What counts as domestic help
"Domestic help" is a broad label that covers several different jobs, and the one you need depends on what's actually happening in your household. The roles typically grouped under it are housemaids, nannies, cooks, cleaners, caregivers for elderly or disabled family members, drivers, gardeners, general helpers and babysitters.
Some of these overlap — a housemaid may also cook and help with children, while a dedicated nanny usually focuses on childcare only. Experience is usually described in bands: no experience, 1–2 years, 3–5 years, 6–10 years, or 10+ years. The right combination of role and experience depends on your household size, whether you need someone every day or only occasionally, and whether the work involves specialised care such as looking after an elderly parent.
Live-in, live-out, full-time or part-time
Once you know the role, the next decision is the arrangement. Domestic help can be hired hourly, daily or monthly, and as live-in or live-out. Within that, households also choose full-time or part-time help, flexible hours, or weekends-only or weekdays-only schedules.
Contract length varies too — temporary (1–6 months), short-term (6–12 months), long-term (1–2 years), permanent, or renewable — and a trial period is normally available before either side commits further.
Which combination suits you depends on your home:
- A large household with young children or an elderly relative who needs daily support often works better with live-in help, since availability matters more than hours worked.
- A smaller household, or one where one person is often home, may only need part-time or live-out help for set hours.
- A short posting abroad or an uncertain household situation is better matched with a temporary or trial arrangement before anyone agrees to something longer.
There's no single "correct" setup — it's a conversation between you and the worker or agency, and it's worth agreeing it clearly before any contract is signed.
How much domestic help costs
The honest answer is that there's no fixed price for domestic help — there's a salary agreed between you and the worker or agency, a visa and paperwork cost set by the government of the country where the work takes place, and, if you use a platform like ours to find your match, a separate cost for that search itself.
Here's how the layers break down by role:
| Role | Typical arrangement | What the cost depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Housemaid / cleaner | Hourly, daily, monthly, live-in or live-out | Hours, live-in vs live-out, experience |
| Nanny / babysitter | Full-time, part-time, flexible hours | Number and age of children, hours, experience |
| Cook | Daily or monthly, live-in or live-out | Household size, meal frequency, cuisine skills |
| Carer (elderly/disabled) | Full-time, live-in preferred | Level of care needed, experience, hours |
| Driver / gardener / general helper | Hourly, daily, part-time | Hours required, frequency |
Nationality and years of experience both influence the salary a worker expects, but that figure is set between the two parties and the wider labour market — not by us. For current salary ranges by role, see our guides on maid salaries in Dubai and the realistic cost of hiring a maid.
Visa and permit costs are set by the relevant government and change over time, so check official guidance for the country you're hiring in rather than relying on a fixed number anywhere online — our visa costs guide walks through what the process usually involves.
If you use our platform to search and contact candidates or agencies, sponsors join free with a limited plan covering one job posting, ten candidate searches a month and three saved candidates. Full access is on the Professional plan, priced weekly or monthly, with a discount for annual billing — see pricing for the current rates. That cost is separate from, and much smaller than, the salary and paperwork you'll agree directly with the worker or agency.
Is it legal to hire domestic help without an agency?
Whether you need a licensed agency, and what the process involves, is set by the labour and immigration rules of the country where the work takes place — that's not something any platform can state as a fixed rule, since those requirements change. Check the official guidance for your country before you proceed.
What we can tell you is how our own platform fits into that picture. We're an introduction service, not a recruitment agency: we don't recruit, place, employ or sponsor anyone, so we don't hold — or need — a recruitment licence ourselves. Workers can register themselves directly, or be listed by a licensed agency; we partner only with agencies that are licensed in Ethiopia and across the GCC. Licensing for the agency side is a question for the agency itself to answer, and worth confirming before you proceed.
Visas, work permits, medical certificates and travel arrangements are handled by the agency or the sponsor, under the rules of the country concerned — we don't process any part of that. For UAE-specific detail, see our domestic help in the UAE page.
How to hire domestic help, step by step
- Decide on the arrangement. Live-in or live-out, full-time or part-time, and roughly how long you need the help for.
- Search profiles or an agency's listings. You can look through self-registered workers or agency-managed candidates and narrow by role and experience.
- Contact a match directly. Send your first message straight from the listing — there's no middle step.
- Interview before you decide. Ask about experience, availability and expectations; see what to ask in a maid interview for a starting list of questions.
- Agree terms directly. Salary, hours, contract length, notice period and what happens if it doesn't work out are all settled between you and the worker or agency — put it in writing.
- Arrange the paperwork. Visa, permit, medical certificate and travel are handled by the agency or sponsor under the rules of the country concerned.
- Use the trial period. Most arrangements include one — use it before committing to a longer contract.
If you're hiring in the UAE specifically, our hire a housemaid in the UAE guide and the maid agency in Dubai page cover more of the local detail.
What to check before you hire
Before contacting anyone, worker profiles and their uploaded documents — passport, national ID, medical certificate, police clearance, experience letters — are checked before the profile is listed. Anything beyond that, such as a full employment background check or a formal skill assessment, is the agency's responsibility, not ours, so ask the agency directly what they've checked if that matters to you.
A few other things worth confirming before you commit:
- What the contract covers. Salary, hours, days off, notice period and what happens if either side wants to end the arrangement early should all be written down, not assumed.
- Who handles a replacement if it doesn't work out. This is agreed directly between you and the agency or worker, and usually turns on what's written into the original contract — settle it before you sign, not after.
- Whether experience matches the role. A carer for an elderly parent needs different experience than a nanny for toddlers, even though both sit under "domestic help."
Our household staff guide and hiring a maid in Dubai article go further into day-to-day expectations once someone starts.
FAQ
Does "domestic help" only mean housemaids? No. It covers housemaids, nannies, cooks, cleaners, carers for elderly or disabled family members, drivers, gardeners, general helpers and babysitters. The right fit depends on what your household actually needs.
Can I hire part-time only? Yes. Arrangements range from hourly and daily to monthly, live-in or live-out, and full-time or part-time, including weekends-only or weekdays-only schedules.
How much will it actually cost me? There are three separate costs: the salary you agree with the worker or agency, any visa and permit fees set by the relevant government, and — if you use a platform to find your match — that platform's own access cost. None of these is a single fixed number; see the cost section above for what each depends on.
Do I need a licensed agency to hire legally? That depends on the labour and immigration rules of the country where the work takes place, and those rules change, so check official guidance directly. If you use our platform, note that we're an introduction service and hold no recruitment licence ourselves — licensing is a question for the agency you choose.
What happens if the hire doesn't work out? Replacement and any guarantee are agreed directly between you and the worker or agency, governed by the labour law of the country concerned. Settle this in the contract before you commit, not after.
Does experience affect the salary? Experience and nationality both tend to influence what a worker expects to be paid, but the actual figure is agreed between you and them directly — it isn't set by any platform. For more context, see our guide on maid salaries in Dubai.
