To wonder why the race/nationality of your nanny would matter?

[NancyPurple]

I've had various jobs as a nanny and I'm currently looking to return to it.

I've seen a lot of ads, mainly on gumtree, that specify that the advertisers would prefer a certain nationality of nanny. Why is this? And why is this allowed? Surely it would be illegal in any other kind of job advertisement?

It's understandable if somebody wants a nanny that speaks their native tongue if their child is bilingual, but that isn't limited to their nationality.

I've seen a few 'our previous nanny was from Australia (for example) so we'd like another Aussie nanny' type thing.

AIBU to think this is out of order?

I have never believed the Tagalog thing is legal in practice because you don't genuinely want a Tagalog speaker - you want a Filipina because of perceived characteristics and thing specifying Tagalog is the way round the legal prohibition on specifying race, nationality etc.

Equality Act 2010 has the following as protected characteristics:

Age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.

Race includes colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins.

However when the job involves personal care in a private home then an exclusion probably applies in terms of bringing a case against the employer.

There is a similar discussion back in Sept/Oct on the Home Childcare board.

So no YANBU in my view but there little that can be done about it.

Think not thing...

I would not want one of those who mumble whom we see on television and we do not know what they are saying.

You need more than received pronunciation to be "articulate", Happy. Perhaps one of your prospective British nanny's jobs could be to improve your own grasp of English grammar.

Thinly veiled racism, OP. In case there was any doubt.

Aussies and Kiwis = native English speakers, but not snobbish. Popular with people who live in modest houses, or who were not born into the nanny-employing classes.

Filipinas = She will clean as well as look after the children. Cheap and biddable, because she is saving hard to send her money home.

European nannies are hired by Europeans wanting a nanny from their country of origin.

British nannies are hired by Americans and the very rich English. They are too savvy to mention they want someone who's white, but they often do.

If you think you could do the job, of course you should apply. People are conditioned by their experiences, but if they're confronted by someone great they usually drop their preconceived ideas.

HappyAgain, your post sounds snobbish in the extreme, as though you're saying 'No proles or regional accents may apply'. You do understand it's possible to speak articulately without 'precise RP', right?

And that if you don't speak good Spanish etc you could well be hiring a Spaniard with the equivalent of a strong working-class Glaswegian accent?

Lots of people here justifying their reasons for native / impeccable / fluent English here.

Yet lacking a correct grasp of simple pronouns.

Always want to ask these people whether their poor use of English has held them back from making progress in their own careers

I think you'll find that it's fine to specify if it is relevant. In the same way you'd specify language skills.

NOT "I only want white people because they work harder/are nicer". that is NOT ok, but if you wanted someone with a similar culture as your family to look after a child that is surely reasonable.

Ours is a very close family, Back. Literally - we all live within half an hour of each other and socialise together all the time. We are geeks - we like reading and cooking and watching films.

It's very possible we'd have more in common with someone from a close, loving, bookish Sri Lankan family than we would from someone else from South Manchester.

Just saying .

thesaurusgirl I'm not religious or especially nationalistic. I can't see it mattering to me, but I know other people take it seriously that their children grow up with the values of their homeland or religion. So they won't want them spending a significant part of their day being taught by word or example a different culture.

I don't know if it still applies, but at one time adoptive parents had to be from the same culture as a child or to promise to learn enough about it to preserve it in the child.

I think that's silly, but I get that others feel differently.

People want Philippine nannies because they perceive that they are cheaper, more likely to tolerate long hours and crappy conditions and will cook and clean as an added bonus.

This thread is rather depressing. There seem to be a few people saying that it's OK to discriminate, so long as you're not daft enough to clarify in the advert that you're discriminating

What TheEnduring said. It's illegal to specify a particular nationality.

I wanted a nanny with excellent English. I interviewed two British nannies and one Eastern European nanny. The Eastern European nanny had by far and away the best English (both written and spoken). We hired her (not just for that rEason) and she is awesome. If I'd specified British nanny I would have missed her.

Just to be clear - I don't think it's OK to discriminate. It's very obviously illegal to post a job advert specifying protected characteristics (although lots of people still do). It's even more common and almost unprovable to discriminate illegally without telling anyone you're doing it (ask any male nanny) but it's still not right, and sometimes, as in the people looking for Philipina staff or insisting on middle class white British nannys, it's founded in a real moral failing.

Justmyview This thread is depressing but I'm not as pessimistic as Enduring about it being representative of a widespread "moral failure".

I work in recruitment and employers regularly hire someone who doesn't fit the original brief (whether implicit or explicit). Most people are willing to re-consider their brief in the face of a good candidate, which is why the OP should definitely go ahead and apply for the jobs that appeal.

As a side note, my own posts were full of alcohol-fuelled errors last night and I was far too rude about other posters' use of English: I apologise. Though my mistakes rather prove my point - faultless English is an unrealistic expectation for most jobs, certainly domestic ones.

Is it legal? Does anyone actually know? It shouldn't be.

A lot of employment within a home is exempt from anti-discrimination legislation, and for good reason. If you have to be taken to the toilet by someone else you need to be comfortable with that and you can specify male or female carers.

In the case of a nanny, you have to be comfortable with that person within the home, eg I have some idea what food is kosher and what is not but I doubt I could walk in to the home of someone who 'keeps kosher' and cook without making a mistake. Someone from an orthodox Jewish background will be able to cook and keep the kitchen kosher as second nature.

Not legal, I think, under the Equality Act.

I think you can specify the skills and knowledge you want but not an ethnicity. It is just possible that religion is an exception, so that you can ask for an adherent not just someone who has studied the theology, but even that may only apply to jobs within an religious institution.

So you could seek a nanny saying e.g. "knowledge of Icelandic language, cuisine and culture essential" but could not say "must be Icelandic".

Sorry-I didn't quite read to the end and ended up posting what umpteen people had said already.

nannynick However when the job involves personal care in a private home then an exclusion probably applies in terms of bringing a case against the employer.

I'm not sure that's the case. I recently advertised for a personal assistant (care) and while I could state female, as they've be providing some help dressing, etc, that was all I could say legally.

They can bring cases against me as their employer - but I have insurance for it.