Hiring a helper in Singapore means more than agreeing a salary and a start date. The MOM rules for maids turn you into an employer with legal duties, set by the Ministry of Manpower as conditions of your helper’s Work Permit. This guide explains the five rules families most need to understand before a placement begins, what has changed in recent years, and what happens if they are not met.
These rules protect both sides. A helper lives in your home and depends on you for food, shelter and medical care, so the law sets a floor. Employers who know the rules from the start rarely end up in disputes, and they tend to keep their helpers for longer.
A note on terms. MOM now uses migrant domestic worker, or MDW, for the role most families call a maid or helper. Older documents say foreign domestic worker, or FDW. Helpers are not covered by the Employment Act. Their protections come from the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and its Work Pass Regulations, which cover salary, rest days, food, accommodation and medical care.
We link to the relevant MOM pages throughout. Rules change, so check those pages before you act on any figure.
1. Your helper is entitled to a weekly rest day
Under MOM’s guidance on rest days and well-being, every helper is entitled to one rest day a week. The weekly rest day has applied to Work Permits issued or renewed from 1 January 2013, and it applies whatever her nationality, your household size or her duties.
What employers most often get wrong is the more recent change. Since 1 January 2023, at least one rest day each month must actually be taken and cannot be compensated away, even if your helper offers to work it. The MOM press release on mandatory rest days is explicit on this. If she cannot take it in a given month, it can be deferred by up to one month, meaning it must be taken by the end of the following month.
A few more points:
- The day is agreed, not imposed. You and your helper decide together which day she takes. It does not have to be Sunday.
- Flexible format. A rest day can be one full day or two half days, by mutual agreement. She may choose to spend it at home, and it remains a day off.
- Pay for rest days worked. If she agrees to work on her other rest days, you must pay at least one day’s salary for each, which MOM calculates as monthly salary divided by 26, whatever the number of days in the month. A helper earning $650 a month is owed at least $25 per rest day worked, on top of her salary.
- Keep the record up to date. Update her number of rest days in FDW eService after you have agreed the arrangement with her.
Our guide to maid rest day and off day rules covers schedules and caregiving households in more detail.
2. You are responsible for her medical care and insurance
From the day she starts, you are responsible for your helper’s medical treatment when she needs it. MOM backs this with compulsory insurance, set out on its insurance requirements page:
- Medical insurance covering inpatient care and day surgery, with an annual claim limit of at least $60,000. For policies starting on or after 1 July 2023, claims above $15,000 are co-paid 75% by the insurer and 25% by the employer. From 1 July 2025, exclusions were standardised and insurers pay hospitals directly once a claim is admissible.
- Personal accident insurance with a sum assured of at least $60,000 a year, paid out to the helper or her beneficiaries.
- A $5,000 security bond for every helper except Malaysians, which must be in place before she arrives.
You cannot pass the cost of the insurance on to your helper. The mandatory medical policy covers hospital stays and day surgery, so clinic visits and everyday medication are still your responsibility as her employer. Many families set aside a small monthly sum for this. Our article on maid medical insurance explains the cover in more depth.
Medical checks are part of the same duty. She must pass a medical examination by a Singapore-registered doctor within 2 weeks of arrival, and then attend the six-monthly medical examination, which you pay for. Helpers aged 50 and above only need an exam when the Work Permit is renewed. If a required examination is missed, MOM cancels or revokes the Work Permit and she must be sent home.
3. You must provide acceptable accommodation and adequate food
MOM’s employment rules state that employers remain responsible for a helper’s upkeep, including acceptable accommodation, adequate food and medical treatment. These are basic conditions of employment, not perks.
For accommodation, MOM’s accommodation guidelines set out the standard:
- She must be sheltered from sun, rain and wind, and not housed near dangerous equipment or structures.
- A separate room is ideal. If that is not possible, she still needs adequate space and privacy.
- She must not share a bedroom with a male adult or teenager.
- If ventilation is poor, you must provide a fan.
- At minimum, provide a mattress, pillow, blanket, bathroom amenities and toiletries.
- If you have cameras at home, tell her where they are. None may be placed where she sleeps, changes or bathes.
For food, the requirement is that it is adequate. In practice that means regular meals of sufficient quantity, and it helps to talk about dietary and religious needs in the first week rather than leaving her to fit in silently. Families hiring through Femme5 get guidance on accommodation and meal arrangements during onboarding, and we can walk you through what MOM expects if you are unsure your home setup meets it.
If your helper needs somewhere to stay during a transition, for example between employers or before she moves in, our boarding house for helpers provides a place to stay in the meantime.
4. She may only work at your declared address
Your helper’s Work Permit ties her to you as her employer and to the residential address you declared to MOM. You cannot send her to clean a relative’s flat, help at a family business, or do non-domestic work. This applies even when the arrangement is informal and she is willing.
