]

we have a Filipina maid (worked with us for more then 4 years in the Philippines) live in, has a full yearly renewable visa, doesn't need to go to Immigration or making visa runs,

on what basis could you provide a visa and work permit?

[Naam]

There are so many reasons for learning Thai here I'd recommend that in any case, you can teach her enough English in a year or two anyway if that's important for other people/reasons.

excellent advice! whenever i hire a driver i teach him how to drive. when my wife hires a cook she teaches him/her how to cook. when i need a handyman to do basic mechanical maintenance in the house i'll do the maintenance myself and let him watch "a year or two anyway"... if that's important.

nota bene: important for somebody who works for us is to speak any of the languages we master, not the other way round!

[BigJohnnyBKK]

There are so many reasons for learning Thai here I'd recommend that in any case, you can teach her enough English in a year or two anyway if that's important for other people/reasons.

nota bene: important for somebody who works for us is to speak any of the languages we master, not the other way round!

In which case you'll need to pay accordingly, certainly not B5,000 per month.

I was working on the assumption that anyone living here long term would **want** to learn Thai, and the money saved on servants would more than pay for even private 1:1 lessons.

And I do teach English to all the Thais with a significant role in my life - and their children - so in my case it's no extra trouble.

[Naam]

There are so many reasons for learning Thai here I'd recommend that in any case, you can teach her enough English in a year or two anyway if that's important for other people/reasons.

nota bene: important for somebody who works for us is to speak any of the languages we master, not the other way round!

In which case you'll need to pay accordingly, certainly not B5,000 per month.

I was working on the assumption that anyone living here long term would **want** to learn Thai, and the money saved on servants would more than pay for even private 1:1 lessons.

And I do teach English to all the Thais with a significant role in my life - and their children - so in my case it's no extra trouble.

sometimes assumptions are not applicable. moreover, there is no way for a foreigner to learn Thai within a year or two to give specific instructions, not to mention that we would not employ somebody and wait for a year or two to receive an adequate service just because it pays for private lessons.

we have done it the other way round and paid for my wife's driver private english lessons. this was important because his driving is nowadays a negligible service after i trained him for several years to carry out most maintenance and even repair work a high-tech home requires. needless to mention that he makes double the money working for us half the working hours than he earned as a automotive mechanic working full time. worthwhile to mention is that he saves us more than double what we pay him which we would pay otherwise to some contractor for providing (most of the times) worthless and clueless workers.

[bonobo]

I work in Omyai, and on the factory compound, we have 5 houses for the owners of the company. One owner lives near Ramkamaheng, so we use his house as an office for a few of us. This house has one maid, and the rest two or three maids each.

Most of the maids are from Myanmar. I know for this house, the salary is 4,000 baht per month with a private room, bath, and food provided. Currently, our maid is on her first extended vacation since she arrived four years ago, and she had no problem finding a temporary maid to spell her.

The maids all socialize together and enjoy raising fancy chickens which roam the compound. The previous maid for this house married one of the factory workers and no longer works, but the turnover in maids is pretty low.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

sometimes assumptions are not applicable. moreover, there is no way for a foreigner to learn Thai within a year or two to give specific instructions, not to mention that we would not employ somebody and wait for a year or two to receive an adequate service just because it pays for private lessons.

Sure, of course my suggestions wouldn't work for everyone, I was of course addressing how to get good value for money.

However learning enough Thai to communicate with staff within a year should be doable for most who are motivated.

Personally I'd do the same directly upon moving to a new country where I didn't know the language, as it's easy enough to demonstrate what needs doing, using sign language, getting a friend to translate when needed, etc.

But that's me.

[scorecard]

Naam Said, for that rate knowledge of spoken english will be limited to "yes" and "no"

​I thought the amswer to any Thai was Yes nad Yes when they have no idea what you are asking?

Rates for domestic help does seem to have all changed.

I'm aware of Thai husband and wife cleaning team, in Pattaya, who prefer to work on the basis of 2 or 3 times per week, 2 to 3 hours per visit. There work is excellent, never miss anything, high reliable, very trustworthy. Includes (where wanted) excellent laundry services with fast turnaround. No English skills either of them. They have a Thai relative who speaks advanced English who is the langauge 'go-between' by mobile phone when needed.

In the last 12 months or so their 'clent base' has changed completely because recommendations has open the door to new employers who are willing to pay around 8 - 10k per month.

The majority of the previous employees had used their services for years and many had never raised the salary for many years, some because they are stingy, some because they just didn't realize that salaries for this type of service have been rising rapidly.

