Should Locked Down Ayis Be Paid?

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Even though most of us consider our ayis as family, the address in their ID card does not agree. This has caused loads of trouble for expat families whose everyday life pretty much depends on their ayis.

Issues kept popping up with the city locking down residential compounds for the past few weeks. Apart from everyday testing, hassles to finding transport, and deliveries being delayed or canceled, ayis have been denied entry into the locked-down compounds or got trapped in their own fenced-off communities. Some couldn’t even leave their employer’s home for days.

This has added another issue to the existing ones: Should ayis get paid in case of lockdown? If yes, how much? Should you pay them full salary even though they only worked for a few days?

These questions have been pretty popular lately in WeChat expat groups and no one seems to have a definite answer.

If special circumstances are incorporated into your contract with the ayi agency, you have one less thing to worry about. But most contracts are not that detailed so the decision of whether to pay or not is mainly up to you.

For E.T whose ayi couldn’t work for ten days due to her compound being locked down, it was a no-brainer:

“We absolutely continued to pay our ayi while she was in lockdown. If we were put in lockdown, our employer would continue to pay us; it’s only fair and it’s not her fault”.

Most Beijing expats share E.T’s opinion about whether ayis should get paid during lockdowns. I mean, they do take care of our kids, play with them, read to them, make sure they get their homework done, do our laundry, cook, clean, and manage to have a smile on their faces throughout the day.

Kate Kelman’s ayi even kept showing up to work every day, regular as clockwork.

“Our community was locked down for ten days, and then our ayi’s community was locked down for two weeks after that. We didn’t cut her pay at all. When we were locked down she tried to come in every day, but was turned away.”

For Helen, there are only two things that can be done in case her compound goes into lockdown: “Provide a room for her or forget about her during lockdown”.

And that’s actually what Ashley K. did:

“When we were told our compound would go into lockdown the next day, we gave our ayi a choice - come live with us during lockdown and receive full salary plus something extra, or not pay her at all. She decided to stay and it’s been a lifesaver with having two kids and both my husband and I working from home. She has her own room so it worked out quite well for us.”

Unfortunately, for people who only work part-time or simply don’t get paid if they don’t work, things are not that simple.

“I have a four-month old baby and during the first two months, we had a live-in ayi. After two months, we changed to only two hours a day. Since there are a lot of old people in our community, she’s not allowed to enter. We asked around and were told that this will most likely continue for another month or two. We decided to pay only for the days she worked”, shared one of the expat residents about their current situation.

But sometimes, things are beyond our control, as the same expat resident continued saying, "My maternity leave ends next month and I’ve been thinking about switching to full-time ayi. If the current situation doesn’t change, we won’t be able to keep an ayi and I’ll have to quit my job. Hope things get better soon…fingers crossed.”

If you’re lucky enough to have a down-to-earth and understanding ayi, you should do what Jean-Mare Kuipers decided to do:

“I was actually thinking about it the other day. It’s so difficult because I would still like to be paid even though I’m not going to work. So they must feel exactly the same way. I sat down with her and explained the situation, told her that the school is adjusting our salaries and until I know what’s happening, I can’t really afford to pay her for not working. Luckily, she understood. Now we’re both locked down and she knows that if she’s not coming in, I won’t pay her.”

It’s not easy making these decisions, that’s for sure. We are definitely in for a rough ride, so buckle up and see what solutions can we come up with next.

Did you pay your ayi during lockdown? Answer our daily poll questions below or leave a comment!

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