Her bag is in the hallway and there is suddenly someone new in the house. Most families have spent weeks thinking about how to get to this day, and almost no time thinking about the fortnight after it.
Here is what happens on handover day, what the first two weeks look like from her side as well as yours, and the mistakes we watch families make again and again.
The short answer
Handover day covers details on her thumbprint appointment, her bank card and payment details, the salary schedule and the job order. The first two weeks are mostly adjustment, on both sides. Most helpers take one to three months to settle into a household routine, not two weeks.
Handover day is a recap, not an introduction
By handover you have already interviewed her, signed the documents and paid the deposit. So we do not use the time to tell you anything new. We go through the practical things once more, out loud, with both of you in the room.
Her thumbprint appointment. The date, where it is, and what happens there. We take her.
Her bank card and payment details. Where her salary goes, and how you pay it.
The salary schedule. What is paid, on which date each month, and her rest days.
The job order. What she was hired to do, read back with both of you listening. This is the moment to say so if your expectations have shifted since the interview.
Some families would rather she was brought straight to their home than come to the branch. We can do that, and the recap is then done with the helper in office.
What to have ready before she arrives
- The payment due when you collect her. We tell you the amount in advance, so nothing is a surprise on the day.
- The documents still to be signed. A short list, and we bring them.
- Her space. Somewhere to sleep, somewhere to put her things, and the basics for her first night. Doing this the morning she arrives is how it gets forgotten.
What the first two weeks, feel like for her
She is not slow. She is new. Four things are hard for most helpers in the first fortnight:
- Working out what you actually want. Not the task. The standard you have in your head and have not described it out loud before.
- The pace. A Singapore household runs faster than the one she came from.
- How clean is clean here. The bar is higher than she is used to, and nobody told her where it sits.
- Habits that are not habits at home. Washing hands as often as we do is a real example. It is not carelessness, it is a different normal.
What employers get wrong in the first two weeks
- Expecting initiative on day three. Initiative comes after she knows your household. Until then, show her once and show her properly.
- Nagging, or raising your voice. This is the one we see most, and it is the one that does the lasting damage. It does not speed anything up. It makes her afraid to ask.
- Assuming she understood. A nod is not understanding. Most of the early friction in a new placement is language, not attitude.
The journey starts here, and we are with you for the next two years. It works when everyone cooperates, because we are all dealing with people.
Her phone
Agree a time for her to call home, and keep to it. Staying in touch with her own family is part of how she settles here, not something competing with it. The regularity matters more than the length: the same hour each day, on her own phone, with enough privacy to talk.
Her first rest day
Be specific, and repeat yourself. What time she is due back is the one thing to say twice.
- The terms, said plainly. When she goes, when she is back, how she reaches you.
- How to stay safe while she is out, and what you expect of her conduct on a rest day.
- The warnings we give her at her briefing. Moneylenders in particular. We cover it before she starts, and it lands better when you say it too.
If something is not working, message us early
You already have a WhatsApp chat with us. That is the place, and the first week is not too early. A misunderstanding in week one takes one conversation to clear. The same misunderstanding in month three has had time to become a decision.
We will not ring you on day three to ask how it is going. We would rather you reached for that chat the moment something feels off, and we would rather hear about a small thing than a resignation. If it is the helper who needs talking to, we will counsel her ourselves.
How long settling in really takes
One to three months, depending on the helper and how much experience she has behind her. Fourteen days gets you past the worst of the confusion. It does not get you a settled household, and a family who expects it to is a family that gives up in week two.
If you are still earlier in the process, our guide to how long it takes to hire a helper covers everything up to the day she arrives.
Before she arrives
If your helper arrives soon and you want the first fortnight to go well, say so to the consultant handling your case and we will walk you through it. Still choosing? Browse who is available at unistarr.com.sg/helpers, or talk it through at either branch. There is no charge for a consultation or an interview.
Bukit Timah +65 9723 4920
Katong +65 9647 4781
Mon-Fri 11am-7pm · Sat-Sun 11am-5pm
How to be the employer a helper stays with
The Unistarr Employer Handbook. What to set up in the first week, how to talk about money and days off, and the mistakes that cost families a good helper. Written from over 4,000 placements since 2015.
Free, whether or not you are a Unistarr client. One email, no spam.
Unistarr Employment Pte Ltd · MOM EA Licence 15C7448
As featured on CNA + 8world, June 2026
