Helper Salary Increment 2026: How Much to Raise Her Pay
Somewhere in the second year, the question arrives. It usually comes politely, often on a Sunday evening, sometimes with a screenshot of a friend's payslip attached, and it is almost always the same question: can I have a raise?
Most employers have no idea what to say. There is no HR department to check with, no salary band to point at, and no colleague who has already solved this. So the conversation gets postponed until the renewal letter arrives, or it ends with a number plucked out of the air that neither of you can quite justify six months later.
The good news is that this is a well-trodden path and the numbers are not mysterious. What follows is what a fair increment looks like in 2026, the four ways you can structure one, what MOM does and does not require you to report, and how to write it down so nobody is guessing afterwards.
At a glance: helper salary increments in 2026 • No law sets a helper's increment. MOM does not fix MDW salaries, but its salary guidelines say employers should consider raising her salary periodically and should consider a contract gratuity. • Typical practice: $30–$100 more per month, or roughly 5–10% of base pay, usually given at renewal rather than mid-contract. • An increase needs no MOM notification. A reduction needs her written consent first, and must be updated on FDW eService. • What you pay must never fall below the salary you declared to MOM. That declared figure is the reference if a dispute arises. • The levy does not move when her salary moves: $300 a month for a first helper, $450 for a second, $60 on concession. • $50 a month is $600 a year. Replacing a helper costs $3,000–$5,000, which usually settles the question by itself.
Why this conversation matters more than the number
A raise that is handled badly does damage that outlasts the number itself. In our experience the helper who resigns is rarely the one who was paid the least; she is the one who asked, waited three months, and never got an answer. By the time she starts looking, the pay gap has become a trust gap, and no increment fixes that.
The cost is easy to put in the ledger. Replacing a helper costs $3,000 to $5,000, plus one to three months in which a new person learns your house, your children's routines and your standards. Against $600 to $1,200 a year for a fair increment, the arithmetic is not close. And there is a quieter cost: a household where money is never discussed openly tends to negotiate it in WhatsApp messages at eleven at night instead.
So the aim is not to find the lowest number she will accept. It is to have the conversation once, in a calm week, with a number you can defend and a date you will honour.
What the law actually says about a raise
Singapore does not set a minimum wage for migrant domestic workers, and there is no statutory annual increment. Her salary is whatever the two of you agreed in her employment contract, and nothing in the Employment Act or the EFMA compels you to raise it while that contract runs.
What MOM does say is more interesting than a rule. Its guidance on paying an FDW's salary tells employers to consider raising the salary periodically as a reward for good performance and loyalty in service, and to consider giving a contract gratuity that is paid out when she completes her contract. In other words, the ministry's position is not neutral. The expectation is that a helper who stays and performs should see her pay move.
There are only two hard lines around that discretion. The first is the declared salary: you must pay her no less than what you declared to MOM when the Work Permit was applied for or renewed, and that declared figure becomes the official reference point if she ever disputes what she was owed. The second is timing: salary must be paid every month, no later than seven days after the end of the salary period, and each salary period cannot stretch beyond a month. If you pay in cash, both of you sign each payment record. Since January 2019, you also cannot hold her salary, her savings, her bank book or her bank card, even if she asks you to keep them safe.
What a fair number looks like in 2026
Start with the market, not with your feelings about the conversation. Base pay in 2026 sits at roughly $600–$850 a month for Filipino helpers, $500–$700 for Indonesian, $450–$600 for Myanmar and $500–$650 for Indian or Sri Lankan helpers, with the top of each band going to people with several years of experience and a skill set that matches the household. If you are hiring today, our salary guide by nationality has the current bands; if you hired two years ago, there is a good chance your helper is still being paid at an older rate.
Then look at what she actually does now. A helper who has taken on cooking Singapore dishes, infant care, or the daily care of an elderly parent has quietly taken on duties worth $50–$150 more a month in the market. When her job has grown, the increment is not a reward for loyalty — it is a re-price, and it is fairer to call it that in the conversation.
Where she stands | Typical monthly raise | Why it lands there |
Two or more years, runs the house without reminders | +$60 to +$100 | She has replaced two years of training and knows your children's routines better than a newcomer will in six months |
Steady and reliable, a few gaps | +$40 to +$60 | Keeps her pay moving with the market and removes the main reason good helpers start looking |
Adequate, needs regular reminders | +$20 to +$40 | Acknowledges progress without paying a plateau rate |
Under 12 months with you | $0 to +$20, or hold | Too early to judge fairly. Set a six-month review date and say so plainly |
Ongoing performance problems | No raise yet | Money does not fix a mismatch. Deal with the issue first, then revisit pay |
Here is the part that makes the decision easier. A $50 monthly increment costs $600 a year. Replacing a helper who leaves costs $3,000–$5,000 in agency fees and setup, plus the one to three months in which a new person learns your house, your children and your standards. Even taking the low end, one avoided replacement pays for five years of increments. The maths rarely supports holding the line over $40 a month.
