Villa Staff in Bali

Food allowance

In addition to salary some employers provide a food allowance, or will provide basic food items such as rice, sugar, tea, coffee and oil and supplement it with the food allowance. Some employers also choose to simply work this into the salary. Some employees make a distinction between “food allowance” and salary so in the case of termination the severance pay would be less as they would not have to include the food allowance.

Transportation

Transportation expenses for live out staff may be given in addition to the salary. The average given depends on distance to the workplace.

Medical

Reimbursements for doctors or medicine are strictly up to you. It has been the general practice amongst most expatriate employers to reimburse some medical expenses for the staff member but not necessarily for his/her family members. A general guideline is a cap of the equivalent of 1 month’s salary over a one year period.

Trial period

If you choose to do so, let the potential employee know that he or she would initially work for a trial period of time, normally two to three months, after which both parties may decide if the arrangement is working out.

Pay periods

Staff are usually paid every two weeks. But once a month is accepted as well. Make sure arrangements are agreed upon and understood by both parties.

Overtime

If an employee works past normal hours, for example during a dinner party, paying overtime wages would be customary. This also counts for the Indonesian public holidays. If a staff chooses to work during a public holiday, he or she should be compensated for this.

Vacation

Household staff are entitled to a 14 day vacation period each year. Staff normally want to take this vacation over the Lebaran holiday period (see below).

Living arrangements

Decide which staff, if any, will live in or out. If you have small children and decide to employ a fulltime nanny it might be the best solution to provide a separate room for staff.

Health checks

Uniforms

Some employers choose to provide either a uniform or a work clothing allowance for employees, with perhaps the exception of night guards. It is recommended that uniforms be provided only after the trial period.

Lebaran/THR Bonus

It is a government regulation that all employers give a one month’s salary bonus to household staff after one year’s employment. This bonus is only one month – no matter if the person has been working for 1 year or 10 years. This bonus is referred to as THR (tunjuangan hari raya). If your staff has been working for less than 12 months the bonus is pro-rated. This bonus is given to staff, at the latest, 2 weeks before Lebaran/Idul Fitri to be used for expenses relating to the holiday. The recommended time off for Idul Fitri is from 2 days to 2 weeks, depending on the distance needed to travel.

Lebaran (Idul Fitri) is the celebration at the end of the holy month of Ramadhan for those of the Muslim faith. This is a very special time for Indonesians where it is the custom to give gifts like money and clothing. Although it is called a bonus it is not only customary but, by law, all employees are entitled by law to receive the equivalent of a full month’s salary as a yearly bonus at this time. The amount should be paid on the salary (not allowances) by the employer. If your company employs your household staff, they should pay the THR.

Severance Pay

It is standard practice to provide the equivalent of one month’s salary for each full year of service to an employee when you leave the country and no longer require his or her services or in the event of termination, regardless of the reason for termination.