Femi is a foreign domestic worker who was referred to HELP by her Priest in March this year. Her employer had terminated her contract because Femy was having difficulty breathing and experiencing severe foot swelling. The employer was forcing Femy to work extremely long hours doing both her domestic worker duties and moving extremely heavy pieces of metal around for the employer’s nearby factory. Femy was only able to go to sleep at 5:00am every morning in a closed bedroom without ventilation and was never granted a holiday. Femy’s employers were making her work illegally in the factory and she was forced to hide when government officials would come for inspections.

HELP was able to get the full story from Femy and help her file a claim with the Labour Department and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) for her unpaid entitlements and the damages owed by her employer for discrimination. HELP guided Femi through the case in the Labour Department, escorting her to conciliation meetings and attempting to negotiate with her former employer. The employer did not want to settle so Femi decided to pursue the case with the Labour Tribunal. HELP assisted her in filing her case. Femy’s employer decided to settle the case before a hearing was held at the Labour Tribunal, and HELP aided Femy in negotiating for a HK$27,000 settlement in exchange for dropping the claim with the EOC.  HELP has also assisted Femy in ensuring that her former employer is not able to exploit any more foreign domestic workers by writing letters detailing the employer’s treatment of Femi to the Immigration Department, the Indonesian Consulate General, and the Philippine Consulate General. These letters will put Femy’s former employer on a blacklist, preventing her from hiring any new foreign domestic workers. A great outcome. If you know someone who needs our help click here.