Milestone | Monthly salary | Increase | Extra cost per year |
Today | $650 | — | — |
End of year 2 (first renewal) | $700 | +$50 (7.7%) | $600 |
End of year 4 (second renewal) | $750 | +$50 (7.1%) | $1,200 cumulative |
Same point, after a replacement | — | — | $3,000–$5,000 once, plus settling in |
Four ways to give more, and which one fits
Raises come in four shapes, and most of the arguments that follow a raise come from mixing them up. A base salary increase is permanent, compounding through every future renewal and every future expectation. A one-off bonus is a moment of generosity that leaves her monthly pay untouched. A contract gratuity is a sum agreed now and paid when she completes her contract. A duty or skill allowance sits in between: more money each month, but visibly tied to a task or a skill rather than baked into her base.
Option | What it costs you | Effect on her future pay | Best used when |
Raise the base salary | Permanent, every month | Sets a new floor; all later increases build on it | She performs well and you want her to stay for years |
One-off bonus or ang bao | A single payment | None. Her base stays where it is | A good year, plus tight cash flow, or thanks that should not compound |
Contract gratuity | A sum agreed in advance | None monthly; paid at contract completion | You want a retention hook tied to finishing the contract, which MOM explicitly encourages |
Duty or skill allowance | +$50 to +$150 a month, revisitable | Fixed, separable from her base | Her duties grew, for example cooking, eldercare or infant care |
The distinction matters more than it sounds. A base raise is permanent in practice even if it was meant as a one-time gesture, because nobody lowers a salary without ending the relationship. A bonus is a moment. So if you can only afford one of them, decide which message you want to send: that her steady work is now worth more, or that this particular year was appreciated.
What you have to report to MOM, and what you cannot do
Here is the piece most employers get backwards, understandably. Increasing a helper's salary needs no notification to MOM at all. Reducing it does, and the sequence is fixed: her written consent first, then an update on FDW eService before the change takes effect. MOM does encourage employers to keep a record of increases, precisely so that it has something to verify if a dispute surfaces later, but encouragement is not a requirement.
If you... | The rule | What to do in practice |
Raise her salary | No notification to MOM required | Sign a one-page letter stating the old and new amount, plus the effective date |
Lower her salary | Written consent first, then notify MOM | Update FDW eService before the change, and keep the signed consent |
Ask her to work a rest day | One day's salary on top of her basic pay | Pay it separately. It is not part of her monthly salary |
Deduct for a maid loan | Only under the written loan agreement and MOM's caps | Keep the agreement and a running record of deductions |
Hold her money or bank card | Not allowed since 1 January 2019 | Help her open her own account if she wants one |
Pay her in cash | Both parties sign each payment record | Keep records you can produce if MOM or she asks |
One detail worth knowing before you renew: the monthly salary field on the Work Permit application and renewal form means her basic pay plus any fixed monthly allowances, not what you sometimes pay her for working a rest day or for a one-off bonus. If her salary has moved during the two years, the renewal form should reflect the new figure. A mismatch is not the end of the world on the way up, but it is the kind of gap that makes a dispute harder to resolve in your favour. If you are still repaying a maid loan, keep those deductions separate from her monthly salary in your own records as well.
Time it with the renewal window, not with the argument
MOM sends the renewal letter about eight weeks before the Work Permit expires, the renewal itself costs $35, and the renewed permit usually runs up to two years. That letter is the natural home for a salary decision, and the calmest moment to have the conversation is three to four months before it arrives, when there is still room to think and budget instead of deciding in a hurry.
If she raises it mid-contract and you can afford to say yes, there is nothing stopping you from increasing her pay before renewal. Write it down, state the effective date, and let her know whether that counts as her renewal increment or whether there will be another adjustment when the permit is renewed. If you cannot do it now, give her a date rather than a mood. A review promised for a specific month, and honoured, defuses far more tension than a vague we will see how things go, and it costs nothing to give.
Put it in writing, in six lines
You do not need a lawyer or a long contract for this. What you need is a document that both of you signed, that states the old number, the new number, the date it starts and what happens next. Keep one copy, give her one, and photograph both.
