household help

Any feedback about this? Thanks

The common method of household help thats used by many families in Riyadh is the "houseboy" facility which is generally provided by BanglaDeshi, Indian and othr Asian males who are also carrying on a da job, some as helpers in the Mosques, some as gas station attendats, etc etc.

They usually come in and provide their services based on a suitable timing for the household since their availabulity needs to coincide with the times that the families are willing to have them inside thir homes.

We hire a BanglaDesh boy who works for the Mosque in front of our home, as a helper, and he comes in 5 days a week from 8 pm (usually after the last Prayer) until 10, for 2 hours. We pay SR 400 per month.

He does the mopping of the tiled floors, cleaning of furniture, toilets, kitchen, and also washes up dishes.

There are full time and part time female housemaids available for hiring through Embassies but one needs to have some insider contact in order to avail this facility. Most such cases are girls who are being held by the Embassies for prevailing disputes with their Saudi sponsors until such time they are either returned to the sponsor or repatriated back to their home states.

There is no real official house help facility available unless of course one applies for a madi through the governmental sources and obtains a visa for one. I also hear that such maids are now being provided by local service companies who bring them down on their own sponsorships.

Thanks so much for the info, Musicman! I am thinking of getting a female housemaid to help with the baby so I might have to check out some local service companies then. Again, thank you!

Belishabeacon

I have a a full-time housemaid who lives with us and we are not her sponsor.  After we moved into the compound we had many housemaids come and ask about jobs.  I interviewed about 5 of them and always asked for copies of there paperwork.  If you live on a compound, I don't believe you will have any problem hiring someone, even a driver.  I suspect sponsoring them gives you a bit more control and security, but if you happen to find the right person and treat them with respect & dignity, there should be no need to worry. 

Having said that, you always need to protect your personal assets, so investing in a safe for valuables may not be a bad idea.

I hope this helps!

Thank you Caf, that helps enormously! I was looking to hire someone without having to do the paperwork... great to know that this is possible in the compounds!