But what about employers like myself who do not get the same help as maids do when matters go awry?

For starters, we must pay a fee of $150 to $300 to engage a maid agency. When the maid arrives, we must pay for her written test, regardless of the outcome. There are also insurance charges which cost almost $250. Don't forget the loan taken by the maid in seeking employment here, which we must help to redeem by paying upfront on her behalf to the agency. This amounts to almost $3,000.

Theoretically, we can recoup the cost of the loan amount via monthly deductions of the maid's pay. But as it can take eight months to settle, there is no guarantee of getting the money back if the maid quits or is sacked before that period of time.

Once a maid starts work, there is a one-month settling-in period whereby the maid cannot be changed. This may sound fair. But the period can be excruciating if she is incompetent or unwilling to adapt.

I had a maid who refused to cook and could not wake up in time to help me prepare my children for school in the morning.

Another wanted to go home because we did not agree to let her chat on the phone for hours and return home at midnight on her day off. Even if a maid is recalcitrant, we must bear with her because we depend on her to care for our dependents while we are at work.

The calls for a day off for maids seem fair and is fine if nothing untoward happens.

But if she gets pregnant and must be repatriated, the employer loses the outstanding loan amount.

Then comes an agonising wait of another month while the paperwork is processed for a new maid. Meanwhile, the employer must juggle work and managing the household.

The process of hiring a new maid is long, the money we stand to lose is hefty, and the problems can put our livelihoods at risk.

Neena Godhia-Gunter (Mrs)