Can somebody please post a link to where I can read the reconciled Congress and Senate versions of the Kasambahay Bill? I do not wish to rely on news reports as they do not supply the complete details and are sometimes inaccurate. It looks like this bill is already fait accompli, with every trapo expecting the President to sign it into law as a "Christmas gift" to our hardworking, upstanding kasambahays.
As early as now, I am thinking of drafting a contract for my current HH. She gets 4K a month plus 1.5K as allowance. She cleans the house (average-size), does does the laundry by hand twice a week (accomplished in one hour every time, faster than the neighborhood laundromat), and looks after my son (feeds, clothes, takes/fetches him to/from preschool) twice a week, when I have to accompany my mother for her twice-weekly treatments. I am a stay-at-home mom and I take care of my son's needs except for my twice-a-week (which is half-days only, I am home by lunch time) obligations. She cooks two to three times per week while I pick up the slack on other days. We cook only once daily in my household (our lunchtime ulam is the same ulam at dinnertime). That means after lunch, she can do as she pleases (and she usually does). I feel that her salary (including allowance) is more than fair for the amount of work she does. The quality of her work is OK, nothing to gush about. My only complaint is she has no initiative and is somewhat on the lazy side. Also, she slips out of the house and goes upstairs to my sister-in-law's house to chat with her HH every chance she gets (as soon as there is a lull in her work schedule--and there is plenty, believe me--she "disapparates" instantly, hahahaha. In short, her work is something that can be accomplished by a part-time, stay-out helper. I am flexible with days off (DO) and overnight DO, but because she has been abusing it lately (4 overnight DO in 4 weeks) I may have to be a little more strict (unless the Kasambahay Bill says something about that, too).
Anyway, if I have to pay her SSS, Philheath, and Pagibig and give her once a week day off, then I will have to reduce her allowance in order to cover the expense of additional benefits. Otherwise, my immediate out-of-pocket costs would be P6K+ per month, and that's not including the 13th month pay, the annual paid leaves with pay and transportation allowance, etc.
There's no getting around this law either. It doesn't matter whether your HH is already happy with the current arrangement and is fine with your not complying with the law, but what if the employer-employee relationship goes sour, then she might use that against you. Surely, you wouldn't want that kind of problem in your hands.
