[k8bell]

Hi,
My first baby's due in late February and I am starting to look for someone to care for the baby when I return to work in May. I am not interested in having someone live in, and I don't need the person to do any cleaning or cooking. I'm really looking for someone who has early education qualifications and will provide a stimulating environment for the baby. I'm also looking for the person to be a native Mandarin or Cantonese speaker, so the child can pick one of these languages up as a native language.

So far I have contacted the schools in Hong Kong that provide early-childhood education certifications, and they all have intranets for posting job offerings. I was wondering if anyone had any other ideas of places I could post this job offer with good chance of reaching high-quality candidates.

Also, I have some questions about the legalities of having an employee in Hong Kong. Do I need to register the employment with the HK Government? Do I need to provide benefits like paying into the HK retirement fund and/or health insurance? Are there any income tax breaks for the money I spend paying this person's salary? My colleagues tell me to just pay in cash and not register the employee, but that sounds like black market to me and I'd at least like to know what the legal path is before choosing which way to go.

thanks for any help anyone can give on these topics.

Kate

[HKFooey]

I employ a NZ national as my sons carer. I pay her legally. She is classed by the Giverenment as a domestic staff and therefore there are not MPF requirements. I strongly recommend that you take out Employees Insurance though. HSBC will add domestic staff to their contents insurance for a nominal charge.

The employee must have the right to work in HK which I presume will nto be such a problem for you as your are likley to be looking for a HK Resident.

You need to file an employers return atthe end of the tax year but that is all.
There are sadly no tax breaks in HK but we have very low tax rates so I think this is OK.

Let me know if you need any more information.

Simonne

[k8bell]

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. Did you bring your NZ national child care worker into HK as you would any other domestic helper, or was the person already here and had a work permit? I'm just wondering if the situation will be any different with HK permanent residents. I'm trying to get the answer from the labor department anyway.

Kate

[HKFooey]

My nanny is married to a permanent resident and has a dependent visa.