Slew of changes to Indonesian maid policies

A slew of changes to be implemented next month could make hiring an Indonesian maid more costly, but an altogether less risky affair.

The good news is that employers will no longer need to make a hefty upfront payment of about $3,000 in placement fees. Instead, these fees will be financed through bank loans given to the maids.

The bad news for maid employers, however, is that the current one-time agency fee of between $400 and $600 will go up dramatically.

 

 

Higher agency fee but no need to give loan

CURRENT SYSTEM
Employer:

Pays fee of $400 to $600 to the maid's agency, which covers the cost of advice given to the employer

Lends maid about $3,000 to pay a 'placement fee', which covers the costs of her medical check-up, document processing and training. 

Maid:

Repays employer the $3,000 placement fee in instalments. This means she typically gets only a small proportion of her monthly salary - often $10 or $20 - for the first eight months or so.

NEW SYSTEM
Employer:

Pays higher agency fee of about $1,200 to $1,600

No need to give loan to maid.

Maid:

Takes a bank loan to pay placement fee of about $1,600 if she has no experience with this type of work, and about $800 if she does

Repays the bank loan in eight months.

Maid agencies estimate the new fee to range between $1,200 and $1,600.