Requirement for Employers of Foreign Domestic Workers to Obtain Documented Consent from FWDs for Deployment Outside Their Contract

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will require employers of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to obtain documented consent from their FDWs each time they are being deployed to a different address to care for the employers' young children or elderly people, such as through text messages or a logbook, so that disputes over illegal deployment can be more smoothly resolved.

Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Regulations, foreign domestic workers (FDWs) are only allowed to work at their employer's residential address. In some cases, the employer may need her FDW to accompany her children or elderly family members to a relative's place at a different address while the employer is at work. This arrangement is allowed if the employer obtains the FDW's written consent and notifies MOM. Instead of writing in to notify MOM, the employer can now notify MOM through an online form on MOM's website. The employer must ensure that the FDW does not perform the full load of housework in both households. Employers are encouraged to get the FDW's written consent prior to the start of the employment and incorporate it into the FDW's employment contract.