What a Maid Can and Cannot Do in Singapore: The MOM Rules on Job Scope and Deployment (2026)

TL;DR: A Work Permit migrant domestic worker (MDW) may only perform domestic chores at the single residential address printed on her Work Permit, and only for the employer who holds that permit. Sending her to work at a relative's home, in your business, or lending her to friends is illegal deployment. MOM can impose a financial penalty of up to S$10,000 and bar you from employing a helper in future.

This is one of the most confusing areas of employing a helper in Singapore, and getting it wrong is expensive. Below we set out what your helper can and cannot do, answer the two questions we hear most (the relative's house and the family business), and show the compliant routes when you need help at more than one place.

What a maid can do

Your helper is hired to run your household. Within the home registered on her Work Permit, she may carry out the full range of domestic duties, including:

• General housework: cleaning, laundry, ironing, tidying and basic home upkeep.
• Cooking and meal preparation for the household.
• Childcare: looking after your children, including school runs and supervision.
• Eldercare and care for family members within the home, such as a frail parent or a person recovering from illness. If caregiving is the main reason you are hiring, our eldercare helper placement matches you with helpers experienced in elder support.
• Marketing and household errands: buying groceries, paying bills, collecting items and similar tasks done on behalf of your household.
• Caring for household pets, including walking the dog.
• Cleaning windows, within the safety rules: she may clean the outside of windows above ground level only if window grilles are installed and locked throughout, and you or another adult are physically present to supervise. You and she must sign a safety agreement setting this out before she starts work (MOM contracts and safety agreement).

The common thread is simple: the work is domestic in nature, it is for your household, and it is centred on the home stated on her Work Permit. As long as you stay inside that boundary and meet your duties on rest days, accommodation and the levy, you are compliant. For a refresher on those duties see our guides to rest days and helper accommodation.

What a maid cannot do

The Ministry of Manpower is strict about where and for whom an MDW works. Her Work Permit is tied to one employer and one address. She cannot:

• Work at any other address, including a relative's home, a second property you own, or a holiday apartment. The permit names one residential address only.
• Work in your business: a shop, hawker stall, office, salon, clinic, warehouse, café or any commercial premises. Domestic work is the only permitted scope.
• Be lent or hired out to friends, neighbours or family. You cannot pass your helper to someone else to use, paid or unpaid, even for a short period.
• Do any commercial or illegal work, including helping with a home-based business that goes beyond your household's own needs.
• Be deployed by anyone other than the permit holder. Only the employer named on the permit may direct her work.

The Ministry sets this out in its employer rules: an MDW can only perform household chores and cannot be deployed for any non-domestic work or at premises other than the residential address stated on the permit. See MOM on employment rules for the official wording.

Unsure whether your household needs fit MOM's rules? Upwill (MOM EA Licence 24C2628) scopes the duties with you before any placement, so the arrangement is compliant from day one. Chat with us on WhatsApp or see our maid placement service.

Can my maid work at my parents' or a relative's house?

This is the question we field most often, usually from adult children caring for ageing parents. The answer, as of 2026, is a qualified one. There is an exception specifically for caregiving: MOM permits your helper to look after your own child or parent at a relative's house, provided you (1) get her written agreement, (2) ensure she does not do the full load of housework in both households, (3) meet MOM's accommodation requirements if she stays overnight, and (4) notify MOM before the arrangement starts, using MOM's online notification at mom.gov.sg/fdw-work-arrangement. You stay responsible for her accommodation, food and medical treatment throughout (MOM FAQ). Outside that caregiving exception, deploying her to do general chores at another residence is illegal deployment, and it does not matter that the household is family or that it is only a few hours a week.

There are two compliant routes when a second household needs help:

1. The other household applies for their own helper. If your parents are eligible employers (the employer must be at least 21 years old, as of 2026), they can hire and hold a Work Permit in their own name. This is the cleanest solution for genuine, ongoing care at a separate address.
2. Use a Household Services Scheme (HSS) company for the second home. Under the HSS, approved companies employ workers to provide part-time domestic services such as home cleaning, grocery shopping and pet-sitting, and some also offer basic elder-minding. MOM confirmed in 2026 that households, including those that already employ a helper, can engage HSS services, with the HSS company as the legal employer (MOM, 2026). MOM states it is an offence for a foreign domestic worker to take up part-time work, with or without her employer's consent, so engaging another employer's helper for part-time household work is not a legal route; only an HSS company dispatching its own worker is compliant. See MOM on the Household Services Scheme and MOM on part-time household work. We explain both in plain English in our guide to a part-time helper in Singapore.

What you cannot do is share one full-time helper across two homes on a single permit. If your situation spans more than one address, talk to us first and we will map out the legal options.

Can my maid help in my business or hawker stall?

No. A domestic helper's Work Permit covers household work only. MOM says she cannot work for your business "even if she is willing to or is compensated with extra allowance" (MOM). She cannot serve customers, cook in your stall, mind the till, stock shelves, clean your shop or office, or do any task that supports a business, even if the business is run from home and even if she is willing. The Ministry treats this as illegal deployment regardless of whether you pay her extra.

The reasoning is straightforward. A domestic worker is approved, levied and insured for domestic work in a home. Business work falls under entirely different work pass categories with their own quotas, levies and rules. Using a helper to staff a business undercuts those rules, and MOM enforces it. If your business needs staff, hire a worker on the correct pass; if your home needs a helper, that is what the Work Permit is for. Our maid placement service handles the household side correctly from day one.

