mentalist

We all know that it's illegal to employ a maid who is sponsored by another employer, but what about employing a wife who is here on her husband's visa? Just curious as we know of two households where their part time maid has been picked-up from the streets by the cops and deported with massive fines imposed on the householders, but see no reason why a wife on her husband's visa would be detained by the constabulary.

Autonomy

No firm idea, but surely they need a work permit as well as a visa? And I think on a work permit you can only work for that employer. If that's not you, then tough titty? No?

winter

She is not allowed to work, unless got free zone visa, you must be employed by a uae sponsor

LaLaLayla

Yep, it's totally illegal. And unnecessary for most people, when you can get a perfectly legal part-time maid for AED 35 per hour. Why take the risk?

Patsy Stoned

There are only 2 ways to legally employ a maid. You sponsor her and she is not allowed to work for anybody else or you use a maids agency.
It is a 50,000dhs fine and the maid gets deported.
There is no such thing as a husbands visa for housemaids.

busybee2

its not rocket science is it now lol.... how many times have we all said it, only 2 ways to do it legally (as PS mentioned above). the maid will get deported, the sponsor can get deported and also the illegal "employer" too. ok that doesnt happen much but it will go to court and you loose your passport for what 6 months while it goes through the process, you can now get fined up to 100k = is it worth it nope!

LaLaLayla

The thing is that new people are not aware of the rules. I certainly wasn't when I first came here and inadvertently employed an illegal maid until a local in my office put me straight.

busybee2

yeh i get that, i told someone the other day as they were new. but surely you can do a search in google and it would bring up loads of answers.......

LaLaLayla

It doesn't necessarily occur to people, busbybee2. You have been here about 400 years, so you know the rules and understand the logic behind them. That's not the case for those who have just arrived. The idea that employing a part-time maid is somehow illegal is absurd to most people in the western world. It certainly didn't occur to me to check with Google to see if I was breaking the law.

busybee2

yeh i know, not quite 400 years but in abu dhabi years thats just about right

busybee2

the thing is when i came over here there was no real google to ask then anyways you had to do the leg work and find out the hard way. it is so much easier to find out the answers to your questions etc nowadays.

Morecambe Mindy

Yep when I first got here I employed someone part time, as I thought that it was legal.

I got a bit suss when I walked her home one night after she had babysat, and she asked me not to mention to that she worked for me to her madam.

I finished her after that, as I looked into things and found out it was illegal and I could get into a world of poop!

It annoys me when people give advice to newbies to take the chance and employ them, as if nothing bad ever happens in Dubai, and if you mention it you are a nag.

I think newbies need to be aware of the situation so that they can make an educated gamble if they want to take the chance on a part time maid.

busybee2

oooh i will always be the one to nag! i will tell you the facts its up to you what you do with them. as the rules here do differ to the rest of the world.

mentalist

Isn't it a Dhs100K fine these days? Does your last comment mean that a wife can do non-housemaid work on a husband's visa? Why is that?

busybee2

because maids do not come under the labour law.