Helper Pay, Levy, and Rest Days in 2026: The Numbers That Decide a Fair Deal
No law sets a helper’s salary in Singapore, but levies, rest-day rules, and market rates draw the lines. What Filipina MDWs and their employers should both know.
Around a third of the Filipino community in Singapore works in households, and the money rules of that work confuse employers and helpers alike. Singapore sets no legal minimum salary for migrant domestic workers, yet levies, rest-day law, and Philippine contract standards draw real lines around the deal. Here is the 2026 picture, for both sides of it.
Salary: market-driven, with a PH floor underneath
MOM does not fix MDW salaries; pay is negotiated and declared on the work permit. In practice, 2026 agency guides put fresh Filipina helpers at the low $600s per month, with experienced helpers commanding $850 and above. Filipino MDWs sit at the top of the market range, a function of English, experience, and demand.
On the Philippine side, the Migrant Workers Office verifies employment contracts for Filipino domestic workers and holds them to contract standards. If you are a helper signing or renewing, run the contract past MWO Singapore before you sign, and keep your copy.
Two rules inside the salary that get broken the most: pay must arrive in full and on time, and the levy is never the helper's to bear.
The levy: the employer's cost, in two tiers
Employers pay MOM a monthly levy per helper: $300 for the first MDW and $450 for the second at the normal rate. Households with a child under 16, a senior aged 67 or above, or a person with disabilities qualify for the concessionary rate of $60 per month.
Deducting any of this from the helper's salary is illegal. Note for employers doing their taxes: the old Foreign Domestic Worker Levy tax relief has lapsed and no longer applies from Year of Assessment 2025.
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Rest days: one a month is untouchable
Helpers are entitled to a weekly rest day. Employers and helpers can agree to compensate some rest days with pay, but one rest day per month is mandatory and cannot be traded for money. A rest day means a day out of the household's service, not a lighter chore list.
The full cost, for employers doing the math
A fair budget counts salary, levy, insurance, food and lodging, medical costs, and the return ticket home at contract end. Employers who budget only the salary line end up squeezing the wrong places, and the helper feels it first.
Where to get help
Helpers with salary or rest-day problems can reach MOM at 1800-339-5505 or approach MWO Singapore; both handle complaints, and MOM acts on illegal deductions. Employers should treat mom.gov.sg as the rulebook of record, since levy rates and concession criteria change by announcement.
The fair deal is not complicated: market pay in full, the levy where it belongs, the rest day honoured, and a contract both sides have read. Households that run on those four habits stop needing the hotline numbers above.
Hero image: "Toa Payoh HDB 44.JPG" by Terence Ong, CC BY 2.5, via [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Toa_Payoh_HDB_44.JPG).
