What happens if I can't find my maid?
Previously we spoke about what you should do when your maid runs away. If you have missed out reading this, please click on this link: My Maid Ran Away.
Over here, we'll discuss on your liabilities as a domestic employer and what you can do if you experience such an incident.
The first thing that comes to the employers' mind other than then safety of their maid is the amount of monetary lost they would have to incur. What happens to the Agency Fee paid to the Maid Agent? Can I get a refund on the maid loan? Let us discuss further.
1) Forfeiture of Security Bond
Before a Foreign Domestic Worker can start work in Singapore, employers are required to cover them with both medical and personal accident insurance and on top of that a security bond of $5,000 to ensure that employers remain responsible in the management of their maid. In this case, if your maid absconds and you have made reasonable efforts to locate her, the Ministry of Manpower will only forfeit half of the security bond. This is to cover all the necessary cost to lodge and repatriate your maid when she is found. If you have purchase an insurance on this; reimbursement of indemnity, commonly known as the runaway bond, then only $250 is payable while the insurer covers the rest of the cost.
2) Maid's Loan
In most cases, if you are unable to return your foreign domestic helper to the maid agency, they will not be able to refund you the maid's loan. Even in the event she is found in the Embassy and is unwilling to return to the Singapore Maid Agency for whatsoever reasons, the loan is usually forfeited in such cases. However, some maid agencies in Singapore do provide you with a replacement and in some cases offer to share the losses of the loan out of goodwill basis. Always try to discuss the matter peacefully with your maid agent to come out with an agreeable solution.
3) Can I hire another maid when she is yet to be found?
The answer is yes. Once you have made a police report and cancelled her permit. You can proceed to apply for another maid. Once your absconded maid is found by the authorities, they will repatriate after their investigations is completed.
