Hong Kong companies offering household cleaning services should be more flexible amid coronavirus pandemic, consumer watchdog says
- Despite the increased likelihood of Covid-related disruptions, the Consumer Council says many firms will not reschedule visits or allow free cancellations
- Hongkongers have increasingly turned to local firms offering such services amid a shortage of live-in foreign domestic helpers
Companies offering household cleaning services should devise clearer and more flexible contractual agreements with clients given the increased likelihood of unforeseeable pandemic-related disruptions, Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has said.
Citing as an example a compulsory testing order resulting in an appointment being scrapped, the Consumer Council noted that less than half of 12 local cleaning companies surveyed allowed rescheduling or free cancellations.
In cases in which it was the cleaner who had to undergo compulsory testing, only half of the companies would send another or reschedule the appointment, the council found.
Housing blocks ‘to be used for Covid isolation’; Hong Kong facing 1,510 cases
“As the pandemic situation remains volatile, both domestic helpers and consumers might have to undergo compulsory testing, which could affect service,” said Lui Wing-cheong, vice-chairman of the council’s research and testing committee.
“The council urges the service providers, under the pandemic, to have service terms that clearly explain arrangements related to preventive and anti-epidemic measures, and to adopt a flexible and customer-centric approach in handling emergencies faced by the clients in order to fight the virus together.”
Cleaning Buddies Service and Good Choice Cleaning Limited were among the companies that did not explicitly mention these conditions.
Lazy (Hong Kong) Technology Limited said customers could make alternative arrangements if a designated helper had to undergo testing, but stopped short of clarifying what would happen if a customer had to be tested.
The Post has reached out to these companies for comment.
With more neighbourhoods around the city being hit with compulsory testing notices amid the surging fifth wave, many residents have spent hours queuing for tests in areas such as Sha Tin, Ma On Shan, Sham Shui Po and Yuen Long.
On Tuesday, the city confirmed more than 1,600 new cases.
Lui added that many families with elderly members and children preferred cleaners who were vaccinated to minimise infection risks.
Hong Kong to provide 150 more quarantine hotel rooms for arriving helpers
Council chief executive Gilly Wong Fung-han warned that the supply of local domestic helpers could be affected if long queues for tests continued to delay services.
“If supply is not enough to meet demand, there would be a disparity for the whole market and that may cause a problem,” Wong said.
While consumers could request for vaccinated helpers, she stressed that this condition should be discussed as soon as possible before engaging cleaning services.
Many Hong Kong families depend on live-in foreign domestic helpers, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia, for housekeeping as well as looking after the elderly and children.
Domestic helper shortage continues to plague Hong Kong authorities, families
But with the city facing a shortage of such workers in recent months due to flight bans and tight entry restrictions, some have turned to local services as an alternative.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said last month that the flight bans – recently extended to March 4 for the Philippines – had cancelled out efforts to make more quarantine facilities available for incoming helpers, exacerbating the shortage.
The number of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong has decreased over the past two years, from about 400,000 in January 2020 to around 339,000 by the end of December last year.
