There's a moment every first-time employer experiences, usually sometime in the first week. You're at work, your helper is at home with your child or your elderly parent, and a quiet thought surfaces: do I actually know this person?
It's not paranoia. It's a completely reasonable thing to feel when someone you've known for less than a month has full access to your home, your family, and your front door keys. The good news is that this feeling doesn't have to stay vague and uncomfortable. There are concrete things you can do before she arrives and in the early weeks to establish genuine trust rather than just hoping for the best.
How do you really vet someone beyond her resume and agency bio?
A biodata sheet tells you dates, nationalities, and job titles. It doesn't tell you much about character. The real vetting happens in the interview, and most employers don't use it well enough.
Start by verifying her work history through MOM's official eService before you even get to the interview. Cross-check the dates she's listed against what MOM has on record. If there are discrepancies, that's your first question.
Then, when you interview her, ask open-ended questions that can't be answered with yes or no. "Walk me through a typical day in your last job." "Tell me about a time something went wrong and how you handled it." "What did your previous employer ask you to do that you found difficult?" These questions don't have right answers, but the way she answers them tells you a great deal about her self-awareness, her honesty, and how she handles pressure.
Contact previous employers if you can. MOM's eService shows whether a former employer left contact details as a reference. If they did, call. A five-minute conversation with someone who's actually lived with her is worth more than any interview.
What questions reveal red flags in an interview?
Watch for deflection. If every question about a previous employer gets a vague, short answer and a quick subject change, something is being avoided. If she says every previous job was perfect and every employer was wonderful with zero friction, that's not reassuring, that's a performance.
Ask her directly: "Is there anything about your previous jobs that didn't go well?" A helper who can reflect honestly on a difficult situation and explain what she learned from it is showing you maturity and self-awareness. That matters more than a spotless story.
Also watch for inconsistencies between what she says in the interview and what her work history shows. If she claims she spent two years caring for an infant but MOM records show she was only at that employer for four months, that's a conversation worth having before you proceed.
Should you install cameras? Is it even allowed?
Cameras in common areas like the living room, kitchen, and hallway are generally permissible and are used by many Singapore households. They're not primarily about catching your helper doing something wrong. They're about having a record if something does go wrong, and about the gentle accountability that comes from both sides knowing the space is monitored.
What's not okay: cameras in your helper's sleeping area, in the bathroom, or in any space where she has a reasonable expectation of privacy. That's not just an ethical line, it could expose you to legal liability. If you do install cameras, tell her.
What if she mistreats my child or my parent when I'm not around?
This fear is real and understandable. The truth is that no screening process eliminates all risk. What you can do is layer your safeguards. In the early weeks, vary your schedule unpredictably if you can, come home at different times, pop back during the day without warning. Not as a trap, but as a way to get an accurate picture of the household when you're not there to observe it.
Talk to your child regularly about how they're getting along with the helper. Even very young children communicate discomfort in their behaviour. For elderly parents, check in by phone during the day and pay attention to how your parent describes interactions with the helper.
And build the relationship actively. A helper who feels respected, fairly treated, and like a genuine part of the household is far less likely to behave badly when you're not there than one who feels surveilled, undervalued, or afraid. Trust isn't something you find in a background check. It's something you build, carefully, over time, on both sides.
Ready to find a helper you can build that trust with? Browse verified profiles on Searchmaid.com.sg and start your search today.
