For many newcomers to Jakarta, the thought of hiring household staff seems quite foreign, as it is a luxury reserved for the fortunate few in the western world. In Jakarta, however, having household staff is a part of everyday life for middle class and upper class Indonesians and foreigners alike. Your staff will not only be an enormous help to you around your home, but will also serve as your first window into Indonesian culture, a sort of liaison between two worlds. At the same time, you will be providing much needed jobs and financial support to the people who work for you.
The first thing to consider when hiring staff is your own personal household needs. Do you have a large house? A small apartment? Do you have children? A large garden or pool? Listed below are the different types of domestic helpers, or pembantu (household helper), who will be available for hire.
Common Household Staff Positions
Driver / Sopir — the person who drives the family car, employed by the family or the company. Responsible for daily driving and running errands, cleaning the car, getting fuel, and arranging maintenance. Read more about Hiring a Driver in Indonesia.
Cook / Juru masak or Koki — the person with primary responsibility for preparing meals for the family, caring for the kitchen, and possibly food shopping. As the most senior person in the household staff, the cook is often regarded as the overall housekeeper. May also undertake other household chores. Many families entrust this person with petty cash for household purchases.
Cleaner / Helper / Pembantu — the person or persons responsible for cleaning the house, washing and ironing clothes, and assisting the cook. In homes that do not have a full-time cook, the pembantu may also help with cooking.
Babysitter / Nanny / Pengasuh Anak / Suster — the person whose primary job is the care of children. In most cases they do not assist with general household chores, except where directly related to child care. Read also Babysitters, Nannies and Childminders.
Night Guard / Penjaga Malam — watches the front and outside areas of your home during the evening hours.
Day Guard / Gardener / Penjaga / Tukang Kebun — watches the front and outside areas of your home during the day and may also do yard work or care for the pool. Ensures security at the gate, intercepting enquiries and guests.
Satpam — a uniformed trained security guard working either an evening or day shift. Responsible for security only, with no household chores.
Live-in — the staff member has a furnished room and sleeps and eats in your home.
Live-out — the staff member’s residence is outside your home and they travel to and from your home each day.
For a single person or a couple in a small apartment, a part-time live-out helper plus a driver will probably be adequate. For a family in a large house with a garden, a team of four to five people is recommended to keep the household running smoothly. The division of duties is flexible and some of the roles above can be combined, such as helper and laundress, or day guard and gardener.
In order to maintain harmonious relationships among the staff, it can be a good idea to choose people from the same ethnic group, or to allow the most senior staff member, usually the cook, to give recommendations or advice on selecting the others.
Finding Household Staff
When you have decided what sort of help you need, the next question is where to find it. In Jakarta there are various ways to locate and arrange interviews with potential staff. Perhaps the very best approach is through word of mouth from friends and colleagues, as you will have personal references to go by. Another excellent source is community bulletin boards at clubs and organisations frequented by the expatriate community. For authenticity, choose boards that are not accessible to the general public and are located inside the buildings rather than in public areas.
WhatsApp community groups and Facebook groups for expats in your city have become the most active channels for staff recommendations and job postings. Groups such as Jakarta Expats and city-specific community groups see regular posts from departing families looking to place trusted staff, and from families new to the country looking for recommendations. These groups are well worth joining as soon as you arrive, or even before departure.
Expat Community Organisations
If you are a member of BWA (British Women’s Association) or ANZA, both organisations have active and well-connected memberships. Fellow members who have lived in Indonesia for some time are often an excellent source of personal recommendations and can point you toward trusted candidates or agencies they have used themselves. Do not hesitate to ask around at events or in their member groups.
Online Recruitment Platforms
Kasicare is an ethical recruitment platform with a network of thousands of registered job seekers, including nannies, housekeepers, cooks, caregivers and drivers, many of whom have previous experience working with expatriate families in Jakarta. The platform operates in English and is free for families to get started. Kasicare also runs training programmes for domestic workers through its Kasicare Academy, which is a useful indicator of the quality of candidates in their network.
As with any recruitment process, always check references thoroughly regardless of where you find a candidate.
Personal Networks
One of the most reliable ways to source staff remains through other helpers’ friends and family. Someone who works for a friend of yours may well know of someone looking for work. Indonesians generally would not recommend just anyone, as it is seen as a loss of face if that person does not work out, which makes this kind of personal referral particularly trustworthy.
Interviewing Prospective Household Staff
What to ask when interviewing a potential staff member will depend greatly on your household needs and the duties involved, but perhaps the most important thing to go by is your own instinct about the person you are meeting. Remember that this person will play a large role in your personal life in Indonesia and will be spending a great deal of time with both you and your family. Do not hire anyone that you do not feel comfortable with or trusting of, no matter how glowing their references might be. A person’s nature is often more important than their skill level when you will be living in the same household. With luck, you may find someone with whom you and your family will build a long and warm relationship for years to come.