Dear Maria, From 1 November 2026, your monthly salary will be $700, up from $650. Your duties, rest days and days off remain as they are. We will review your salary again at your next Work Permit renewal in 2028. Thank you for the way you have looked after the children this year. Employer: ____________ Date: ____________ Helper: ______________ Date: ____________
This is dull paperwork with a real payoff. If she leaves in a year and a salary dispute lands in MOM's hands, the declared salary and a signed letter settle the question in minutes. If she stays, the letter is the thing she shows a friend who asks whether her employer is fair. Both outcomes are worth six lines.
When a raise is the wrong answer
If the real problem is performance, money will not fix it, and paying more for the same output quietly tells your household that standards do not matter. Deal with the performance question first, through a proper review conversation with specific examples and a written follow-up, and put the salary decision on a date. Our notes on managing helper performance cover how to run that conversation without turning it into an accusation.
The harder case is the helper who is genuinely good but asking for more than you can afford. Do not invent a story about market rates and do not go silent. Say the number you can do, explain the constraint honestly, and put something else on the table: an extra rest day, a course she has been eyeing, a bonus at the end of the year. Our notes on showing appreciation offer a few options that cost less than a raise and land just as well. What you should avoid is agreeing to a number you will resent by the third month. A resentful employer and a suspicious helper is a worse outcome than an honest no with a clear date attached.
Common mistakes to avoid
Agreeing to a number in the moment and writing nothing down. The raise exists only in her memory and yours, and a year later the two memories disagree.
Matching a friend's payslip instead of her own band. A screenshot of another household's pay is the most common trigger for a raise request and the least useful benchmark, because you cannot see that helper's duties, experience or nationality band.
Lifting the base salary to reward one good year. Base pay is permanent and compounding; a bonus or a gratuity says the same thank you without resetting every future increment.
Threatening a pay cut to fix performance. A reduction needs her written consent and a MOM update before it takes effect, and in practice it ends the working relationship while she quietly interviews elsewhere.
Letting the declared salary drift behind what you actually pay. The figure on the renewal form should reflect her current basic pay plus fixed allowances, or your own records stop matching the one MOM holds.
Frequently asked questions
Is a salary increment compulsory for domestic helpers in Singapore?
No. There is no minimum wage for migrant domestic workers and no statutory annual increment. Her pay is what her employment contract says it is. What MOM does say is that employers should consider raising the salary periodically as a reward for performance and loyalty, and should consider a contract gratuity. The one hard rule is the floor: you cannot pay less than the salary you declared to MOM.
Do I need to inform MOM when I increase my helper's salary?
Not for an increase. MOM only asks to be told when a salary goes down, and only after she has consented in writing. That said, MOM encourages employers to keep a record of increases so it has something to verify if a dispute arises, and updating the declared salary at renewal keeps your records clean. The notification requirement is one-way.
How much should I raise my helper's salary each year?
Most Singapore households settle on $30–$100 more per month, or roughly 5–10% of base pay, given at renewal rather than annually. Where in that range you land depends on her band, your household's needs and how long she has been with you. A helper two years in who runs the home without reminders sits at the top of that range; a helper eight months in is usually better served by a review date than an increment.
Can I reduce her salary if her performance drops?
It is legally possible but rarely wise. A reduction needs her written consent, must be reported to MOM through FDW eService, and cannot take her below the salary declared on her Work Permit. Practically, cutting pay ends most relationships, and a helper who stays after a pay cut is usually looking for another employer. A performance plan with a date, or an honest transfer conversation, resolves the same problem with less damage.
Should I give a 13th-month bonus or a monthly raise?
They do different jobs, so many families do both in modest amounts: a $40–$50 monthly increment at renewal, plus a year-end or festive bonus. The raise protects retention all year; the bonus expresses thanks for a particular year without permanently lifting her base. If you have to choose, choose the raise for a helper you want to keep, and the bonus for a year that was unusually demanding. Our helper bonus guide covers the seasonal side in detail.
My helper asked for $200 more a month. What should I do?
Check where she sits against her band first, because $200 is often a jump of 30% or more and lands well above market for the role. If she is underpaid for what she now does, pay what is fair and say why. If she is asking beyond the market, do not simply refuse: offer a structure, such as $80 now, another $50 when she completes a relevant course, and a review at renewal. What you agree must end up in writing, with a date on it, or the same request returns in three months.
The bottom line
There is no law telling you what to pay, which means the answer is yours to choose and yours to justify. Pick a number that sits inside her band and reflects what she now does, time it to the renewal window rather than to a tense evening, decide whether the increase belongs in her base or in a bonus, and put the outcome on paper with a date attached.
Do that and the raise stops being a negotiation you dread and becomes one line in a document you both signed. She knows where she stands, you know what it costs, and the next renewal starts from a number instead of a mood.
If you are working through a renewal this quarter and want a second opinion on the numbers before you sit down with her, that is a conversation we are happy to have.
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