I've been away for a few years and, although I've used the search function, I cannot find the going salary for a day's household work.

A. Please understand that I have the person in mind for the work - demonstrated in this household to be hard working, reliable, and every etc. (no, I won't reveal name).

B. Please understand that I wish to follow all Thai laws and regulations. This means no more than 8 hrs/day etc. Our previous 'contract' had her doing some shopping, so our hours were more generous than that. Plus we've paid for holidays, negotiated doctor visits and so forth to our mutual satisfaction (usually paid).

C. So please, in responses, limit replies to baht/day suggestions, perhaps with rationale.

Many thanks for your thoughtful responses.

The minimum wage in Thailand is 300 thb/day. If you are hiring "full time" - that is, she works every day - then that's where I'd start negotiations.

If this is a part time gig, like one or two days/week, you might want to pay a higher wage (perhaps 500 thb/day) to make up for the lack of frequency.

(In previous threads on the topic, the salary range of 300-500 thb/day seems to be a popular one.)

300 is the min daliy rate set by the government, there was talk recently it going up so not sure iff it has, you can start from there, some farangs have a tendency to over pay, think normally housekeepers can command a better rate than 300 a day but if your offering a full time job then obviously the salary would reflect it, Hotel clean staff wouldn't be on much more than 12,000 a month, an old friend pay's her burmese housekeeper/nanny 14,000 a month though she takes her son to school and picks him up, lives in, cooks and cleans.

I pay mine 350 per day for 3 days a week, plus 2k Christmas bonus, I also pay her when she is due to come to work on a national holiday

Live in?

Sorry - should have mentioned Not live-in and only a day or two (to be determined). And I though I was being so precise! Ah, well.

Thanks to posters so far!

We pay 9000 Baht per month, Sunday is a day off

some farangs have a tendency to over pay.

And some tend to under pay, apparently crazy-scared at paying a 100 Baht more than the guy next door even though that 100 baht would mean a lot more to her than it would to them.

And then they wonder why their maid always takes off and they have to find another one.

My suggestion: Ask her how much she wants to make, and/or how much she makes at other people's places for the remaining days. And then pay her a little more if the request is reasonable, potentially promising to up it after x weeks if things work out. And for someone with experience and hard working I wouldn't even think of going below 500.

Keep in mind that in this level, it doesn't matter how nice you are or expecting a notion of loyalty: even if the guy next door is not as easy-going and kind-hearted as you, if he pays 100 baht a day more then she HAS to go for it; that's 100 baht more for food, clothing, kid's school, etc. Yes, by all means be nice and kind, but it's the cold hard cash that means everything.

^ Mine has been with me for 3 years.

When she started she was on 300, over time that has gone up to 350, and will go up to 375 very shortly

SHE IS HAPPY WITH THAT.

If I need her an extra day, because we are having a party at home I pay her 400, if we go away we pay her 100 baht just to live in the house, that can add 3,000 baht a month, as that is normally how long we stay away for.

Why do I need to pay way beyond the going ...sorry above the going rate?

As she is Burmese my wife takes care of all her documentation which takes quite a while over the course of the year.

Thanks all - I now have a sense of it:

I was remiss in not making clear that this worker was absolutely reliable in every regard and worked for us for 3 years. Flawless.

As is often the case, for me, Winnie summed up the situation nicely,

Moderators: OK with me if we end this thread!!!

As this topic has taken a downturn and posts removed will close it at OP's request.