Below are some recommended areas to cover in an interview:
Identification and Personal Details. Find out as much as possible about the person’s family, background, what village they are from, and how long they have been in Jakarta. Ask to see their original KTP (Kartu Tanda Penduduk — Indonesian National Identity Card) and driver’s licence where relevant. Should you decide to employ them, always make a copy of the KTP on the first day of employment and keep it in a secure place.
Experience. You will usually be given letters of reference from former employers. Contact the referee where possible to verify authenticity. Reference letters typically describe the length of employment, duties performed, particular skills, and personal attributes. Ask questions that draw out specific experience. For example, if a cook tells you they are familiar with preparing western food, ask them to describe some examples of dishes they have prepared. This gives you a better sense of their actual ability.
Ability to Read. Depending on the position, literacy may or may not be critical. For a cook it matters a great deal: being able to read a recipe or shopping list is a basic requirement. For a babysitter or nanny, literacy is important in case of an emergency.
Living Arrangements. Establish whether the person is looking for a live-in position, occupying a room in the household quarters, or a live-out arrangement where they commute daily. This affects working hours, flexibility, and travel costs, so discuss it carefully.
Expectations. Identify and explain in detail the duties and responsibilities of the position. Do not leave room for ambiguity about what is and is not included in the role.
Ground Rules. Cover clearly what their normal hours would be, whether you need flexibility, whether visitors are permitted, phone usage policies, and so on, and make sure these are mutually acceptable. Most household staff expect one day off a week and work twelve-hour days, which includes a lunch break and periodic breaks for prayers or rest.
Children. If you are interviewing a babysitter or nanny, outline clearly your expectations, rules, and philosophy concerning the care of your children. If you are hiring someone for general household work, find out how they feel about working in a home with children. Most Indonesians are genuinely fond of children and enjoy having them around. Ask whether the candidate has children of their own and, if so, whether they would be visiting or living in your home, which requires a decision on your part in advance. Read also Babysitters, Nannies and Childminders.
Pets. If you own a dog, mention this at the interview. Many Indonesians, as Muslims, do not wish to care for or live in the same environment as a dog. This is rarely a problem with household staff who have previously worked for expatriate families, and you will certainly find someone who is comfortable around dogs, but it is important to establish this upfront. Indonesians are generally comfortable with cats, birds, and most other pets. More information on this in the Pets article.
Salary. Establish the starting salary and confirm that it is acceptable to both parties. Discuss when and how future pay rises would be considered, holiday bonuses, and any other extras you intend to include. Read the Household Staff Salary Survey for specific details on additional compensation.
Written Employment Agreements
It is increasingly advisable to put the terms of employment in writing, even for household staff. A simple written agreement covering the role, salary, hours, leave entitlements, notice periods, and bonus arrangements protects both employer and employee and avoids misunderstandings further down the track.
Contact us to receive a sample household staff employment agreement. Please note that this document is intended solely to make the terms of your arrangement clear to both parties. It is not a legally binding contract but rather a plain-language outline of what has been mutually agreed, covering the key points of the employment relationship in a way that both employer and employee can refer back to if questions arise.
Additional Information for Employers
Medical Care and BPJS
The Indonesian National Social Health Insurance, known as JKN (Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional — National Health Insurance), is administered by BPJS (Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Sosial — Social Security Administering Body). The JKN provides unlimited health benefits for those who follow the required procedures using the primary public health facility network. Registration with BPJS is an obligation for all Indonesians.
While formal sector workers are enrolled by their employers, people working in the informal sector, which includes household staff such as drivers and domestic helpers, must register themselves. You will want to ensure your household staff enrol with JKN so that they and their family members benefit from basic health coverage for outpatients and hospitalisation. It is common practice for the employer to reimburse the cost of the staff member’s BPJS contributions. Whether you extend this to cover the employee’s family dependants is a matter to clarify upfront. Domestic staff can be asked to show proof of BPJS payment before reimbursements are made. For additional medical costs not covered by BPJS, most employers choose to reimburse expenses, but it is advisable to set a reasonable annual limit in advance.
Pre-employment Health Checks
Some expatriates arrange for a pre-employment medical examination at their own expense. It is strongly recommended that any staff handling food or working closely with young children be tested for hepatitis, tuberculosis and typhoid before beginning work. For drivers, include an eyesight test. The health check should be carried out by a reputable clinic that provides results to both you and the prospective employee.
