Benefits of Hiring a Maid Through an Agency in Singapore

If you are weighing up the benefits of hiring a maid through an agency against finding a helper yourself, this guide sets out what a licensed Singapore agency actually does for you: screening, matching, MOM paperwork, preparation before she arrives, support after placement, and the refund protection the law now gives employers. It also covers what to check before you sign with any agency, including us.

Both routes are legal. The Ministry of Manpower says plainly that hiring directly can be more affordable but requires more effort on your part, while a licensed agency can take on much of the administrative work and candidate vetting. Agencies charge for that, so the honest question is not which route is “better” but what the fee buys and whether your household needs it.

For most first-time employers, families with young children or an elderly parent, and anyone who has had a placement go wrong before, the structure an agency brings is worth a great deal. For an experienced employer rehiring a helper they already know, it may matter less.

We are Femme5 Agency Pte Ltd, MOM licence 19C9763, based at 2 Bukit Merah Central. What follows is how a good agency should work, with MOM links throughout so you can check the rules yourself.

Screening you would struggle to replicate on your own

The first thing a good agency does is filter candidates before they reach your shortlist. MOM’s guide to hiring a helper in 8 steps notes that the agency must give you the helper’s biodata, that you can ask for her employment history, and that you should ask how the agency checks her age and education details. A careful agency has answers ready.

In practice, screening covers four things:

• Documents. Passport, educational certificates and any previous Work Permit history. MOM requires a helper to be aged 23 to below 50 when the Work Permit is applied for and to have at least 8 years of formal education with a recognised certificate, so these details matter.
• Employment history. A credible agency contacts previous employers, in Singapore and at home, to confirm how long she worked there, what she actually did and why the job ended. This is where you learn whether a previous employer would hire her again.
• Skills. Good agencies check practical skills such as cooking a basic meal, handling an infant or using common appliances, so that what a profile claims matches what she can do.
• Health. Every new helper must pass a medical examination by a Singapore-registered doctor within 2 weeks of arrival before her Work Permit is issued. An agency arranges this and tells you promptly if anything needs following up.

We do this reference work so that what you read on one of our helper profiles is an accurate reflection of the person you will meet.

Matching her to your household, not just to a task list

Not every capable helper suits every home. Someone excellent with toddlers may be uneasy around a large dog. Someone used to a small condo may not have run a three-storey landed house. An agency that has placed many helpers reads these fits in a way that is hard to do from a profile alone.

When we match, we look at:

• the ages of your children and whether anyone at home needs elderly or disability care;
• your working hours, and how long she will manage the home on her own;
• dietary needs, religious practices and the kind of cooking you want;
• the languages spoken at home;
• personality fit, since some families want a helper who takes initiative and others prefer one who follows a clear routine.

We can also arrange a house visit at your convenience to understand your family before we shortlist anyone. A good agency will advise on choices you may not have considered, such as whether a transfer maid already in Singapore suits your timeline better than a new helper from overseas, or which source country fits your home’s language and routine. Femme5 places Filipino, Indonesian, Myanmar and Mizoram (India) helpers, and we discuss each candidate as an individual rather than by nationality.

MOM paperwork done correctly and in the right order

Hiring a migrant domestic worker involves a sequence of MOM steps, and getting one out of order can cost weeks. The main ones are:

1. Employers’ Orientation Programme (EOP) for first-time employers, completed at least 2 working days before the Work Permit application. The online version takes 2 hours and costs $29 to $36.
2. Work Permit application through FDW eService, with a $35 application fee and a $35 issuance fee.
3. Security bond of $5,000 for every helper except Malaysians, in force before she arrives.
4. Insurance. Medical insurance with an annual limit of at least $60,000, and personal accident cover of at least $60,000. Older articles quoting $15,000 or $40,000 are out of date. See MOM’s insurance requirements.
5. Medical examination within 2 weeks of arrival.
6. Settling-in Programme for first-time helpers, a one-day course within 7 days of arrival, excluding Sundays and public holidays. She can start work only after attending.
7. Levy of $300 a month for a first helper, or $60 at the concessionary rate if your household qualifies, due on the 17th of the following month.

