Medical Check Up

There are 2 different kinds of medical checkups that all employers should be informed of when they are employing a maid (FDW), which are Pre-Employment Medical Examination and Six-Monthly Medical Examination (6ME) for a maid. It is under the responsibility of the employers to either arrange the Pre-Employment Medical Examination themselves or employing a maid agency to arrange them on their behave. Either way, the two medical checkups have to be done accordingly before and during the employment of the maid to ensure that they are in the right physical condition to carry out their tasks.

Pre-Employment Medical Examination

As the name of the medical examination suggests, this medical examination should be done before the employment of a maid. This is a requirement for a maid to obtain her Work Permit and should be done within 2 weeks upon her arrival in Singapore. Rest assured that at Express Maid, we always make sure the maids undergo the examination in time and are able to be deployed in Singapore without any problem. 

The medical examination consists mainly of screens for four of the more common infectious diseases which are tuberculosis, HIV, syphilis and malaria. Employers could send the maid for more tests that are not included in the basic medical examination scope. Employers could feel free to request for a copy of the report from the doctor if they want the details of the results of the medical checkup. 

Six-Monthly Medical Examination (6ME)

During the employment of a maid, employers must send her for a medical checkup every 6 months, this is known as the 6ME test. As with the Pre-Employment Medical Examination, the 6ME must be done by a Singapore-registered doctor and the expenses of the 6ME are assumed by the employer. A notification letter and 6ME form will be sent to employers by post whenever the maid’s 6ME is due. On top of that, the HIV test should be conducted every 2 years and tuberculosis should be screened once upon 2 years of stay in Singapore. Hence, this means that only 2 tests at 6ME are compulsory every 6 months. 

Maids above the age of 50 years are not required to go for 6ME. However, if their work permit is expired, they need to redo the medical examination upon renewal of their work permit. There are also circumstances whereby the 6ME cannot be done before the due date, for example, the maid is away on overseas leave. In this case, the 6ME can be postponed until the maid returns. The test can also be avoided if the employer intends to send the maid back home within 1 month after the due date of the 6ME. On the other hand, if the employer intends to keep the maid for more than 1 month after the 6ME is due, a waiver must be applied. If the maid did not pass her 6ME, his/her work permit must be cancelled and the employer should send him/her home immediately. 

Looking to hire a maid but worry about the medical checkups, the work permit and whatnot, let Express Maid handle them all for you. Click the button below to start searching for a maid.