How to Find a Maid
- By letgothailandexpatdemo
Once you are settled in Thailand, you may decide that it makes sense to get a live-in maid to assist you and your family with daily tasks such as cleaning your household, cooking food, or looking after children (nanny). Thailand is measurably cheaper than other Western countries for this service, with a standard maid starting monthly salary of between 20,000-25,000 THB. If you require specific skills, like senior care, or language requirements such as fluent in English, you will pay more.
While you can try and find a maid or nanny by working through word of mouth, you must be aware of a few key items.
If you have a live in maid, you must pay them a salary, and that salary must be taxed through the Thai Government. Failure to do so is a violation of tax law.
Your maid will need access to medical care, and you can provide them with private medical insurance, but it is quite expensive relative to the National Medical Care scheme.
You must declare your maid as a resident at your address, since they are staying on a non-temporary basis.
The best way to avoid these hassles and compliance costs, is to find a maid service that will help you with your search, make sure they are a good fit, and provide them with the salary with all tax and medical benefits included. In return, they will send you a monthly invoice that you can pay directly, in one bill, without having to worry about falling out of compliance with local regulations.
One tried and true service for maids and private drivers is Happy Help. This company was founded in 2024, and for a relatively small 10,000 THB fee, will work to locate you the perfect maid or driver who fits best, based on your requirements. Each month they will remit an invoice inclusive of the maid or driver’s salary, and beyond sending the payment you have no responsibilities related to compliance. Happy Help does all the work for you. If for any reason the maid or driver doesn’t work out, they will help you find another individual within the first 12-months free of charge. They have an extensive list of available candidates with full biographies, face photo, and all candidates have undergone an extensive background check to ensure they meet Happy Help‘s strict requirements.
Having a live-in maid may seem like a luxury if you are coming from the West, but it is quite common in Thailand for established households to have one, and they greatly improve your quality of life. By taking care of routine tasks such as cleaning, cooking, or assisting in raising a child on a standard schedule of six days a week, 12 hours a day, they allow you to focus on more value added tasks and make your more efficient and effective at life by giving you back valuable time each day.