Maids in Turkey

Household help is readily affordable in Turkey and even those on a modest income often hire the services of a maid. Daily or weekly cleaning of your house is sometimes done by the Kapicis (the man that looks after your building) wife or by her relatives. Or you can get help from your neighbors. To ensure the safety of yourself and your belongings, when hiring someone new, you would be well advised to use referrals from friends and colleagues. Please keep in mind that maids are paid on a daily basis, not hourly.

If you employ a maid on a full time basis, 5 or 6 days per week, then you should agree on a monthly salary, in Turkish Lira, to be adjusted every four months to counter the effects of inflation. It is more economical to hire someone to work full time for you than it is to pay the higher fees for a maid that comes in two or three times a week (i.e. the amount a full time maid earns per day, working for one family, is less than if she were to charge per day for different employers).

If you are a foreigner, hiring a full time maid, you can expect that she will try to get you to agree to buy her health insurance. If you can somehow include her in your company, then fine, but otherwise, you are not expected and don't need to provide this. It is a substantial bonus for your employee but often costly to provide. Check around with your friends and neighbours to determine the going rate for maid services.

Companies specializing in house cleaning are usually used after renovation or decoration and for furniture and carpet cleaning purposes.

Some Turkish words and short sentences you may need while communicating with your maid: