Domestic helper/maid standing in a kitchen
‘Do we have the right to say NO on our day off?’: Maid vents after employer asks her to pack child’s tuition bag on rest day
SINGAPORE: A maid took to social media to vent after her employer allegedly asked her to pack her child’s tuition bag and prepare medicine just as she was about to leave the house on her day off.
In a post shared on the 'Complaint Singapore' Facebook group, the helper recounted how she was just about to grab her bag and head out the door for her rest day when her employer suddenly called her over to attend to her child.
“My employer suddenly asked me to pack her child’s tuition bag and prepare the medicine. Then she said, ‘I have to leave right now,’ and immediately walked out.”
Flabbergasted, the maid said she could only laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all. “I couldn’t help but laugh. She had been completely relaxed before I was about to leave, but the moment I was ready to go, suddenly there were things that needed to be done,” she wrote.
“If you wanted me to do something, you really didn’t have to act like it was an emergency and rush out like that,” she added.
The helper also pointed out that, despite it being her day off, she had already gone above and beyond to prepare everything before stepping out, from filling her water bottles to even making her bed.
“Sometimes I honestly wonder… do we even have the right to say ‘no’ on our day off? Because if we do, someone’s going to be upset anyway,” she mused.
‘It's fine to say no’
The post soon sparked a lively discussion, with commenters weighing in from all sides. One netizen hit back, suggesting that perhaps the helper “hadn't been doing her job properly in the first place.”
The helper later fired back at that criticism, saying, “If you’re going to make me work on my off day, then pay me for that day. Read the post properly. If your employer asks you to work on your off day, you’re entitled to overtime pay, aren’t you?”
“We don’t get that. That’s the whole point. So don’t compare your situation with ours when the circumstances are completely different. It’s not that I didn’t finish my work. I’m talking about being unfairly expected to work on my day off.”
Another commenter, however, framed the situation as simply the reality of the working world: “That's the kind of thing many people face, regardless of the job. Just like when you're about to clock out in the office, there's suddenly some ad-hoc stuff that needs to be done.”
An employer also chimed in with a contrasting view: “There's really no need for this post. My current helper will help with some basic tasks even though we've told her it's her off day and she should go enjoy the day. She's never calculative with us, and we adore and really appreciate her for always being ready to help.”
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Meanwhile, another user wrote that the helper was well within her rights to decline:
“First of all, it's fine to say no, since she only told you right before you leave and you have your own schedule. For me, I always prepare breakfast and do simple cleaning before going, but if I want to, I can go without doing anything because we don't get paid for that and didn't even get to eat at the employer's house on our day off... Some employers are just too much.”/TISG