MOM’s guide confirms that an agency can arrange the Settling-in Programme and medical examination for you, and it suggests asking the agency to explain its standard insurance package and any upgrade options. For families who last hired years ago, this is where outdated assumptions cause the most trouble.

Support does not stop on day one. An agency can also handle the paperwork when a helper renews or leaves, including Work Permit renewal or cancellation, passport renewal and booking her flight home. Femme5 also runs helper transport for airport pick-ups, medical appointments, embassy runs and repatriation.

Refund protection if the placement ends early

No matching process is perfect, and some mismatches only show once a helper is living in your home. Here the law gives agency clients a protection that direct hiring does not.

For employer and agency contracts signed on or after 1 June 2022, MOM requires agencies to refund at least 50% of the service fee if the helper’s employment ends within her first 6 months, as long as the conditions are met. Agencies cannot set their own extra conditions. Some points worth knowing:

• The refund does not cover government and third-party costs such as Work Permit fees, the Settling-in Programme, the medical examination, airfare, home-country requirements, training you asked for, or the helper’s placement loan.
• No refund is due if the agency only did administrative work, if the employer breached the law or committed an offence against the helper, or if the employer did not tell the agency in reasonable time before cancelling, repatriating or transferring her.
• The agency must pay within 14 working days of your written request or the Work Permit cancellation, whichever is later.

Many agencies also offer replacement terms in their service agreement. These vary, so ask for them in writing and read what is covered and what is excluded. If a direct hire breaks down, by contrast, you restart the search from zero.

Preparation before she walks through your door

The early weeks are where most placements struggle, and a helper who arrives prepared settles faster. Femme5 pre-trains helpers before placement. Good preparation covers Singapore household routines, local food and how the MOM system works, including her own rights and responsibilities, so she is not learning all of it in your kitchen in week one. You can read more about how we pre-train helpers.

We also run a boarding house for helpers, which gives a transfer helper between jobs a safe place to stay while her next placement is arranged. Families sometimes overlook this, but a helper who has been housed properly during a transition arrives calmer and ready to start.

Support after placement, including mediation

Post-placement support is the benefit many employers underestimate until they need it. MOM’s own guidance on resolving a dispute with your helper says that if a frank conversation at home does not resolve things and you used an agency, approach the agency, because it knows what your original agreement was.

MOM’s hiring guide also lists post-placement checks by the agency as part of the process.

In practice that covers:

• Mediation. A neutral third party who can hear what neither side finds easy to say, and suggest a small change that breaks a pattern.
• Updates on your obligations. Rest day rules, insurance limits and levy rates have all changed in recent years. The monthly rest day that cannot be compensated away, for instance, has been mandatory since 1 January 2023.
• Quick answers mid-employment. What to do if she is unwell for several days, how to change employment terms, or how to plan cover while you travel.

Our clients know they can call us when something comes up, rather than working through MOM processes alone. If you need more help than the agency can give, the same MOM guidance points to the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore) and the Centre for Domestic Employees, which either you or your helper can contact.

Licensing and accountability

Employment agencies in Singapore must be licensed by MOM and follow its rules, and agency staff must be registered. MOM points out that using an unlicensed agency is an offence, and that unlicensed operators may exploit vulnerable workers and charge excessive fees.

Licensing gives you a formal complaints channel and a regulator who can act on misconduct. You can confirm any agency’s licence in MOM’s EA Directory, which also shows track record indicators such as the helper retention rate and how many helpers the agency placed in the previous year. MOM explains how to check whether an agency is licensed, including asking to see the staff member’s registration card and matching it against the directory.

