Managing the household, from cleaning the house to cooking, can be hard especially if you’re working. And it’s even more challenging if you have kids and elderly parents to take care. If you’re looking for a reliable maid agency in Singapore, here’s our compilation of the best 5 ones to get you started.
What should you consider when hiring a maid?
What kind of tasks will you require your maid to do?
Before engaging a maid agency to hire a maid, be sure to list down the kinds of tasks you’ll need her to do, whether it’s cleaning up the house or preparing meals. This will help you find the right maid with the right skills, especially since some maids specialise in certain skills such as babysitting.
You should also personally interview each maid to get to know their strengths and weaknesses, so you get a better idea if they’re right for you.
Is your family on board?
Make sure your family is comfortable with a stranger living in the house. You may also want to let your family know how they should communicate with your maid if they’re unsatisfied with her work.
How will the maid fit in within the household and what are her working conditions?
Some things to think about include the maid’s working hours, off days, and her place in the home. Is she going to be part of the family and sit together with the family for meals, or are there going to be firm boundaries?
Can you afford a maid?
Last but not least, hiring a maid in Singapore is costly. There are expenses that come with a maid beyond just her salary.
One-time payment
| Type of fees | Average cost |
| Maid agency fees | $1,600 |
| Work permit application | $35 |
| Work permit issuance | $35 |
| Security deposit | $5,000 |
| Insurance | $225 to $330 |
| Air ticket | $400 |
| Total | $7,295 – $7,400 |
Monthly recurring cost
Here are the minimum monthly rates of maids:
| Country of origin | Minimum salary |
| Myanmar | $450 |
| Sri Lanka | $497 |
| Indonesia | $550 |
| Philippines | $570 |
On top of the monthly salary, there’s also the foreign domestic worker levy of $300 that you’ll need to pay monthly.
But if you’re eligible for the levy concessions, you’ll only have to pay $60 per month. You can qualify for the levy concessions if you’re living with a Singaporean:
- Young child below 16 years old
- Elderly person of at least 67 years old
- Person with disabilities (PWD) who requires help with at least 1 activity of daily living (ADL), such as showering, feeding, dressing, or toileting
How to find the right maid agency in Singapore
To start off, you can use MOM’s Employment Agencies (EA) Directory to find the right maid agency. Cost aside, ratings matter when it comes to choosing a maid agency. These are the following factors you should consider, according to MOM’s EA Directory:
- Experience of the maid agency
- Placement volume
- Transfer rate
- Retention rate
- Ratings
- Demerit points
Experience of the maid agency
Ideally, you’ll want to pick a more established maid agency. More established maid agencies have a higher likelihood of matching the right employer with the right maid, and greater experience with finding a replacement and dealing with associated paperwork.
A good maid agency in Singapore usually has at least 5 years of experience.
Placement volume of the maid agency
Another thing you should note is the placement volume. This refers to the number of work passes that MOM approves for the maid agency in a year.
A high placement volume is an indication that the maid agency is trusted by both the government and employers, which means you’re less likely to find a maid that you’re unsatisfied with.
Transfer rate of the maid agency
You should ideally go for a maid agency with a low transfer rate.
Transfer rate refers to the percentage of maids in the maid agency that have transferred to 3 or more employers within a year.
It’s not uncommon for a maid to change her employer, and this usually happens due to a poor match. For example, perhaps there are major language barriers that make it unfeasible for an employer to resume working with a particular maid.
However, if a maid agency has plenty of maids that have changed employers frequently, that’s a big red flag. This could mean that either the agency or the maids under it are not that competent.
Retention rate of the maid agency
When hiring a maid, you probably want someone that can stay on the job as long as possible.
The retention rate refers to the percentage of maids placed by the agency who have remained with their employers for at least 1 year. It’s similar to the employee turnover rate, but in the context of hiring a maid.
An agency with a higher retention rate indicates that they have recruited good maids and employers are satisfied with them.
Ratings of the maid agency
You can also refer to the customer ratings of each maid agency on MOM’s EA Directory, to get a feel of their service.
Employers usually rate the service of their maid agency 3 months after the maid starts working for them.
Demerit points of the maid agency
Stay away from maid agencies with demerit points.
A maid agency gets demerit points when they breach the Employment Agencies Act, Employment Agencies Rules, or Employment Agency Licence Conditions. A maid agency can also get demerit points if there has been abuse of maids or illegal deployment. Once a maid agency has accumulated 24 demerit points, the agency’s licence will be suspended.
Without further ado, here’s a list of the best 5 maid agencies in Singapore that you can consider engaging.
