The Good Practice Guide on fair wages and conditions for domestic workers

About This Guide

This guide is a collection of good practices to help household employers make informed choices about wages and conditions for domestic workers. It contains tools to help to meet the demands of balancing home, family and work life.

Many household employers want to be fair to domestic workers but are not clear about what ‘fair’ means. Unfortunately, in many countries, laws and regulations around domestic work are vague or are non-existent. Myanmar is not an exception. In Myanmar, existing labour regulations have many gaps in reflecting the rights of domestic workers, or exclude them entirely. However, this should not stop busy households from providing fair wages and conditions to domestic workers who perform essential household duties and provide care for loved ones. There is a mutual benefit from providing fair pay, reasonable hours of work, regular rest breaks and a safe and respectful workplace (also known as ‘decent work’).

Household employers who provide decent work to domestic workers play a valuable role in the community and wider economy. They also contribute to one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals – Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Of course, offering fair work and conditions is only one half of the decent work equation. The other half is building the knowledge and skills among domestic workers to perform their job effectively and professionally. Strong cooking skills, careful hygiene practices, essential nutrition knowledge and effective communication skills combine to improve the general well-being of both domestic workers and their employers.

This guide has been developed by Three Good Spoons working in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Myanmar. It reflects input and feedback from Myanmar’s community of household employers and domestic workers. Importantly, this guide’s digital format can be shared and updated with changes to laws and regulations. It is designed to grow and develop with continued input from household employers and domestic workers.

Download PDF – English Language

Download PDF – Myanmar Language 

Video Guides

Resources for Domestic Workers

Additional Resources For Employers

Tool #1: Job Description

Tool #2: Interview Checklist

Tool #3: Work Schedule

Tool #4: Employment Contract

Tool #5: Payslip

Tool #6: Evaluation Form

Hire a Domestic Worker Application Form (English)

Hire a Domestic Worker Application Form (Burmese)

Hiring a Domestic Worker

Three Good Spoons promotes decent work for domestic workers. We are not an employment agency but we train Myanmar women on being professional domestic workers through our Licence to Stir training program. If you wish to hire a domestic worker, we may be able to match you with one of our trainees. We do not accept any fee for this service from either our trainees or prospective employers. If we help a trainee find a job, we ask their employer to agree to:

  • attend a job interview with domestic worker candidates at Three Good Spoons
  • provide a written contract in Myanmar language (we can provide a template for you).

DIGITALLY POWERED BY THE SUPPORT OF: