Do you want to work as a domestic helper in Oman? There are many reasons why starting a career in Oman is a great decision. For one, it is a place that will never run out of jobs, at least for the foreseeable future. It is a rich country because of its natural oil and gas reserves. Moreover, it is a safe and beautiful country to live in. Finally, living in Oman means being at a jumping point which allows you to easily visit a lot of other neighboring countries.
Working in Oman definitely has its perks, and as a domestic helper, you get to have a stable job with a decent salary, and you get to enjoy some, if not all of the pros of being on Oman mentioned above. This article elaborates on what the salary is for a domestic helper in Oman, and more.
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 and Experiences of an OFW Domestic Helper in Oman
The information presented in this article is provided by an OFW YouTuber with the YouTube channel named miss V. You can watch the original video below:
If it is your first time to apply in Oman, and if you have already applied and are currently waiting for your employer, the next best thing you can do is to just be patient and wait. In the words of our YouTuber, don’t rush.
Eventually, employers will call you and others who applied for work from the Philippines. Once an employer has already called you, they will then discuss with you some very important matters related to your work. They may talk to you about the following:
- How much your salary is
- Your days off
- How many people are in the house hold
- What your specific duties are once you arrive at their home
- And more
Salary of a Domestic Helper
According to the YouTuber, the salary of a DH in Oman is 160 riyals per month. At the current exchange rate, this is equivalent to 20,250 Philippine pesos per month.
She mentioned that if your employer offers a salary that is lower than this, then you have to seriously consider not accepting the job offer. Having said that, she adds that you can always talk to your employer regarding the salary, maybe even tell them what your salary expectations are and if they can meet it.
There is also a chance that your employer is unaware of the standard 160 riyals per month salary of domestic helpers in Oman. You can politely inform them that this is the case. You can then wait if they are willing to give you this salary rate that you deserve, and make decisions from there on.
Days Off
Not all employers offer day off to their domestic helpers. It is possible that this is agreed upon by both employer and employee, and is something that has been discussed even before the domestic helper arrived in Oman.
On the other hand, there are also instances when the day off has not been discussed at all. Moreover, in some cases the initial agreement was to provide a day off to the employees, but this was not followed by the employer when the time came.
While talking to your future employer, you should also discuss this matter with them. Tell them that you should at least have one day off per month. That’s the minimum.
In addition, talk to them about your personal needs. Ask them what you can get for free.
As mentioned above, you should also talk to your employer regarding the nature of your work. What exactly is your role in the house hold? In the case of our YouTuber, when she was still in the process of discussing these matters with her employer, they talked about all these details. The employer even said that they have no problems giving her day off.
Choosing Your Employer
She talks about the time before she made final discussions with her current employer. Before this, around 10 potential employers called her. That’s why she had to choose carefully among all of them. Many of them offered salaries that are lower than 160 riyals per month, so it was easy for her to make the decision not to choose them.
Another factor she considered is the number of members in the family. She stopped talking to those who offered her low salaries yet there are many members in the house hold. When they called back, she just told them that she already chose an employer, even if this wasn’t really true.
In other words, she was very specific about what kind of employer she wanted. She wanted to be employed to a small family that offers a decent salary.
First Time Applicants
As a first time applicant, you will really go through a lot of things before you can get that job in Oman. Aside from the interviews, there are so many steps involved, so many papers you have to prepare. For example, in order to be a qualified domestic helper, you have to study at a TESDA school near you.
If you are not careful, then it is easy to get overwhelmed by all the paper work involved in becoming a successful worker abroad. That’s why it is really helpful to seek help from an agency, for a price of course.
In her case, the agency really helped direct her to what she needs to prepare, where she needs to go to next, and all the important steps. In many cases, the agency can provide you with an agent that can sometimes go with you during the processing of these relevant documents.
Some agencies even market you already even if you are not done yet with your application process. They are already letting potential employers know about you, as a prospect applicant.
Choosing the Right Agency
Once you’ve chosen the right employer for you, e.g. one that offers a good salary and day off benefits, and more, then the next step is the immediate processing of your papers. Ultimately, you will already have a plane ticket going to Oman.
Choosing the right agency is also very important. Some agencies are definitely better than others, and you have to do your own research on that. In fact, she mentioned that some agencies even provide allowances to their clients.
That is, if it is your first time in Oman, your agency can help you financially with the initial payments. As it turns out, your employer also spent some amount of money to help you get to Oman and allow you to enter the country in the first place.
In light of this, you should never offer to pay for the expenses of your employer. Some of it is shouldered by the agency, while some is paid for by the employer and they are not allowed to ask the domestic helper to pay them back.
The agency can definitely help you with a lot of things, including ensuring that the processing of your papers run as smoothly as possible. In the case of our YouTuber, and as mentioned above, she even has an agent that goes with her and helps her fulfill the necessary requirements.
The agency can also guide you with some of the more important things to know before going to Oman. For example, they will tell you that you are not allowed to bring certain things to Oman, and they will be strict about it.
Based on her experience, the agency told her not to bring things that are too big. They also told her to leave her sleeveless shirts behind, as Oman, like many GCC countries, is a conservative country. Its culture and practices are based on the Islamic faith.
She also left shorts behind for the same reasons. She just had them shipped back to her province before leaving for Oman. Big lotion bottles are also not allowed for the flight, as well as other beauty products such as creams and makeups.
When she arrived in Oman, though, she was surprised that there are actually several people wearing sleeveless clothes and shorts. She has no regrets though, and acknowledges that the agency is just playing it safe since it is her first time to go to the country.
Going to Oman, she just brought a few things with her. This didn’t worry her though, since she knows she can just buy stuff once she gets to go outside during her day off. In fact, she prioritized bringing the important stuff, including medicines.
Bringing medicines is a good idea before going to Oman. That can go a long way into helping you get back in shape when you get sick while working. It’s nice to have your own medicines ready so that you don’t have to ask for those from your employer.
By doing this, she’s considering the possibility that her employer may not want to give her meds or anything at all. That’s because there are employers who are like that. They don’t want to give anything to their domestic helpers.
She is lucky though, that she has an employer that provides her with anything she needs, including medicines, toiletries, and they shoulder her bills if she needs to go to the hospital. That’s why she’s really thankful for her employer.
There you have it. Being a domestic helper in Oman, or in any other country for that matter is not that easy. However, it does provide you with a job opportunity that can, in turn, help your family back home in the Philippines.