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Maid / Driver Salary
City-wise reference salaries for domestic help. For part-time maids, salary scales with tasks (cooking, ironing, dishes, sweeping). Drivers are typically full-time only.
Cooking, ironing, dishes, sweeping etc.
Add ESIC contribution if salary > ₹21k/month for full-time help. Bonus & PF are optional but appreciated.
Part-time vs full-time domestic help
A part-time maid in metro India typically does 1–3 hours per visit and is paid per task: ₹500–₹900 per month for dishes alone, ₹600–₹1,000 for sweeping/mopping a 2BHK, ₹2,000–₹3,500 for cooking 2 meals a day. Stack tasks and the total comes to ₹4,000–₹8,000/month in tier-1 cities. A full-time live-in maid earns ₹15,000–₹28,000 in metros (food + stay included), and ₹10,000–₹18,000 in tier-2 cities.
City-wise typical salaries (2026)
- Mumbai / Delhi NCR / Bengaluru — part-time all tasks: ₹6,000–₹8,500; full-time: ₹18,000–₹28,000; driver: ₹22,000–₹35,000
- Hyderabad / Chennai / Pune — part-time: ₹5,000–₹7,000; full-time: ₹15,000–₹22,000; driver: ₹18,000–₹26,000
- Kolkata / Ahmedabad / Jaipur — part-time: ₹4,000–₹6,000; full-time: ₹12,000–₹18,000; driver: ₹15,000–₹22,000
- Tier-2 (Lucknow, Indore, Coimbatore) — part-time: ₹3,000–₹5,000; full-time: ₹10,000–₹15,000; driver: ₹14,000–₹20,000
Drivers
Drivers are almost always full-time employees in India. Standard pay is 6 days a week, 10–12 hours a day. Pay scales with: car type (luxury sedan / SUV commands 20% more), kids' school runs, late-night use, and ability to handle highway driving. Always sign a one-page agreement covering hours, leave (1 day/week + 12 days/year is minimum), and notice period (15–30 days).
Bonus, leave, increments
Diwali bonus = 1 month's salary is now expected across metros. Annual increment is typically ₹500–₹1,500 (10–15%) for good help. PF / ESI are technically required if you employ 10+ workers, but rarely applied to domestic help — most arrangements stay informal. For drivers, get them their own savings via APY or a SIP — many domestic-workers have no retirement plan.
Negotiating fair pay
Word-of-mouth in your apartment WhatsApp group is the gold standard for benchmarking. Pay at the 50th–75th percentile of your area — paying below median gets you frequent turnover; paying way above doesn't buy proportional loyalty. Increase pay 10–15% annually to keep good help long-term.
FAQ
Annual bonus customs?
Diwali bonus (1 month salary) is standard expectation in most metros. Plus festival gifts, time off. Long-tenured help often expect retention bonuses.
PF / ESI for domestic help?
Not legally mandatory yet (unlike for shop / factory workers). Many progressive employers offer PF on a voluntary basis to retain good staff.
Work hours and leave?
Standard: 8-10 hours, 1 day off per week, 15-20 days paid leave per year. Driver: 12 hours typical, 1 day off, festival paid leave.