Employment contract, agency agreement and safety agreement: what each one covers

By APEX Maids Agency Pte. Ltd. · MOM EA Licence 25C3180 · UEN 202547196H. Based in Jurong West and serving households across Singapore. Our website is apexmaids.sg and our phone is 8405 6661.

Match each promise to its document

Put the papers side by side before reading them line by line. Mark the document title, the parties, its version and any attached schedule. An agency's promise about replacements answers a different question from a helper's employment notice clause. Similar words such as “termination” can appear in both without referring to the same relationship.

MOM encourages a mutually agreed employment contract. It requires a safety agreement except when renewing the existing helper's contract. Separately, the agency must sign a written service agreement with the employer, covering matters such as replacement, refund and dispute terms. Nationality-specific requirements can add documents and conditions.

For the safety agreement, each party keeps a copy and the helper signs a version in her native language. Follow the window-safety guide for the practical task restrictions.

Make a private pre-signing record

Use the questions below beside the actual papers. They are prompts for discussion, not proposed contract clauses. Do not add a guessed answer just to complete the list. Record who will clarify an unresolved point and which document will hold the final answer. Keep the completed notes with your own copies.

• Identity and version: do the parties, helper and date match this hiring arrangement? Are referenced schedules present?
• Salary: where is the agreed amount recorded, and do the documents describe the same amount? Use the salary-records guide for payment details.
• Rest arrangements: where are the agreed arrangements and any compensation terms explained? Ask about a conflict instead of choosing whichever document seems easier.
• Duties: does the written household brief match what the helper was told? Resolve differences in the interview before assuming acceptance.
• Notice: what does the employment contract say about ending employment? Keep this question separate from the agency's replacement process.
• Money: is a proposed advance explained, and is repayment permitted? The fee/loan worksheet separates it from the agency charge.
• Nationality and route: which additional requirements apply to this helper, and who provides the current documents?
• Unanswered points: what must be clarified before you agree, and where will the written reply be retained?

Employment notice and agency remedies are different questions

MOM's contracts guidance describes either party ending employment with contractual notice or salary in lieu; mutual agreement can waive notice. Read the actual clause rather than copying a notice period from another household's arrangement. The agency agreement addresses its own replacement and refund obligations.

Hypothetical example, not an Apex placement record: an employer highlights a replacement paragraph and thinks it answers every question about stopping work. On a second sheet, she writes “employment notice”; on a third, “agency replacement request”. She asks which clause answers each question and keeps both written replies. This identifies the gap without inventing a right to stop work immediately or a promise of a free replacement.

Use the published cost and replacement information and hiring-process section for those separate decisions. This guide does not replace the actual agreement or calculate a refund.

Check nationality-specific documents alongside the general papers

For Filipino hiring, use the MWO verification route guide, not a generic checklist alone. MWO's guidance prohibits worker placement fees and deductions recovering recruitment costs. A loan clause is not a way around that rule.

For Indonesian hiring, begin with the Indonesian hiring guide and ask which current source-country paperwork applies. A document used for one nationality or route should not be treated as a complete pack for another. Use the Filipino hiring page when that is the relevant route.

Keep a usable set of records

After the questions are resolved, retain the signed versions and the schedules they refer to. Keep the quotation, receipts and written explanations together so an item can be traced without relying on memory. If a later message changes a term, ask how the change is reflected in the relevant agreement and confirm which version applies.

Do not upload helper identity documents or private family information to a public guide or shared comparison sheet. To plan the wider sequence, return to the hiring process. To ask Apex a paperwork question, identify the agreement and clause first; avoid sending unrelated private records just to explain what is unclear.