If you want to work as a domestic helper in Europe, then Cyprus may be the place for you. Just a couple of years ago, Cyprus may not be the top destination for overseas work, mainly because it had several issues, some of them political in nature, that it was dealing with. But it has since progressed, and with its addition to the European Union, the island nation saw an influx of economic growth.
This article showcases the life of an OFW domestic helper in Cyprus. She shared her experiences through her YouTube channel which will be featured below, and she primarily talks about how much you can earn working in the nation.
Disclaimer: The information posted here is based on the personal experiences shared by the OFW in the video below. Please let this post serve as a guide only. If you have specific questions, you may ask the OFW by commenting on their video on their accounts.
Salary of a Domestic Helper in Cyprus
There’s a lot to know before deciding to work in Cyprus. You need to be fully prepared, and one way to do so is by researching online and knowing what others have to say about living and working in the country.
One such resource is the following YouTube video from the ETHM CHANNEL. This article, in fact, discusses the content presented in the video, along with other insights to complement the ideas. If you want to know more, click on the link below:
A lot of Filipinos long to work in Europe. In this video, the OFW focuses on how much a domestic helper can earn working in Cyprus.
She said that the salary depends on several factors, and she suspects that different nationalities enjoy different salaries.
She mentioned that according to the latest contract for OFW domestic helpers, they are earning 400 euros per month. That is equivalent to 23,600 Philippine Pesos per month.
While this is not the highest of salaries, this is alright when spent in the Philippines, but this may not be enough in Cyprus, given the high cost of living in the country.
Cost of Living in Cyprus
Your cost of living as a domestic helper in Cyprus largely depends on whether you stay in or stay out of your employer’s house. Obviously, by staying in you can save a lot of money.
When you stay out, you have to pay for a lot. They want to stay out of their employers. That’s because for some of them, this allows them to do part time jobs, like extra cleaning, babysitting, etc.
While this is a good setup, being able to get a sideline job for extra income, not living in means you have to take care of the following expenses on your own:
- Flat – you have to stay somewhere, and you’ll have to pay rent for the flat you are living in.
- Bills – these include your electricity bill, water bill, phone bill, etc.
- Everyday expenses – these include transportation expenses, food, etc.
Indeed, the main advantage of living in your employer’s house as a domestic helper is that you don’t have to deal with the above mentioned expenses.
Different Kinds of Employers
However, living in is only worthwhile if your employer is not abusive, in the sense that they respect the limits of your job and will not ask you to do so many things basically.
She even mentioned that there are some employers that use up all of your time. As long as they see that you are in the house, they will ask you to do chores and not give you some time to rest.
In fact, the only rest time you have is when it is time for you to sleep already.
On the other hand, there are employers who give you time to rest. If it is your rest time, they will respect that, and you will have some time for yourself to recuperate after a hard day’s work.
As a domestic helper, you can talk to your employees and remind them of your work hours, and that you have some time off. This does require you to know how to fight for your rights and have that assertive personality that many do not really have.
It is really important that you have an agreement with your employer that you only work 8 hours per day.
The YouTuber mentioned that she, along with her siblings who also work in Cyprus, is lucky that they have employers who are really kind and respect their time and the limitations of their work as domestic helpers.
Staying Full Time in Cyprus
The YouTuber in the video already has a family in Cyprus. As such, she is a permanent resident in the country, and one advantage of that is that she can already apply to any kind of job, and you can do that as long as you know how to speak English.
In fact, one of the main advantages of working in Cyprus is that they don’t really look at your educational status. What your potential employers mostly look at is how devoted you are at doing the job.
In many jobs, they don’t really ask for your educational certificates or related papers. You just have to show them that you are hardworking and that is enough.
For example, if you know how to speak English, then you can work at certain jobs like being a cashier. Learning Greek is also quite useful, but you only need a little bit of their main language, and that’s enough to go about your day and mingle with the locals.
She mentioned that in the Philippines, there is a premium on having an educational degree and having a pleasing personality when looking for a job. In Cyprus, you don’t need to have any of the two, and just show the employers that you are an asset to their company because you are willing to put in the work.
Getting Married to a Local
In the video, it was mentioned that if you get married to a local, or to a European in general, your salary increases now to around 800 euros per month. That is equivalent to around 47,000 Philippine pesos depending on the exchange rate.
Most OFWs send a huge chunk of their income back to the Philippines. In this case, you can’t send all 47,000 pesos back to your home town since even if your salary is relatively high, the cost of living in the country is also high.
You can send some of the money back home, but you have to leave some for yourself as well in order to survive. And if you have a family, you have to provide for their needs, as well as the bills that you have to pay that are mentioned above.
She said that given the salary and the deductions and all the expenses, plus sending some money back home in the Philippines, she’s really just earning enough to get by working as a domestic helper in Cyprus.
If you are hardworking, and have the energy, the way around this financial challenge is to have more than one job. In fact, in the case of our YouTuber, she mentioned that she was doing double jobs back when she was younger. Now that she’s a little older, she says she can only do one job at a time.
Applying in Cyprus
She said that one of the best ways to apply for work in Cyprus is through an agency. She mentioned that Cyprus is a really small country; so much so that there are less than a million people in it.
In particular, according to the 2019 census, there are around 876,000 people in Cyprus. Having said that, there are so many expats working there. There is a huge Filipino expat population in the country, and there are many of them who have married nationals as well.
Also, ever since Cyprus became a member of the European Union, that really opened doors to progress for the country. As a consequence, you can see lots of other European nationalities living or visiting this island nation. She mentioned Romanians, Bulgarians and other Europeans that can freely enter the nation.
Working as a Part-time Domestic Helper
Our YouTuber mentioned that some OFW domestic helpers that got married to local residents decided to just work part time. What that implies is that they get paid by the hour, and not monthly.
The hourly rate for part time domestic helpers, working house to house, is 5 Euros per hour. If you can work 8 hours a day, then that’s really high.
Indeed, the best way to become successful working as a OFW abroad is to work hard. You can only achieve that 8-hour day part time work if you persevere. That’s why you should stay healthy.
Working in Cyprus
There are various types of jobs available for work in Cyprus. She points out the following advantages of working in this European country:
- It is an open country, an open-minded society.
- Crime rate is very low – it is one of the safest countries in the world, and there is practically no maltreatment of employees according to her.
Having said the last entry above, she did mention that ever since 1998 when she first arrived in Cyprus, she has not heard of any physical abuse or maltreatment. What she hears of are a few instances of employers giving their domestic helpers loads of work, or not paying overtime pay, or not giving bonuses.
There you have it. Cyprus is a great place to work in, and if you are interested, be sure that you learn more about the country first. It is probably a good idea to enjoy the services of a reputable employment agency as well.