MOM treats this seriously. Employers who illegally deploy a helper to another address, or have her do non-domestic chores, face a financial penalty of up to $10,000 and may be banned from employing helpers.
There is one narrow exception. She may look after your child or parent at a relative’s home, but only if you notify MOM first, have her written agreement, she does not carry the full housework of both households, and any overnight accommodation meets MOM’s standards. If relatives need regular help of their own, the correct route is for them to employ a helper themselves.
5. The Settling-in Programme and the Employers’ Orientation Programme
Two short courses are part of the MDW regulations Singapore employers need to plan around, one for your helper and one for you.
For your helper: the Settling-in Programme (SIP)
A helper working in Singapore for the first time must attend the Settling-in Programme within 7 days of arrival, excluding Sundays and public holidays, and not on the day she arrives. It is a one-day course covering safety, her rights and responsibilities, and life in Singapore. She can only start work after attending it. The employer pays the fee, which currently ranges from $76.40 to $92.65 including GST depending on the provider. When you hire through an agency, the registration is usually arranged for you, but you should plan her start date around it.
For you: the Employers’ Orientation Programme (EOP)
First-time employers must complete the Employers’ Orientation Programme at least 2 working days before the Work Permit application is submitted. The online course takes 2 hours and costs $29 to $36, and the classroom version takes 3 hours and costs $35 to $76. Without it, the application cannot go ahead. Our Work Permit application guide shows where it fits in the sequence.
Other MOM rules for maids worth knowing
The five rules above are where most questions arise, but a few more come up often:
- Salary on time. MOM’s salary guidelines require salary to be paid no later than 7 days after the last day of the salary period. Late salary is one of the grounds for forfeiting the security bond.
- Her passport is hers. Employers should not keep a helper’s passport. Under the Passports Act it is an offence to keep a passport that is not yours. A locker she can access is a sensible alternative.
- Safe window cleaning. She must not clean the outside of any window unless the window grille is locked throughout and an adult supervises. Breaches can lead to a fine of up to $10,000, up to 12 months’ jail, or both.
- A valid Work Permit at all times. Employing a helper without one carries a fine of $5,000 to $30,000, up to a year’s jail, or both.
What happens if these rules are not met
Consequences range from warnings and financial penalties to forfeiture of the $5,000 security bond, cancellation of the Work Permit, and a ban on employing helpers. Serious cases, such as abuse or deliberately withholding wages, can lead to prosecution. There are safeguards built in too: at the six-monthly medical examination, the doctor checks for visible signs of abuse and the employer must not be in the room.
None of this should feel daunting. Most of it comes down to rest, pay, food, a safe place to sleep and proper medical care, which are the same things that keep a working relationship stable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my helper give up all her rest days for extra pay?
No. Since 1 January 2023, at least one rest day each month must be taken and cannot be compensated away, even if she agrees. Her other weekly rest days can be worked by mutual agreement, with at least one day’s salary (monthly salary divided by 26) paid for each.
How much medical insurance must I buy for my helper?
MOM requires medical insurance covering inpatient care and day surgery with an annual claim limit of at least $60,000, plus personal accident insurance of at least $60,000 a year. For policies from 1 July 2023, claims above $15,000 are co-paid 75% by the insurer and 25% by you, and you cannot deduct the premium from her salary.
Can my helper help out at my parents’ home?
Only in a limited way. She may look after your child or parent at a relative’s home if you notify MOM first, have her written agreement, she does not do the full housework of both homes, and any overnight stay meets MOM’s accommodation standards. Sending her to clean or work there otherwise is illegal deployment, with penalties of up to $10,000 and a possible ban.
Does a transfer helper need to attend the Settling-in Programme?
No. The Settling-in Programme is for helpers working in Singapore for the first time. A helper who has already worked here does not need to repeat it, although a first-time employer still needs to complete the Employers’ Orientation Programme before applying.
Is there a minimum salary for helpers in Singapore?
MOM does not set a minimum wage for helpers. You must pay the salary you declared in the Work Permit application, and pay it no later than 7 days after the end of each salary period.
Conclusion
The core MDW obligations are simple to state: a weekly rest day with one protected day each month, proper medical care and insurance, acceptable accommodation and adequate food, work only at your declared address, and the right orientation courses before she starts. Get these right from day one and you avoid penalties as well as most of the misunderstandings that unsettle a placement.
At Femme5 we walk every employer through these requirements as part of the placement process, whether you are hiring a full-time live-in helper for the first time or renewing. You can also find quick answers on our FAQ page.
If you have questions about how these rules apply in your household, our consultants are glad to help. You can get in touch with the Femme5 team to discuss your family’s needs, read more about how we work with employers, or explore what a good placement looks like.
The Femme5 Team
Maid placement specialists, Femme5 Maid Agency
Our consultants work with Singaporean and expatriate families on helper matching, contracts and MOM compliance, and we verify the regulatory guidance in our articles directly against the Ministry of Manpower’s published requirements.
