My au pair manhandled my dog.... is it gross misconduct?

I’d be lifting her off her feet and throwing her out if she’d done that to any animal of mine. Nasty cow.

I would ask her to leave immediately.

I can't believe some (thankfully very few) posters seem to think what this horrible person did is acceptable.

I am not a violent person at all but I honestly think I would feel like hitting her. I certainly would give her a piece of my mind and she would be out instantly.

You don't have to be a dog or even animal lover to know abuse of any kind is totally wrong

I'd definitely sack her without a moments thought for this. Evil person.

My house and my dog she'd be gone so fast her feet wouldn't touch the ground. The problem with giving a warning is that as like as not it will be acted on as a warning not to get caught rather than a warning not to abuse.

So out she would go and if the worst happened and I had to begrudgingly pay her compensation for unfair dismissal, I would accept it as a price that has to be paid to keep safe those who rely on me to do so.

Good luck reporting to the RSPCA! They are useless ime and wouldn't give this the time of day even if you did get a reply from them.

Please get rid of her ASAP your poor dog 😔 sack her, report her to the rspca, the police, and her agency if she has one. What an evil person she is vile 😡 I hope your dog is ok ❤️

Amy argument from her tell wjr you a reporting her for animal cruelty and she will have a criminal record. Do not give her a reference either.

I don't think that you having a dog that she has had to assume responsibility for is fair on her and being a great nanny doesn't mean that you'd be a great dogs woman!
Oh stop minimising & excusing @SoloMummy.
You don't need to be a "great dogs woman" to manage not to kick & abuse one.

Given she's not employed to be a dog sitter, I think you need to be 110%sure that your contract will allow for this as reason for dismissal
It doesn't make an iota of difference what she was employed to do.
She mistreated OP's dog - deliberately & maliciously.
She hasn't got a leg to stand on.

as she would be well within her rights to pursue this through small claims court....
No she wouldn't.

Unless the camera can without doubt prove this was unreasonable force used.....
Do enlighten me - what is a "reasonable" kick?
What is a "reasonable" way to throw a dog?

Plenty of dog owners do as you have described op....
& plenty of men beat their wives.
Does that excuse a man who decides do so?
Or should he be prosecuted to the full extent of the law?

Get her out of your house. Vile behaviour, no excuses for that.

As well as terminating employment immediately too - but you’ve already said you would.

I’d report to the RSPCA.

Gross misconduct isn’t a concept that legally applies to an au pair arrangement. You do not employ her.

So - thankfully - you can just tell the animal abuser to go.

How awful. Sack her immediately

BUT a colleague who is playing devils advocate is suggesting a final warning is more appropriate as she has been with us for so long and we've not experienced this before

Please give me this colleague's address, so that I can rock up to her gaff, kick her while she's lying down, then pick her up by the collar & throw her outside.

It'll obviously be fine, because when she complains about it, all I need do is say "but you've never experienced this before".

Dismiss the au pair TODAY, OP.
How can you even consider allowing her access to your dog, or your child, after seeing this?

I agree with others, dismiss her. Animal abusers are really low people and I wouldn’t want one in my home.

Omg definitely dismiss her. If nothing else it shows what kind of person she is to do that to a dumb animal!! Please don’t let her near the dog. Show her the footage and ask her to leave as soon as practicable

What are you doing about it op? Is the dog beating arsehole out of your house? Are the children she’s looking after old enough to say if she’s abused them as well?

She would have known you had a dog before taking the job. She would also have known that the dog was loved and cared for.

If she hadn't liked dogs she should not have taken the job. Report it to RSPCA and Police. I would consider making it known to agencies, and if no action is taken, it would be in online too. You may have more to lose in that respect than I do but I hate animal abuse.

I wouldn't want her in my home for another hour, but obviously it has to be dealt with appropriately.

Ignore your bloody colleague too .

Oh, I’d sack her and I’m not particularly a dog-lover. Cruelty to animals is really low, I think it shows some kind of personality disorder (aren’t most murderers cruel to animals!?) I wouldn’t want her looking after my child!

Oh my god, that made me so mad to read. I'd like to give her a kick for doing that. I wouldn't trust her with kids either and I'm sure you're justified in firing her.

The poor sweetheart and a rescue dog. Yes, the right thing is to dismiss, there are no excuses for her. You'll find another au pair.

Another one saying I’d sack her.