Supporting Employers with Information and Advice
When a Migrant Domestic Workers (MDW) pregnancy is discovered or announced many employers lack sufficient and accurate information to guide them on how to support their pregnant MDW, while ensuring the best outcomes for their own family.
A lot of MDW employers juggle numerous roles and daily responsibilities at work and home, caring for children and elderly parents. This is likely why many hire a MDW.
Finding out that their MDW is pregnant can create a unique set of challenges for an employer.
Often the employer feels confused, shocked and betrayed. Their mind may race with multiple questions and concerns: She came here to work, why did she get pregnant? My husband and I work full time – can she cope with caring for my young children when she is pregnant? How will we manage when she is on maternity leave?
These are all very real concerns that without careful thought and planning can result in a MDW being unlawfully terminated, pressured to leave or resign – actions that ultimately caused the MDW and her child to fall into a crisis.
Created in partnership with Helpwise, our practical step-by-step guide book seeks to support employers through their emotions and onto a path that gives them, their worker, and their household the solutions they need.
We are also working to influence systemic and policy change to overcome some of the key challenges faced by employers when their MDW is pregnant. Like the legal requirement to live-in and a lack of affordable solutions for temporary cover during maternity leave, particularly for those with young children and/or elderly parents who are particularly reliant on their MDWs.