Each maid agency listed fulfils the following as of 13 November 2019:
- No demerit points
- Placement volume above the industry average of 64.08
- Transfer rate above the industry average of 1.40%
- Retention rate above the industry average of 46.31%
We hope this will help you save time in your search for the right maid!
| Maid agency | Ratings | Years of experience | Placement volume | Transfer rate | Retention rate |
| Wonderful Maid Agency | 4.1 stars from 199 reviews | 5 | 438 | 1.05% | 52.91% |
| Maid-Power | 4.0 stars from 174 reviews | 27 | 373 | 0.86% | 54.37% |
| Eden Garden Human Resources | 4.1 stars from 254 reviews | 5 | 565 | 0.58% | 55.13% |
| 121 Personnel Services | 4.1 stars from 212 reviews | 18 | 494 | 0.45% | 59.65% |
| Prestige Management Services | 4.1 stars from 180 reviews | 30 | 388 | 0.56% | 65.57% |
1) Wonderful Maid Agency
Key highlights and services
- Domestic helper placement
- Application, cancellation, and renewal of work permit
- Renewal of passport
- Arrangement of medical screening
- Training for maids
- Comprehensive insurance package
- Counselling
- Communication via WhatsApp
Wonderful Maid Agency’s website contains individual profiles of their maids, so you can easily identify who you want to shortlist or hire. Do you need someone with childcare experience to take care of your naughty children? Simply use the filter option to narrow down the relevant maid profiles.
You can also communicate with the maid agency via WhatsApp, so you don’t have to wait the usual 1-3 working days between emails. If you find out that your maid’s passport is expiring in a week’s time, you can simply ask Wonderful Maid Agency to renew her passport via WhatsApp and expect a prompt reply.
Contact details
- Address: Blk 462 Tampines St 44 #01-74, Singapore 520462
- Contact number: 67889161
- Email: hello@wonderfulmaidagency.com
2) Maid-Power
Key highlights and services
- Application, cancellation, and renewal of work permit
- Renewal of passport
- Home leave processing
- Recruitment of transfer maids and new maids from overseas
- Arrange for medical insurance
- Orientation for maid before being deployed to employer
- Communication with maid
With 27 years of experience, Maid-Power is one of the oldest agencies in Singapore. Apart from their experience, Maid-Power’s communication service with their maids is unlike any other agency’s. If you’re going to be out of town and your maid is alone at home, you can ask them to communicate with your maid so they don’t feel so lonely.
Contact details
- Address: 304 Orchard Road, #06-15/16 Lucky Plaza, Singapore 238863
- Contact number: 63396161
- Email: service@maidpower.com
3) Eden Grace Human Resources
Key highlights and services
- Quality selection of maids
- Training of maids to cater to employers’ expectations and needs
- Home visit after 1 month to follow up with employer and maid
- Activities and mentorship programmes for maids during off-days
- Guidance for employers and maids
- Search filter based on preferences
Eden Grace stands out as a maid agency that organises regular events for their maids. These include picnics every Sunday. Besides allowing maids to get together and mingle, such events help them adjust to their new environments.
The agency’s website is also pretty comprehensive and helpful. For instance, there are tips on how you can better communicate with your maid, which is helpful especially if your maid is shy. There are also tips for maids, such as how to clean household items like window blinds.
Contact details
| Branch | Contact info |
| Bishan | Address: Blk 18 Sin Ming Lane, #07-38 Midview City, Singapore 573960 Contact number: 62625562 |
| Mountbatten | Address: 231 Mountbatten Rd, Block D, #01-02 Mountbatten Centre, Singapore 397999 Contact number: 69146639 |
| Orchard | Address: 1 Tanglin Road #04-14 Orchard Rendezvous Hotel, Singapore 247905 Contact number: 66929046 |
| Jurong East | Address: 2 Venture Drive, #24-103 Vision Exchange, Singapore 608526 Contact number: 69149157 |
| One Fullerton | Address: 1, Fullerton Road, #02-01, One Fullerton, Singapore 049213 Contact number: 68325530 |
Email: enquiry@edengracemaids.com
4) 121 Personnel Services
Key highlights and services
- Recruitment of transfer maids and new maids from overseas
- Processing the paperwork when you find your own maid
- Renewal of passport and work permit
- Appealing to the Ministry of Manpower should your application be rejected
- Matching of maid according to employers’ needs
- Counselling
- 2 replacements within 3 years for free (for platinum package)
What sets 121 Personnel Services apart is that they allow you to switch to not one, but two maids for free within 3 years. Of course, we don’t recommend that you change maids that often.
But in the event that you’re unsatisfied with your maid’s work, there’s still flexibility for you to request for replacements by the maid agency for free within that 3-year timeframe.
Contact details
Address: 545 Orchard Road #12-07, Far East Shopping Centre, Singapore 238882
Contact number: 67338121
Email: service@121personnel.com
5) Prestige Management Services
Key highlights and services
- Application, renewal, and cancellation of work permit
- Direct hiring or recruitment from the Philippines
- Home leave processing
- Passport renewal
- Strict screening and interviewing to meet clients’ needs
- Structured skills training
- Orientation to local culture/customs
- Professional coaching and counselling
If you prefer to hire a Filipino maid, Prestige Management Services might just be the agency for you. Besides specialising in recruiting Filipino maids, they have one of the highest retention rates as well. That means that with Prestige Management Services, there’s a higher likelihood that you’ll find a maid that you’ll be satisfied with and can remain on the job for a long time.
Contact details
Address: 19 Tanglin Road, #03-59 Tanglin Shopping Centre, Singapore 247909
Contact number: 67382100
Email: prestige@pacific.net.sg, prestigemanagementservices@gmail.com
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- 6 Best Places to Find a Part-Time Maid in Singapore
- The 7 Best Carpet Cleaning Services in Singapore
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