To Think This Must Be The Worst Au Pair Job In The World?

[HoneyStepMummy]

www.gumtree.com/p/jobs/live-in-au-pair-st-john-wood/1022335782
I mean who wouldn't want to share a couch with someone else's kids, iron, cook, clean, and babysit for 12 hrs a day for $120 a week??? This must be a joke, surely???

You can see the one that seemed more reasonable. The original has gone.

I agree with expat.

This sense of entitlement and superiority is so ingrained in some people, they really can't see it. Like fish having no word for water.

In fact they probably thought how super and lovely they were, letting the au pair eat what they eat.

There is this really peculiar view amongst the rich and presumably well educated that child care should be outsourced to the cheapest possible bid and those who care for their children should be treated with little respect.

i really don't get it - their children are presumably precious and loved? There have been so many awful tragic tales of young au pairs and babies.

I still remember seeing an advert in Clapham a few years ago - wanted, school leaver to look after two children. The wage quoted was crap. This was in a newsagents window in a street where no house was going for less than £500,000.

There is another one offering £120 for a 40 hour week which includes 2 evenings, 7am starts and early evenings during the week, plus saturday mornings

Cant find the ad now?

I mentioned this on the phone to a colleague today - immediately she asked if I was a mumsnetter! She's seen the thread. We agreed to 'never speak of this again'.

she'll know who you are now Wembley You'll have to NC if you want to bitch about work!

Presumably they are hoping for a desperate illegal immigrant/ migrant worker with little English.

Sadly this is all too common- apprentices are often exploited- some only get £40 a week for 40hours- and not necessarily trained either- after all, some jobs are not skilled and you frankly don't need qualifications in shelf stacking/ cleaning/ reception type work.

The link was also on nannyjob. A lot of nannies emailed too

So glad direct action has had an impact

Spero, it's not their children are not loved. The parents think they are so adorable and so little work (despite never having done any of the childcare themselves), that whoever is fotunate enough to look after them should count their blessings and be in it 'for the love of it' rather than pecuniary gain. It would be interesting to see what would happen if it were suggested to them by their employers that they should not expect good compensation because they should be doing what they do (be it medicine, law, management etc) just for the pure joy of it.

Lol riots that's probably the last thing I'd bitch about. I luffs my workmates just in case.

I have not seen the advert, as it had been removed by the time I clicked in to it. But I genuinely think that this should be reported to the police. It is not acceptable and it is not legal. Would you do that OP, would you kindly report it to the police? These people are dangerous.

I have had 3 au-pairs, They worked no more than 20 hours a week, I paid them £125 a week and also paid for English lessons. No housework. No babies.

I did wonder whether Gumtree are liable also - given that they have posted what amounts to an illegal advert. This is what they say:

We?re committed to keeping Gumtree a safe place, and will always assist in a criminal investigation. In accordance with our privacy policy and data protection legislation, we?ll provide evidence to law enforcement and give evidence in court where necessary.

If you?re a member of the police, Trading Standards or any other law enforcement agency, contact us here with your request:

Fax: +44 (0) 208 711 5441
Email: [email protected]

Which is a whole heap of nothing. So basically, I could join Gumtree and post the following:

'Slave wanted. Slave will sleep on floor, do all housework, look after the children at all times. Hours approximately 90 per week. We will pay the slave £100 pounds a week and of course the accommodation is included. But not food. The slave has to purchase their own food. But they are only allowed out of the house between 10am and 11am on Sundays. Foreign slaves are okay, but native English-speaking slaves are preferred'

And clearly, that would be just fine ...

wuldric Exactly. Change the word slave for nanny/ au pair and there you have it!

I found the original ad!!! I didn't realize I had left my browser open on my computer at work. I was out yesterday, got back to work this morning, and voila! There it was on my screen. I copied and pasted it, so for those of you who missed it here goes:
Requirements:

1. Experience with boisterous and playful toddler boys who demand attention and patience in equal measure. We expect a minimum of two years experience in the UK with solid references.

1. We will have a second baby boy soon and you will be expected to take in your stride the management of two kids (although our 2 year old will attend school from September for 5 half days).

1. You will need to cook, clean, read to and bathe as necessary the children under strict daily guidelines as set out.

1. You will also be expected to cook for the family, wash and iron clothes and assist with light household chores as necessary. You will of course be entitled to eat all that we eat.

1. You should enjoy going outside to the park and using your imagination to entertain children.

1. You must be very security conscious at all times, especially when outside, not allowing any interaction with strangers and always focusing 100 per cent on the kids.

1. We live in St Johns Wood very close to Regents Park. We would like you to live-in and the great appeal of this for you will be proximity to central London (you can be in Oxford Street in 10 minutes by bus). It will be a little cramped for a while and you may need to share space with the kids/sleep in the lounge as we are between places and living with parents, but the area is excellent so hopefully this shouldn't be a problem for you.

1. You will have the weekends off and will work during the week from 8 am to 8 pm.

1. We will pay you £120 per week.

BTW I was both an au pair and then a nanny almost 20 years ago. I think both can work out really well, but this ad is beyond belief!! I love the way the poster suggests that their prime location is some type of compensation for lack of accomodation and decent pay.

And cocking and cleaning for at least 7 people every day on top of childcare.

Cooking, that is.

wow.

I couldn't have coped with all that. A two year old keeps you on your toes all the time, how can you cook for the family, clean, iron at the same time, do other light household chores and be on call for 12 hours a day?

And then no room of your own to sleep in. You'd be better off getting a live-in cleaning or cooking job.

Seriously who would do that for those conditions if they already had 2 years of UK working experience other than an illegal immigrant?

Well maybe it includes cocking as well as cooking, LOL! I'm sure that after they revised and removed their post they either contacted some desperate au pairs looking for a job, or they will be posting a revised ad sometime soon.
So in a nutshell they want a fulltime experienced nanny with 2 years experience and references. This lucky candidate will look after a newborn all day, and a 2 year old at least half of the day. They wil also do 7 people's laundry, ironing, and cooking. Somehow they're also expected to take kids to the park, bathe them and basically watch them til bedtime. Then what? The poor au pair doesn't have proper accomodations.
I saw another listing that said basically you will be doing "everthing a housewife does exept hanky-panky" boak! And that you will receive $80 a week, but "my mother did this job for my father for 24 years with no pay". What's wrong with these idiots?

I suppose if you don't want to be a housewife and carer of preschoolers but you don't have the money to pay for someone to help out properly, you hope some poor sod with little choice will do it all for you for next to nothing.

Apart from anything else I can't get over the fact they think it is ok for her not to even have a room to sleep in.

God, they've got the inlaws there as well.

Just in case that bonkers family have caught sight of this thread, here are the rules and laws governing aupairs. Note that they are not expected to work more than 30 hours a week, and should have time to study.

Honestly that advert has made my blood boil. Nasty stuff. It makes me worried that I could be inadvertently bumping into people like that. In St John's Wood ...

Note also that aupairs should "have their own private room in the house, provided free of charge"

I found another shitty advert. Exasperating. Check out the follow up thread. www.gumtree.com/p/jobs/au-pair-4-months-summer-job-by-sea-woolacombe-to-look-after-4y-old-boy-help/1022523111