Many serviced and standard apartments are set up for a live-in ayi, usually a separate room with its own entrance where your housekeeper can retire to once she has finished her duties for the day. Most residents employ a live-out ayi. Residents with children often have an ayi for childcare who works a standard Monday to Friday, 40 hour working week and takes on childcare, light housekeeping and maybe even cooking duties. Those without children typically have a cleaning ayi who comes once or twice a week.

The domestic help industry in China is fairly unregulated. Payment is usually in cash and occurs monthly or bi-monthly. An ayi enjoys standard state holidays (one or two weeks at Chinese New Year and one week in October to celebrate National Day) in addition to weekends off. Wages for a cleaning ayi are roughly ¥50 to ¥80 per three or four hour shift or ¥200 to ¥500 per month for someone who comes once or twice a week. Full-time, live-in or live-out help starts as low as ¥1,400 per month. It is customary to give a hongbao – a red envelope filled with around one month’s salary to your ayi at Chinese New Year.

Some expats are now hiring English-speaking Filipina ayi. If you choose to do so, check their visa status. It is illegal to house a foreign ayi without a work permit (Z-visa). The best place to find an ayi is by word of mouth. Ask friends, colleagues and acquaintances for recommendations. Chances are they will either recommend their own ayi or they will know someone who is leaving and would like to help their ayi find a new employer.