Dear all, I recently hired a full time maid , I paid her rmb1600 per month, and the hour is 8am - 5 pm , 5 days a week. I would like to know if this is normal working hours/days for ayis in here, as I had maid overseas who worked 6 days a week fr me. Any comments would be appreciated. thnks

Normal salary should not exceed 6,- RMB an hour for a full time Ayi unless they're from the Philppines!

that's 10rmb an hour, which is fine

That's the same as what I'm paying for mine. But I often let her out earlier than 5PM if she has finished.

thnks all for your comments , is it normal for maid to work 6 days here ? my maid already ask for a pay rise and shorten hours on her first day.

In my family, my wife handles maid matters (she's the "Minister of Home Affairs" and "Minister for Finance"), so I don't normally interfere with her decision. Our maid (from Anhui) has been with us for 3 years. During her first year, we paid her RMB1000 for the first 6 months - 6 working days a week, live-in, with holidays the same as that of China (May, Oct and Spring Festival). She then increased her pay to RMB1200 after the probation period.

Right now, my wife has changed her working hours from 1100-1900, 6 days a week, pay and holidays remaining the same.

Please do note that each case is different. For our case, we're of Chinese descent (we're born and raised in Singapore), so we speak, read and write Chinese and putonghua. You may find that the Chinese have a tendency to treat westerners as "carrots" - big and tasty.

I don't have a fulltime ayi myself but my cousin does.

They have a live-in ayi from Anhui, so the working hours are pretty much from morning till night. The ayi's food and board is all paid for. They pay the ayi $1000rmb per month now, but when they first started 3 years ago, it was $700rmb. The ayi gets the usual hols off, however, the only time the she goes back to her hometown is for Chinese new year. My cousin also has a small kid and the ayi will sometimes take him to and from school.

My cousins are local Shanghai people, so I guess the selection pool of ayi's is a little different to foreigners.

Remember in China everything is negotiable, so if you think your ayi is getting greedy, then don't pay the extra overtime, or just get a new one!

chinababy wrote:my maid already ask for a pay rise and shorten hours on her first day.

I am sorry to say this, but that is a really bad sign.
I think that he salery is already quite high compared to other ayi's including my own.
Personally if my Ayi asked for a raise I would fire her (unless perhaps if it was after several years and we had a good and open relationship).

thnks for all your comments, now I know where I stand.

i have a live in full time maid and we pay her 1300 rmb month and that is considered a little bit high. 6 days a week of work. i think you are over paying your ayi by just a little, especially if they are only working 5 days a week from 8 to 5. they must be loving the extra cash and less work.

chinababy wrote:Dear all, I recently hired a full time maid , I paid her rmb1600 per month, and the hour is 8am - 5 pm , 5 days a week. I would like to know if this is normal working hours/days for ayis in here, as I had maid overseas who worked 6 days a week fr me. Any comments would be appreciated. thnks

Here's what I understand the Shanghai aiyi market rates to be:
Non-local(speak Chinese only): 10RMB/hr
Local Shanghainese (basic English): 15-20RMB/hr
Filipino: Not sure (it was 500 USD/month in Taiwan)

That being said, would you trust someone you pay 1600RMB/month to look after your kids? The going rate for children on the black market is something like 10,000 RMB.

I do have to agree with the others that asking for a pay raise and shorter hours on the first day is a bad sign. I recommend offering a 3 to 6-month probation and a pay raise after that.

I know I am paying a high rate especially I can speak Chinese. But since I only arrived in SH 4 days ago and desperately need a maid. I will use her for now. Just a question, where do your all find your maids?

Answerer...I curious, how do you get to know the black market rate?

Chinababy...we got our maid through the employment agency just opposite our place, when we used to live in Longbai.

Reading Chinese newspapers is quite entertaining sometimes...there was a story about child selling a few months ago.

Sigh, here in China, life is really cheap - I saw an advertisement for abortion (the Chinese calls it "miscarriage") for only RMB10...and a kid in the black market is only RMB10k...

chinababy wrote:is it normal for maid to work 6 days here ?

Yes, it's completely normal for maids to work 6 days here. GENERALLY, most maids from the countryside are willing to work 6 days but most Shanghaiese maids work for 5 days.

It soounds like you wanted a maid who works for 6 days. Change to another maid who will work 6 days for you then.

Good luck!

Generally speaking the management of ayis is very very difficult since those ladies which may come from the countryside but are quite aware of the money values.
In most Chinese families, they even work 7 days a week with sometimes 1 days off per month.

Basically, whatever you give to an ayi which is generally much more vacations than Chinese families, more money and often more consideration, they will only remember a story that they have been told by someone who have seen the friend of the husband of an ayi who work less and pay more. Then they will start to think that you are unfair (even if what you offer is much above normal) and she will bargain.
Some expat ladies get so tired of ayi tricks to get more money (but so little money compared to their husband salary) that they give up and offer what they want. All others ayi know this and start to think that they can all get it. This is probably the main problem here and of course it is not because you gave up, give them what they want that you will get a better service or more respect.

What is the live-in Maid cost?

If your maid asked for a pay rise on the first day, forget it. Get rid of her and find a new one. If you agree to the pay rise she will know that you are weak and can be taken advantage of. If you don't agree then she will probably just keep on asking. Been there and done that! It ain't going to end well either way.

I also want to have simillar arrangement
Can anyone provide some link ,Ayi who can take care of my 5 months baby & can speak in english

Where do you live?
I know several very good ayis who will need a new job starting in July - Hong Qiao area.

Had a part-time Chinese only Ayi. Washes dishes, washes, hangs and folds the clothes - into the wardrobe, makes the bed, sweeps & mops the floors. 3 Hours a day, 3 days a week.

Didn't touch a coin in the small change basket, bedroom side.

8 RMB/Hour, but we gave her 1,000 RMB bonus for Spring Festival + 500 RMB for medical each year.

Don't over-pay, you'll set a gossiping example.

Pity she quit to get pregnant and go full term.

English speaking full-time Ayi ? 2.5 Grand max.

Z.

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tnmom wrote:Where do you live?
I know several very good ayis who will need a new job starting in July - Hong Qiao area.

Hi,
are you form an agency?
I need an ayi per 1-8-2009 in Qingpu area.
Look for 4 to 5 ours a day, can y recommend?.

My ayi works Mon to Fri 7:00am to 8:00am 2:00pm to 7:30pm. No English. Cleans, cooks, laundry etc. and deliver and pick up my son from school. Also Sun hours 3:00pm to 7:30pm. 1300rmb / month.

I believe different areas have different prices. In pudong, it costs definately more than puxi. When I live in Puxi, I used to hire a full day nanny for 800 RMB 3 years ago. Now my full day nanny costs 2000 in Pudong(8 hours, 6 day, no food provided). It depends on the area you live.