I did stumble upon a thread on this subject but it was around two years old. My wife and I are looking to hire someone to help with cooking and cleaning and I was wondering if you guys could help me answer a few general questions and share any advice you might have.

Are there any standard rates for an ayi or housekeeper?

what might be a typical workload (how many hours per day, days off etc)
What's the difference in terms of salary for live in vs daily work?

Should a contract be signed?

Our Ayi comes in one afternoon a week for 4 hours. We pay 20rmb/hr.
We live in a high end development. In the city you might be able to pay less for an hourly rate.

Regards cooking. Unless you are really into local food it may not be a good idea. Don't expect the ayi to learn anything new, although some people have been lucky.

Don't leave out cash or valuables, it can only lead to misunderstandings, especially if your wife or other household members are Chinese. I have lost count of the times that something was perceived as stolen, only to turn up a couple of months later.

Live in ayi, no idea about the rates, but they may have a child or other family member come to stay on occasion. They will all sleep in the same bed, but all eat your food. You need to be OK with this. Even with a live out ayi, a child might call in on the way home from school and wait for mum to finish, and join the family meal.

Contracts - no need. An ayi will usually do all task that are asked and will be paid the same hourly rate. The only difference would be childminding. Contracts don't mean anything anyway. For an hourly rate ayi, you need to negotiate how much cleaning is to be done, and how many hours it should take.

You need to monitor the ayi's work as some will steal time.

If they are going to look after kids, it is better to get personal references from people she has childminded for in the past.

Always get a photocopy of their household ID, and keep it safe. If there is any problem you will need this to identify them. If you live in a managed residential area, check with the management if the ayi needs to register with them also, this is an extra safeguard for you.

I'm an expert in churning my ayi's. Our former live-in was ¥1700 a month. She could clean, but her cooking was barely edible. Our current 4 hour/day ayi works 5 days a week - weekends (or upon agreement, other days of the week holidays) is ¥1000 a month for half time - afternoons through dinner time. She cleans well and cooks magnificently (compared to former staff).

The best clue - but not always consistent - is to look for KUNMING hukou'd staff. They seem to be more responsible, slightly more sophisticated, less prone to embezzling grocery money.

The one we have right now - she's a keeper - first one we've had in YEARS.

If you opt for a live-in - as mentioned above - get a copy of her ID and take her to the local police station to register her as a resident of your home - that will get rid of most "strange" applicants. ALSO, they should have a health check before they enter your house - ESPECIALLY if they'll be interacting with family, children, or food. You especially want to check for AIDS, TB, and Hepatitis amongst the major transmittable infectious diseases. EVERYONE in China tests positive for TB and Hepatitis - but you want to check for anything particularly active or untreatable.

Final note - some strains of Hepatitis are virtually undetectable. It's also stressful - but convenient having a live-in ayi. I personally could't wait until we could transition from live-in to part-time staff.

Thanks guys. That's exactly the info I was looking for:)

Anyone have a number of an hourly rate ayi? I just need someone to clean the apartment i've just moved into. Thanks!

@tigertiger. Damn 20¥ an hour. When we moved here in 2008, the rate was going from 8¥ to 10¥ an hour. I've heard to pay people playing 15-20¥ an hour, and I think this is WAY too much. According to gokunming, the minimum wage for Kunming is 1265¥ a month. www.gokunming.com/en/blog/item/2962/yunnan_raises_minimum_wage If workers are working a 40 hour week (highly doubtful), that is a whopping 7.9¥ an hour. You guys paying paying 15 - 20¥ are paying 2x -3x the minimum wage. When you pay these wages, you drive up the rate for everyone. If this continues to happen, you will price most foreigners out of this price.

We currently pay our baomu 11¥ an hour. We give her a safe, stress-free place to live. We have running water with a toilet (something most jobs can't offer). We pay her when she is sick. We pay her at Chun Jie, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and we give her the day off. When we go home for the summer, we pay her, and I'm sure she doesn't work like she would if we were here. Overall, the quality of work is much better than a job most village girls could get, and the pay is several RMB more than minimum wage.

I feel foreigners shouldn't continue to overpay house help. I know Chinese families pay less than foreigner families, and I've been told by baomus that foreign families are much nicer.

I agree, the market rate has been skewed, not just by guilt ridden foreigners (I am not one), but by the new middle class.
Unfortunately the local market (to where I live) you are lucky to get anyone, and our Chinese neighbors pay the same 20/hr. Our ayi is also a good one, hard to find.

Like I said, other neighborhoods are cheaper.

Historic comparisons are not really helpful in a market that is developing so rapidly. Neither are geographic comparisons, and so I will use both here (rebel that I am). When we first moved to Shanghai in 2004 our ayi was 5/hr, it quickly went up to 8, then 20. Some wanted more, and that was in 2008. But then I was clearing 18k/m as a teacher in Shanghai in 2008, not much danger of that here in Kunming.

FYI - My professional Chinese colleagues pay the same...we use the same agency.

Could you share any info on the agency laotou?

@Technekal
The company is on the second floor of the hotel diagonally across the street from the KM Zoo. Chinese language only. If you need a referral & phone number, drop me a PM (private message) or just ask here and I'll respond via PM.

Hit or miss if they're in the office - hole in the wall joint, but they have longevity and have provided reasonably reliable - if not a bit expensive - domestic staff.

Just beware the bait & switch, etc. As with all things, including referrals, caveat emptor. Your milage may vary...