My helper is retiring or going home for good. Aside from long-service pay, how else can I encourage her to prepare to reintegrate when she goes home?

Depending on which country she is from, your helper might be entitled to a number of programmes targeted at returning domestic workers and their dependents including skills training, reintegration services, grants for small businesses or financial assistance in certain situations. 

Going back home can often be stressful and can bring up many issues and expenses that helpers often do not expect, especially if they haven’t planned for it. Before your helper leaves for good, here are some things you can do to help ease this process:

• Encourage her to complete the full Enrich programme to equip her with knowledge and skills to manage her finances, especially future expenses that will arise when she returns. You can even sponsor her to attend our workshops.

• Suggest that she can take advantage of the numerous training programmes for domestic workers in Hong Kong to gain further skills which she can use for future employment or a potential business back home.

• When paying her long service pay, you can remind her that instead of spending it quickly, she could instead invest it in her retirement savings or pension plan.