Do I have to provide all day heating for my Au Pair?

Good point - I've actually started a thread about this in chat to discuss it without derailing this old thread!

Yes. I think there is.

Many posts are written contextually. There are people on here all the time ranting about their annoying kids and irritating husbands. but husbands sometimes leave and kids sometimes develop illnesses or worse. Having previous comments resurrected can be very painful when the context has changed. And the topic is irrelevant - it is the tone of the comments. There is one very well known poster on MN who was very funny and frivolous in lots of her posts, before her DD became ill. If I saw a post in her old style (on any topic) and didn't see the change in date, I might make assumptions about that posters' current state of mind that would be wholly wrong and could lead to very hurtful misunderstandings.

I think there are a number of issues.

I disagree its bad form to post on old threads. Posters often can't win, they either get told off for posting on an old thread, or starting one on a topic that's been "done to death"

That said, I rarely think its a good idea to post on an ol thread. Whether you want advice or chat, posting on an old thread loses a lot of replies by people who assume they will have nothing to add, so avoid the thread. Others spend a while getting up to speed, only to realise how old the original problem is, and this derails the thread.

So, in summary, not naughty to do it, but rarely achieves the desired result.

I've never seen the problem with posting on old threads if people still have the same issues. Am I missing something?

Hooliaaa. It is really bad form on MN to post on old threads, Your assertion that 'I know what to do' clearly shows that you don't realise this.

Get an Australian AP - our houses at home aren't heated. When I lived in the UK (not as an AP tho, in my own place) I used to open the windows on sunny winter days to let the fresh cold air in. In winter we're used to wearing a jumper inside - I hate heating!

I've always told nannies to turn on the heating if they're cold and showed them where the switch is. So far (5 years later) no one has turned it on.
If she's cold he'll be grumpy - I always am.

I've always told nannies to turn on the heating if they're cold and showed them where the switch is. So far (5 years later) no one has turned it on.

Hmmmmm. I don't really need advice. . I know what to do. Just nice to know that other people out there have confronted similar situations. Call it a rant. Thanks Mumsnet for listening!

This thread is 3 years old! Start a new thread if you want advice on your au pair heating issue

We have a marvellous au-pair who's been with us since March. She's totally reliable, trustworthy, loving to our daughter - basically a joy to have around. However for the last 3 weeks we've been getting home to truly sauna like conditions in the whole house (thermostat set to 28 degrees and it's not even cold outside) - I'm heavily pregnant now and it's so hot it makes me feel ill. It takes a few hours for the house to cool down as the first thing we do when we come back from work is turn down the heating about 12 degrees - at the weekends we have it on at about 15. It never came up as a problem in the Spring. I have asked her not to turn it up too much but I don't think she realises quite how hot it is. It's a big house so if she keeps it up it's going to ruin us financially. I clearly have to take a firmer line but she's so great it's hard to tell her off. Just spotted this thread and thought I'd share.

We have the heating on for au pair (and she knows how to turn it up/down), also relatively young girls tend to feel the cold more in my experience, so we have oyt ab additional heater in her room which she can switch on whenever she wants. We also make sure living room, kitchen and bathrooms are at 20 degrees celcius and have bought some slippers for her because she was always going round on socks on wooden/stone floors. We turn radiator thermostats in our and dd bedroom a bit down during the day.

I think that it is important to ensure that your au pair feels comfortable and looked after. I agree with one of previous posters, otherwise you will risk that she will go somewhere else. I also wouldn't like to sit in a cold house myself.

Your au pair is living as a member of the family - so I'd treat them how I'd want my own flesh and blood to be treated if they were to go and stay with a family in another country.

If an oil filled radiator is good enough for your own daughter then that's what I'd offer the au pair. If you would leave the central heating on for your daughter then I'd do the same for your au pair. You can't have one rule for your own family and one for your au pair though.. Well you can but it would feel very divisive..

It makes sense to find out from your au pair the times she'll be out at English classes etc so if you do leave the CH on, you can set up the timer to turn it off accordingly, and obviously show her the buttons to turn things off if she does go out unexpectedly..

i LOVE my furlined slippers that mb got me as one of my xmas pressies last year - woofa as a 5mth puppy attacked and made a killing of my last furry pair

came home and saw fluff+fur all over the hall

central heating that has an hour boost is good - alas i dont have this at home, and felt chilly last night (heating goes off at 8.30pm at the blondes resdence) so dh put on and we forgot and was still on at midnight - and one very hot house to sleep in !!

slippers+fleece+mini heater (one with thermastat) is the way to go

yes I do (for the nanny). I leave it on the thermometer control so it's not on constantly iyswim but just heats it up to a reasonable temperature.

If the question is about your 'legal' responsibility then "as far as practicable the temperature in workplaces where the working activity involves severe physical effort should be at least 13° C (56° F). In all other workplaces the minimum temperature should normally be around 16°C (60°F). There is no specified maximum temperature."

However, the Health and Safety at Work Act exludes 'a domestic servant in a private dwelling'. So whilst you have no obligation to keep your house a certain temperature I'd agree with those who've suggested an oil filled radiator for her to use wherever she is in the house something like these?

Depends on your house I'd say! When I got up this morning (no heating on) it was 14deg indoors, I wouldn't expect someone to put up with those temperatures all day!

I have shown AP how to use the boost button, but she seems happy with jumpers

I wouldnt heat house all day for DS & I- thats what jumpers, socks & imitation UGG boots are for , so I wouldnt heat it all day for AP either, but I if she needs to boost it she knows how.

We're economising at the moment. It felt really warm this morning when I came downstairs - we'd forgotten to turn it down from yesterday when we were looking after two of ds's friends with ds yesterday (inset day). It was (shock, horror!) 17 degrees. I turned it back down to 16...

We tell our au pairs how to work the heating - but leave it on the timer and expect them to turn it on if they are in and want it on during the day.We also have a portable plug in heater they can use in their rooms and the aga is on all day so the kitchen is toasty warm.
Having said that we did have a very expensive time last winter with an au pair who was constantly cold and turned the heating on all day (and a couple of nightmare nights when I dreamt I was burning in hell) with the thermostat at max. At one point she used £125 of oil in one week, and I was feeling ill with the heat. I now tell new au pairs that our comfortable temperature is 21 degrees so they know up front that the whole house won't be at 25!

Agree we shouldn't make OP's question any bigger than it is. She's just asking her responsibility and if i read it correctly, wants to make sure she's doing the right thing.

i would go with what most people have said - a specific heater for AP's room, have a hunt around for one that doesn't eat up your electricity bill. my opinion is that when you switch the heater on the whole day, it dries out your skin and can make the house feel stuffy. i''ve noticed that my kids tend to complain after a while and need some fresh air. We have our heating on in the mornings and from 4-8pm. But on an extra cold day, my nanny just switches it on and that's fine too.

Whoa! I don't think the OP is begruding her AP the heating. She's acknowledging her house gets cold and is wondering whether there's a legal responsibility she has as an employer to make sure the house is heated!

I used to nanny for a family with a really draughty house and FROZE in the beginning but I talked to them about it and they got a heater for the playroom (like Blondes' family) and a really thick long cardigan and some sheepskin slippers for me. Was partly their choice though as they were quite an environmentally concious family!

I'm sure if your AP was cold then she'd turn the heating up, but to pre-empt this, if you're worried about the environmental impact and cost, then say "the heating is on automatically these times to these times", offer her a small plug in heater for use during those hours, remind her that closing doors etc keeps the house warm and take her shopping for a thick jumper - assuming the general attitude in your house is to pile on the woollens rather than press the boost button

IvanaDK, I am not keen on most of your post