Edited May 11, 2012 by scorecard

[space9000]

let me see...housekeeper 7000bht...ret bib security&driver...8500 +food both employed since 2003/4..per month with 3wks holiday...family no..my employees&wife's family members....o my staff get birthdays,newyear..a very handsome tip every year..

accountants ernst&young in bkk reviewed 4/4/2012...

Edited May 11, 2012 by space9000

[plopmeister]

We have a maid in once a week to clean the house, do laundry and ironing. 8am to 5pm 150 Baht.

When she does a full day on the farm she gets 200 Baht...

[Theyreallrubbish]

My experiences over several years.

Had a 350 sq meter apartment on Sukhumvit and had a maid live in a room just outside the front door for 4000 a month. Cleaned every day and laundry. Old woman probably in her 50s. Really only working an hour or two a day, plus laundry time.

Had a 3 bed house in the suburbs of Bangkok and had a maid come in for 5 half days a week for cleaning and laundry (She was about 19 and lived with her family nearby and went to school for half the day). Again 4000 a month.

Had a 200 sqm condo in Chiang Mai and a team of 3 would come in twice a week for 2 hours or so to clean, plus laundry. They'd also sometimes come in for additional times at no charge to do special jobs such as clean all the windows or check and clean after a big rainstorm. They ust arrived at the door. Didn't tell me they were coming in advance, and I didn't ask them to do it, they would just decide on their own to do it. 2000 a month total. Two were in their 30s and worked seriously and there was one 18 year old younger sister who didn't seem to work but just wore very skimpy shorts and pretended to mop in front of me as I watched TV!

All cried when I left and wanted to move with me, so they were obviously happy with the wage and conditions.

I'd give bonuses of 500 Baht to the Bangkok staff (it was 10 years ago) or 1000 Baht to the Chiang Mai staff (just a couple of years ago, and total, not each) on the big Thai holidays, so another 2-4000 a year. Only a small amount of money and not agreed to, so I think that it came as an unexpected bonus made it really appreciated and made me look very generous for a pittance!

They rarely took holidays, but I never said no if they wanted to go up country for a week or a few days, but as I said, they rarely asked.

Never had a problem with theft ever. Do take a copy of the ID card on first being hired.

None of these staff could speak any English.

All the staff were found by GFs at the time, but stayed on after the GFs left with no problems. (Other than the one in the apartment in Bangkok who was paid by my ex-gf to give her reports on what I was doing!)

[TommoPhysicist]

^8K for half a day's work 5 days a week. Do you realise that's more than most English teachers get paid?

How is that more than what English teachers get paid?

that is around what thai english teachers claim to get paid , and they would be expected to work a full day to get their salary (not a 5 hour day )

so in reality ,a maid may be "richer" than an english teacher

Plus interest free mortgage, plus free private health care for them, spouse, children, parents, plus pension.

Now add all that to the 15k a month .........

[pattayadingo]

Up north a bit. Burmese maid (supplied via the BiB) was getting 3K a month live in + a payment to the suppliers of the maid.

Maid was there at mothers house because mother was not so fit as she used to be and with a largish house. She took good care of the cleaning and everything else she was requested to do. Mother made sure of that

[BigJohnnyBKK]

I'm aware of Thai husband and wife cleaning team, in Pattaya, who prefer to work on the basis of 2 or 3 times per week, 2 to 3 hours per visit. There work is excellent, never miss anything, high reliable, very trustworthy. Includes (where wanted) excellent laundry services with fast turnaround. No English skills either of them. They have a Thai relative who speaks advanced English who is the langauge 'go-between' by mobile phone when needed.

In the last 12 months or so their 'clent base' has changed completely because recommendations has open the door to new employers who are willing to pay around 8 - 10k per month.

The majority of the previous employees had used their services for years and many had never raised the salary for many years, some because they are stingy, some because they just didn't realize that salaries for this type of service have been rising rapidly.

Now **that's** a smart business couple, charging full-time salary for a 10% part-time job.

They're definitely pulling in more than most English teachers, and I would consider that easier, certainly less stressful work.

[blossombkk]

We have a maid in once a week to clean the house, do laundry and ironing. 8am to 5pm 150 Baht.

When she does a full day on the farm she gets 200 Baht...

Which part of thailand are you from?

[plopmeister]

We have a maid in once a week to clean the house, do laundry and ironing. 8am to 5pm 150 Baht.

When she does a full day on the farm she gets 200 Baht...

Which part of thailand are you from?

Kamphaengphet province......

[newbepat]

Ok Naam, Back to the the posters question how much do you pay your helper?