More benefits of hiring through an agency: a wider pool and time saved

Agencies work with recruitment partners in source countries and see helpers already in Singapore who are looking for a transfer. That gives you access to candidates who are not on any public platform, which helps if you need specific language ability, cooking experience or caregiving background.

Then there is time. Reviewing profiles, arranging interviews, calling references, checking documents and running the MOM steps yourself takes many evenings, especially the first time. With an agency, you receive a shortlist built around your brief, interview a few pre-screened candidates, and leave the paperwork with us. For dual-income households, that alone is often the deciding reason why use a maid agency at all.

A real example: from frustrated to settled

One family in Tampines came to Femme5 after two difficult experiences with helpers found through informal channels. In both cases the stated experience did not match reality: one had never cooked for children despite saying she had, and the other had Work Permit issues that took several weeks to resolve.

We sent them three profiles screened against their brief: a toddler, an elderly parent who needed help with meals and mobility, and a preference for a helper who had already worked in Singapore. The helper we placed had been with them for over eighteen months when the family shared their story. In their words, the difference was not only her ability but the quality of the information they had before deciding.

What to check before choosing an agency

Not every agency delivers these benefits equally. Before you sign, ask:

1. Is it licensed? Check the licence number in MOM’s EA Directory, along with its retention rate.
2. What does screening involve? Do they call previous employers? How do they verify age and education? How do they test skills?
3. What exactly is in the fee? Ask for an itemised breakdown, and which parts fall under the 50% refund rule.
4. What are the replacement terms? Get them in writing, with inclusions and exclusions.
5. What happens after placement? Who do you call, and will they mediate if needed?
6. What do clients say? Detailed reviews tell you more than star ratings. Femme5 is rated 4.9 from 91 Google reviews, and our guide to finding a good maid agency goes further on what to ask.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to hire a maid in Singapore without an agency?

Yes. MOM allows employers to hire a migrant domestic worker directly, and notes that it can be more affordable but requires more effort, since you source candidates, verify them and handle every MOM step yourself. What is not allowed is using an unlicensed agency, which is an offence, so if you do use an agency, confirm its licence in MOM’s EA Directory first.

Do I get any money back if the helper leaves within the first few months?

For agency contracts signed on or after 1 June 2022, the agency must refund at least 50% of the service fee if the helper’s employment ends within her first 6 months and MOM’s conditions are met. Government and third-party costs such as Work Permit fees, medicals and airfare are excluded, and the refund must be paid within 14 working days of your request or the Work Permit cancellation, whichever is later.

Is an agency faster than hiring directly?

For first-time employers it usually is, because an agency already has candidates, knows the MOM sequence and can run steps such as insurance, the security bond and the medical examination in parallel. Timelines still depend on the helper’s home-country processes for an overseas hire, while a transfer helper already in Singapore can often start sooner.

What does the levy cost, and does the agency pay it?

The employer pays the levy, not the agency. It is $300 a month for a first helper and $450 for each additional helper, or $60 a month at the concessionary rate for households with a qualifying Singapore citizen child under 16, an elderly person aged 67 or above, or a person with disabilities. See MOM’s levy payment page for current rates.

Does Femme5 offer part-time help as well as full-time helpers?

Yes. Alongside full-time live-in placements, we offer part-time help and home cleaning, with normal cleaning at $25 an hour on weekdays and $30 on weekends, and home cooking at $30 or $35 an hour with a 3-hour minimum.

Conclusion

The real value of an agency lies in a few concrete things: candidates screened before you see them, a match built around your household, MOM steps done in the right order, a helper prepared before she arrives, someone to call when things get difficult, and a legal refund if the placement ends in the first 6 months. Direct hiring can work well for experienced employers who have time, but for most families those protections are worth the fee.

Whichever route you choose, check the licence, read the service agreement, and confirm current rules on mom.gov.sg before you commit, because the requirements do change.

If you would like a shortlist built around your household rather than a stack of generic profiles, we are happy 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.