Need to Fire Your Ayi? We Share Tips to Answer Your Questions
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I let my ayi go before Chinese New Year recently, telling her that she needn’t return to work after the two weeks she was taking to go back to her hometown. The timing seems cruel but it made practical sense – she could potentially be gone for up to a month if travel regulations required her to quarantine upon her return to Beijing. But more importantly, we had been growing unsatisfied with some aspects of her service for a while which despite our feedback and comments, did not improve.
My ayi was not thrilled with the news. She tried to demand that I help her find a new job and also asked for more money after I had given her a pro-rated 13th month pay on the bonus red packet for her 8 months of service. All her demands did not sit well with me and led me to wonder what was I required to give her and what was expected of me in this situation.
After doing some research and asking around on the matter, here is some important information you should know if you ever have to fire your ayi.
The first thing you should know about your relationship with your ayi is that it does not fall under labor laws but is considered a service relationship. This means that you are not lawfully her employer and are both considered equal parties in the eyes of the law. On the other hand, labor laws in China would hold the employer responsible for the welfare of the employee and make many demands on the employer.
In short, you are not lawfully required to pay your ayi a severance, nor do you need do give her advance notice if you’re firing her. This is true even if you’re simply letting her go without extenuating circumstances, which might sometimes involve local authorities. To prevent that from ever happening to you, we compiled some tips from the expat community to help keep you and your ayi’s relationship professional.
If you hire an ayi through an agency, you have a middleman that helps to resolve most issues from accidents to miscommunications, thus shielding you from extraneous drama and problems. Most agencies allow you to try different ayis until you find one you like, and if your ayi can’t make it, the agency will usually find you a replacement. If you’re just hiring the ayi on your own, it’s critical that you first negotiate the terms and conditions, and it’s best that you put it down on paper. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my recent ayi debacle, it might be best to make sure that any bonuses are contingent on performance and not mandatory.
Back where I’m from in Singapore, there was a common practice of keeping the passport of our domestic helpers (that’s what we call them instead of ayis) so they couldn’t flee the country without our knowledge. While that is way too extreme and controlling for my liking, you ought to have at least a copy of their ID card and medical book (especially in these epidemic times) to know if she’s up to date on her vaccinations, for her safety and your liability.
This tip was shared by an expat who has seen over 10 ayis in the past year alone; boy have they got some stories! A biometric lock makes it possible for you to remove the ayi’s access after her service has been terminated, in case she decides to try to come back without your knowledge…
Last but not least, when it comes to firing an ayi, the general agreement is that it’s best to do it at the end of their shift for the day, without notice. While it may seem nice to let your ayi know as far in advance as possible, there is way too much risk that your ayi may take some unwarranted actions after her notice. From some stories we’ve heard, ayis have locked themselves in rooms in the house and refused to leave; taken valuables; and even threatened to hurt themselves. To avoid all this, speak calmly and clearly when you fire them on their way out. This is another pro of using an agency as you can avoid all this commotion.
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