regulations include: Household income of at least HK$15,000 (US$1,920) per month for each foreign domestic helper employed A levy of HK$9,600 for employing a foreign domestic helper, for the duration of a 2-year contract (abolished 31 July 2013) Free medical treatment for the foreign domestic helper A monthly salary of no less than the minimum allowable wage (HK$4,630) set by the government Helpers' rights and obligations include: To perform only the domestic duties outlined in the employment contract To not accept other employment during the effective period of the contract To work and live in the employer's place of residence, and to be provided with suitable living accommodation with reasonable privacy One rest day (a continuous period of not less than 24 hours) every week Minimum 7 days to maximum 14 days of paid annual leave based on length of service 12 days of statutory holidays during an entire year Minimum allowable wage Foreign domestic workers' wages are subject to a statutory minimum, a breach of which is sanctionable under the Employment Ordinance. An employer convicted of paying less than the minimum allowable wage (MAW) is subject to a maximum fine of HK$350,000 and three years' imprisonment. Helpers' minimum wages are inflation-adjusted annually for contracts about to be signed, and apply for the duration of the contract. They were reduced by HK$190 (five percent) in 1999. In April 2003, another deflationary period, the government announced a HK$400 reduction in pay (to HK$3,270) "due to the steady drop in a basket of economic indicators since 1999." The minimum allowable wage was raised by HK$80, to HK$3,480 per month, for contracts signed on or after 6 June 2007. Another HK$100 cost-of-living adjustment took effect for all employment contracts signed on or after 10 July 2008, increasing the minimum wage to HK$3,580 per month. The minimum allowable wage was reset to HK$3,740 per month on 2 June 2011, and raised to HK$3,920 per month for contracts signed from 20 September 2012 onwards. The MAW has been criticised by workers' and welfare groups for making FDWs second-class citizens. The statutory minimum wage does not apply to them; although the MAW is HK$3,920, a local worker working a 48-hour week would earn HK$6,240 if paid at the minimum hourly wage of HK$30 (as of 30 March 2015). The International Domestic Workers Federation has complained that the MAW rose by only 3.9 percent (or HK$150) from