<\/span><\/h2>\nEmployers who live in Stanley pay their domestic helpers the most on average, while employers across Hong Kong offer 4.4% more than the minimum required rate on average, according to a data survey by HelperChoice.<\/p>\n
HelperChoice, the online platform that matches employers with domestic workers at no cost to helpers, analysed data from 2,000 recent job ads posted by its users.<\/p>\n
The mean salary offered to helpers was $4,397, or $187 more than the current minimum wage for domestic workers of $4,210.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnsurprisingly, our data shows that domestic helpers tend to earn more in Hong Kong\u2019s affluent areas \u2013 including coastal towns and the island\u2019s central district,\u201d says HelperChoice founder Laurence Fauchon, a French expat who started the company in 2012 in an effort to improve the hiring process and make it fairer on helpers.<\/p>\n
In Stanley, a wealthy seaside village near the southern tip of Hong Kong Island, employers offered an average of $5,081, or $871 more than the minimum. The next best rate by area was at Victoria Peak, where helpers were offered $4,986 on average.<\/p>\n
This was followed by Deep Water Bay and surrounds, with average offers of $4,934; then Repulse Bay ($4,719); Clear Water Bay ($4,661); Tai Tam ($4,626); Mid-Levels ($4,602); Sai Kung ($4,583); Happy Valley ($4,567); Discovery Bay ($4,520); and Pok Fu Lam ($4,510).<\/p>\n
The lowest average salary in an area with at least 50 hires was in Ma On Shan in the New Territories, where the average rate was $27 above the minimum at $4,237.<\/p>\n
The range of packages on offer varied greatly across Hong Kong, with a handful of employers adding more than $2,000 to the minimum rate.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome employers \u2013 those who can afford to do so \u2013 offer salaries that are considerably higher than the minimum wage. Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong usually support their families back home by remitting most of what they earn, and of course high-paying jobs are in demand,\u201d Fauchon says.<\/p>\n
The highest salary on the HelperChoice platform over the survey period came from an employer in Mid-Levels, who offered $7,000 a month \u2013 or 66% higher than the minimum wage.<\/p>\n
The next highest offers \u2013 all at $6,500 a month \u2013 came from employers in Happy Valley, Sai Kung, Tai Po, Pok Fu Lam, and North point.<\/p>\n
Important to note is that these packages generally exclude benefits and bonuses, and reflect starting salaries \u2013 many employers raise wages after a period of employment, particularly when contracts are renewed.<\/p>\n
While the affluence of an area clearly plays a big role in determining helper salaries, other factors which sometimes lead to better salaries include specialist skills, such as having a driver\u2019s license or nursing experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHelpers with driving permits in particular are often hired at better rates, because they are able to take on extra errands and duties such as taking the kids to school,\u201d Fauchon says.<\/p>\n
Most of HelperChoice\u2019s registered employers, both locals and expats, search for domestic helpers who are able to care for young children and for pets, in addition to performing usual household duties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Expats tend to search for English-speaking helpers while locals often require helpers who are also able to converse in Cantonese.<\/p>\n
The government is due to announce a review of helpers\u2019 minimum wages this month.<\/p>\n
On September 30 last year, the government announced a 2.4% increase in the minimum wage for foreign domestic helpers, from $4,110 to $4,210. The increase was slightly behind the prevailing inflation rate (3% in 2015), which means wages have marginally contracted in real terms based on recent inflation data.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The government says it tries to strike a balance between affordability for employers on the one hand and the livelihoods of foreign domestic workers on the other. It expects inflation to moderate to 2.3% for 2016.<\/p>\n
Many Southeast Asians choose to leave their homes and families to become domestic workers in places like Hong Kong and Singapore, since pay packages for helpers are often higher than even skilled salaries in their home countries. Teacher salaries in the Philippines, for example, range from P13,135 (or $2,180 \u2013 around half of what a helper earns in Hong Kong) to $3,690, according to a government survey late last year.<\/p>\n
![\"Helperchoice](\"https:\/\/www.helperchoice.com\/c\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/HelperChoice-Salary-Survey-HK-2016-5.png\")
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