Keeping Financial Records
It is very important to keep accurate records of all salary payments, bonuses, medical reimbursements, loans, and any other financial transactions between employer and employee. Put everything in writing in a record book. Each time a transaction occurs, ensure your employee counts the money, confirms they understand, and signs the book next to the entry.
For each salary payment, record clearly the period it covers, noting both the start date and the end date of the pay period. This is a detail that can become a point of disagreement later, particularly when a new employment relationship is being established and the first payment may cover an unusual number of days. Keeping this precise from the very first payment avoids any ambiguity further down the track.
If you pay your staff by bank transfer, keep a record of when each transfer was made and send a confirmation to your employee via WhatsApp so that they can acknowledge receipt. This creates a simple, timestamped record for both parties and removes any possibility of confusion about whether a payment has been made or received. A brief message noting the amount, the period it covers, and the date of transfer is all that is needed.
Any additional payments made outside the regular salary, such as a THR bonus, a cash loan, a medical reimbursement, or any other one-off amount, should also be recorded in the same book with a clear note of what the payment was for and when it was made. If, for example, you pay a THR bonus ahead of Lebaran, record the exact amount and the date paid so that both you and your employee have a clear reference point for the following year. Over time this record becomes an invaluable reference for both parties and helps to maintain trust and transparency in the employment relationship.
Keep copies of the employee’s KTP, medical receipts, and an emergency contact number for their family in the same place. This record book should be stored securely.
Security
Keep anything of value, such as jewellery, cash, and passports, locked away at all times. A small safe in a wardrobe provides extra peace of mind. No matter how much you trust your household staff, leaving valuables accessible creates unnecessary temptation and is unfair to everyone.
Courses and Skills Development
Special courses are available at International SOS designed to improve various skills required by household staff, including swimming pool safety, first aid and CPR, childminder’s first aid, and household cleaning. Each student receives a certificate of participation on completion, which is a valuable addition to their professional record.
Language
If your household staff have never worked for an expatriate family before, it would be unusual for them to be proficient in English or another foreign language. While some individuals who have worked for foreigners for many years develop a good command of English, it is not common. In practice, you will need to speak slowly and clearly, and use hands-on examples to ensure your instructions are understood. The more Bahasa Indonesia you are able to learn, the more effectively you will be able to communicate with your household staff, and the effort will be greatly appreciated.
When You Leave Indonesia
Most employers provide their household staff with written letters of recommendation and assist with job placement before departing Indonesia. This is in addition to any severance pay to which the employee is entitled.
Terminating Employment
If you decide to terminate an employee, it is recommended that you do so without advance notice, for security reasons. The termination should be handled calmly, and the employee asked to prepare to leave immediately. You should supervise this with another person present. Avoid accusations or angry words. If your employee has worked for one year or more, they are entitled to severance pay under Indonesian labour regulations. Do not withhold severance pay to which an employee is legally entitled, even in cases of termination for misconduct. Ensure the employee signs your record book confirming receipt of the payment. If the employee is resigning voluntarily, you are not responsible for severance, but you should still supervise the departure.
If you have several members of staff it is up to you to decide whether you prefer to have them take their days off on different days, or whether you would like them all to take the same day off so that you can have a staff-free day.
It certainly takes some adjustment in getting used to having staff around your home, but most expatriates will find that the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
Salary, THR and Severance
Salary Structure
The monthly amount paid to household staff is often structured as a lump sum broken down into component parts: base salary, transportation allowance, meals allowance, and lodging allowance. This structure is commonly used because mandatory severance pay is calculated on the base salary component only, not on the total package. If you choose not to specify a breakdown and simply pay a single monthly figure, be aware that upon termination your employee may reasonably expect severance calculated on the full amount paid. Clarifying this in writing at the start of employment avoids confusion later.
Minimum Wage
The official provincial minimum wage (Upah Minimum Provinsi or UMP) in Jakarta is Rp 5,729,876 per month as of 2026. This figure is reviewed annually, with new rates typically taking effect in January each year. Most Indonesian households do not pay domestic staff at this rate, as they consider lodging and food provision to be part of the overall compensation package. However, if the employment of household staff is recorded on the financial statement of a multinational company, that company is obliged by law to pay the individual at least the applicable minimum wage.
The minimum wage in Bali is Rp 3,207,459 as of 2026. For other provinces, search “upah minimum provinsi [province name] 2026” to find the current applicable rate for your area.
