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Can anyone advise the typical cost of paying a live in maid? I have read some reports of 600dhs per month which seems ridiculously low, however this may be a kings ransom for some so any guidance is appreciatted, accomodation would be included as would meals and phone costs, anything else i need to consider before hiring one?

Are you going to sponsor? People who do will often say AED 600 or less at Immigration, but pay more. The reason being that you have to pay a deposit of 12 times the monthly salary....and if you are a non-local, this deposit has to be paid every year. Most people I know also pay for a flight every year or two years to the maid's home country.

Sauron....I dont know what deposit you are talking about, cuz i didnt pay anything like that...but maybe this applies to expats only.

But to answer your enquiry gwpaterson...usually the salary range for new maids starts from 500dhs if they came from certain countries, like India/Sri Lanka/Etheopia/Malaysia, but if she is from Phillipine for example, usually there salaries start at 700dhs.

uae75 wrote:Sauron....I dont know what deposit you are talking about, cuz i didnt pay anything like that...but maybe this applies to expats only.

But to answer your enquiry gwpaterson...usually the salary range for new maids starts from 500dhs if they came from certain countries, like India/Sri Lanka/Etheopia/Malaysia, but if she is from Phillipine for example, usually there salaries start at 700dhs.

I've read from the gulfnews that salary for the househelp from the Philippines is set to double, and that would be around dhs1400 per month.

asc_26 wrote:

uae75 wrote:Sauron....I dont know what deposit you are talking about, cuz i didnt pay anything like that...but maybe this applies to expats only.

But to answer your enquiry gwpaterson...usually the salary range for new maids starts from 500dhs if they came from certain countries, like India/Sri Lanka/Etheopia/Malaysia, but if she is from Phillipine for example, usually there salaries start at 700dhs.

I've read from the gulfnews that salary for the househelp from the Philippines is set to double, and that would be around dhs1400 per month.

True, but thats a Phillipino new labor law, and they can say whatever they want, but can't enforce it in UAE. In real life the matter is between the sponsor and the maid, and what they agree between them. Cuz i can tell u from now,rarely who will pay a new maid this amount, escpecially when i can get for example two maids for the price of one phillipino maid. The phillipino maids know that, and wouldn't ask for that much unless they gain more experience.

uae75 wrote:Sauron....I dont know what deposit you are talking about, cuz i didnt pay anything like that...but maybe this applies to expats only.

But to answer your enquiry gwpaterson...usually the salary range for new maids starts from 500dhs if they came from certain countries, like India/Sri Lanka/Etheopia/Malaysia, but if she is from Phillipine for example, usually there salaries start at 700dhs.

Yes, the deposit is only for expats. Ridiculous really that they call it a deposit, cos they take the money off us every year.

Re: the salary - 500 - 700 is a pittance. You try living on that. What is wrong with people here? Many of these maids are here through necessity and are supporting families back home who are living in abject poverty.

Sauron...Remember this what the market is offering, and this is what the maids are accepting. No one forced you to pay this amount, you can add more if you like, and no one forced the maids to accept this amount.

I understand what uae75 is saying, that no one is forced to accept such low wages but the truth is that some of these maids really don't have much of a choice. How on earth can they manage on these average salaries is beyond me. And this whole wages according to nationality thing is also disturbing; it shouldn't be surprising to read it here as it's a description of standard and routine practices in Dubai, but still... how unfortunate.

Uhmm UAE75 its not just a Philippines Labor law, it has been agreed with a certain department in UAE, let me check and just post it again.

Just an update also, some Filipino maids I know of had a salary increase just recenly, from 1000 to 1400 Dhs. Good news for them. Although I cannot comprehend how that is enough for a salary, still its an increase, so its a + on a mathematical view.

Good news, indeed. This 'two for the price of one' attitude is really disturbing. We employ these people to look after our most precious possessions i.e. our children - why then treat them worse than second-rate citizens? Is it any wonder so many of them 'abscond'?

What deposit is generally required? who do i pay it too? is it a one off payment? do you get it back on return of a healthy maid at the end of the contract? many thanks for all your help.

sorry, just read sauron advice at start of forum, thanks for that, who do i pay the deposit too and is it refundable?

the deposit goes to the government and no it is non-refundable and payable every year.

i.e. it is not a deposit but just an amount you have to pay for the right to have a maid, I’ve always heard that is 5k/year but if you look above it appears to be 12Xthe maids salary.

It could be a straight 5k in Dubai, I'm not sure. In Sharjhah it's 12X the monthly salary - that's why people say they pay 400 - 500 in the maid's contract. You pay it at immigration as part of the whole process of obtaining the maid's visa.