Penalties for illegal deployment

Illegal deployment is not a grey-area technicality that MOM overlooks. As of 2026, an employer who deploys a helper for non-domestic work, or at an address other than the one on her permit, faces:

• A financial penalty of up to S$10,000 for illegal deployment (MOM employment rules).
• A ban from hiring. MOM can debar employers for illegal employment or deployment, and the length of the ban depends on how serious the offence is. A debarred employer cannot apply for or renew a helper's Work Permit (MOM debarment).
• Heavier penalties for employing without a valid permit. MOM lists a fine of S$5,000 to S$30,000, up to 1 year in jail, or both, for employing a worker without a valid Work Permit (MOM employment rules).
• Forfeiture of the S$5,000 security bond, which MOM can forfeit when Work Permit conditions are breached (MOM security bond).

Your helper is exposed too: MOM's employer guide says a helper who works for anyone other than her employer commits an offence under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, whether or not it is on her rest day (MOM employer guide). For the official position on employer obligations and conditions, see MOM. The penalties almost always dwarf whatever you saved by stretching one helper across two jobs.

Grey areas done right

Most honest confusion lives in everyday situations, so here is how to stay on the right side of the line.

A family gathering at your home

If you host Chinese New Year, a birthday or a dinner at the residence on her permit, your helper can cook and clean for that event. It is still domestic work at the correct address. That is fine.

The same event at a relative's home

Bring her to your parents' house to cook and serve for the same gathering, and you have crossed into work at another address. Even one afternoon counts. If you need help there, the host should arrange their own helper or book an HSS company for the day. Remember the caregiving exception covers looking after your child or parent, not cooking and serving for a party.

Helping a relative who lives with you

If your elderly parent lives in your home, caring for them is squarely within scope; they are part of your household at the registered address. The problem only arises when the care happens at a different address.

Accompanying the family on an outing or short trip

Helping with the children at a park, a restaurant or on a local family day out is incidental to her domestic role and is generally fine. The test is whether she is doing your household's domestic tasks, not working for someone else or at fixed commercial premises. When in doubt, ask us or check MOM before you assume.

Moving house

If your household moves, you must update your new residential address with MOM within 2 weeks, and her workplace address updates automatically from it (MOM). Until then, the old address is the one on record.

Frequently asked questions

Can my helper work at my second home on weekends?

No. Only the residential address on her Work Permit is permitted. A second property you own is still a different address, so deploying her there is illegal. Apply for a separate helper or engage a Household Services Scheme (HSS) company for that home.

Can I lend my maid to my sister for a month while she is between helpers?

No. You cannot lend or hire out your helper to anyone, including family, paid or unpaid. Your sister should arrange her own helper or engage a Household Services Scheme (HSS) company. If she engages your helper, she commits an offence too.

Can my helper work in my home-based business?

No. Domestic work for your household is in scope, but tasks that support a business (packing orders, baking for sale, serving customers) are not, even from your own home. That is non-domestic work and counts as illegal deployment.

Can my helper help at my hawker stall during a busy period?

No, not even occasionally. A Work Permit for a domestic helper does not cover commercial work of any kind. Staff the stall with workers on the correct pass instead.

What happens if MOM finds out my helper is working elsewhere?

You can face a financial penalty of up to S$10,000 and be barred from employing a helper in future. Your helper also commits an offence if she works for anyone else. Always confirm scope with MOM before deploying her in any new way.

My parents are elderly and need care. What is the legal way to get help at their place?

If they are eligible employers (at least 21 years old, as of 2026), they can hire their own helper and hold the permit in their name. Alternatively a Household Services Scheme (HSS) company can clean and provide basic elder-minding at their home. If you only need your own helper to look after them there while you work, use MOM's caregiving exception and notify MOM first. Our eldercare helper service can advise on the best fit.

Does my helper need to live at the address on her permit?

She works at the residential address declared to MOM, and you must provide acceptable accommodation for her and keep MOM updated on the address. See our explainer on a live-out helper in Singapore for why.

Can I change the address on my helper's Work Permit if we move house?

Yes. MOM requires you to update your new residential address within 2 weeks of the move, and her workplace address is updated automatically from it. MOM posts you an acknowledgement of her workplace address within 2 weeks.

Can my helper clean the outside of my windows?

Only if window grilles are installed and locked throughout the cleaning, and you or another adult are physically present to supervise. Without grilles, she must not clean window exteriors above ground level at all, even with supervision. The rules are set out in the safety agreement you both sign before she starts work.

Can my helper look after my child at my parents' home while I work?

Yes, under MOM's caregiving exception, if she agrees in writing, she does not carry the full housework of both homes, any overnight stay meets MOM's accommodation rules, and you notify MOM before the arrangement starts.

Need help at more than one address?

If your family genuinely needs support across two homes, or you are caring for parents at a separate address, there is almost always a compliant way to do it. Upwill is a MOM-licensed agency (EA Licence 24C2628) placing experienced Indonesian, Filipino and Myanmar helpers, and we will steer you to the legal option rather than the risky shortcut. Explore our maid placement and eldercare helper services, review the FDW levy and hiring process, or contact us on 8043 9823 to talk through your situation.