THR: The Mandatory Holiday Bonus
One of the most important financial obligations for any employer in Indonesia, and one that catches many new expats by surprise, is the THR (Tunjangan Hari Raya — Religious Holiday Allowance). This is a mandatory annual bonus equivalent to one month’s base salary, required by Indonesian law for all employees including household staff. For Muslim employees it is paid ahead of Eid al-Fitr (Lebaran). For employees of other faiths it is paid before their respective major religious holidays. Employees who have worked for less than twelve months are entitled to a pro-rated THR. The THR is a legal right, not a discretionary gesture, and failure to pay it can result in penalties. Factor this into your annual household budget from the outset.
Severance Pay
Under Indonesian labour regulations, severance is calculated based on years of service, with the specific formula depending on the circumstances of termination. If your employee has worked for one year or more, they are entitled to severance pay upon termination.
Note: Indonesian employment law has been revised under the Job Creation Law (Omnibus Law) of 2020 and subsequent government regulations. Severance entitlements for household staff may differ from those for formal sector workers. For current severance obligations applicable to your situation, consult a qualified Indonesian employment lawyer or your company’s HR department.
ILO Standards
The International Labour Organization’s Domestic Workers Convention of 2011 (No. 189), which establishes internationally accepted minimum standards for domestic workers, has not yet been ratified by Indonesia. Nonetheless it provides useful guidance for employers who want to ensure their employment practices meet a recognised international benchmark. The Convention states that minimum wages, where they exist, should apply to domestic workers, and that domestic workers should have equal treatment to other workers with respect to normal working hours, overtime, rest periods, and annual paid leave.
Additional Resources
Minimum Wage Information — for Jakarta and other provinces
Government Regulations governing the employment of household help in Indonesia
For more on managing household staff relationships, read Privacy Issues in Indonesia and How They Affect Expatriates.
Our thanks to Colliers International for their generous original contribution to this article.
Overseas Placement of Indonesian Staff
For those foreign nationals who wish to hire Indonesian nationals to work in their homes abroad, please be advised that Indonesian government regulations prohibit the direct hire of Indonesians to work abroad as domestic help. BP2MI (Badan Pelindungan Pekerja Migran Indonesia — the Agency for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, formerly known as BNP2TKI) is the government body responsible for the placement and protection of Indonesians working abroad. A legal Indonesian migrant worker will hold a valid government-issued migrant worker card.
The reasons for this policy relate entirely to protecting workers from exploitation. If you wish to hire an Indonesian national to work abroad, contact the Indonesian embassy in your country of residence and ask about the approved procedure and which agencies are licensed to place Indonesian workers in your country.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should I pay household staff in Indonesia?
Salaries vary depending on the role, the city, the candidate’s experience, and whether the position is live-in or live-out. As a general guide, the Jakarta provincial minimum wage is Rp 5,729,876 per month as of 2026, though many household employers structure pay differently depending on the overall package. Experienced cooks, nannies with good English, and drivers with a clean record will command higher rates. See the Household Staff Salary Survey for current guidelines and ranges.
What is THR and do I have to pay it to household staff?
Yes. THR (Tunjangan Hari Raya — Religious Holiday Allowance) is a mandatory annual bonus equivalent to one month’s base salary, required by Indonesian law for all employees including household staff. For Muslim employees it is paid before Eid al-Fitr (Lebaran). Employees who have worked for less than twelve months are entitled to a pro-rated amount. This is a legal obligation, not optional.
Where is the best place to find household staff in Indonesia?
Personal recommendations from other expatriates remain the gold standard. WhatsApp and Facebook groups for expats in your city are now the most active platforms for staff recommendations and job postings. If you are a member of BWA or ANZA, fellow members are a valuable source of personal referrals. Kasicare (kasicare.com) is an English-language recruitment platform specifically serving expat families in Jakarta with a large network of pre-registered candidates.
Do I need to enrol my household staff in BPJS health insurance?
Household staff are considered informal sector workers and must register themselves with BPJS, the national health insurance scheme known as JKN (Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional — National Health Insurance). However, it is common and widely expected practice for the employer to reimburse the cost of the employee’s BPJS contributions. Whether you cover contributions for the employee’s family dependants is a matter to clarify at the start of employment. See the BPJS registration guide for more details.
What are the rules around severance pay for household staff in Indonesia?
If you terminate an employee who has worked for you for one year or more, they are entitled to severance pay calculated on their base salary and years of service. Indonesian employment law has been revised under the 2020 Job Creation Law, so the precise formula can depend on the circumstances. Consult an Indonesian employment lawyer or your company HR department for current applicable entitlements. The THR holiday bonus and severance pay are separate obligations and both must be honoured.
Last updated: March 2026. Employment regulations in Indonesia are subject to ongoing change. Always verify current minimum wage rates, severance obligations, and BPJS requirements with a qualified professional or your company’s HR department.
