Too much for an au pair surely?!

[SouthPole]

I've just seen this advert on au pair uk (Facebook) and it just seems like so much to ask a poor au pair to do?! And all for the princely pocket money of £100 a week.

I know board and food obviously counts, we've had au pairs before (looking for another at the mo).

Just seems too much to ask. Is it taking the piss? Don't know how to link to it so here's the body of the ad:-

We a Christian family looking for someone to help look after 2 children aged 6 and 9 and help with cooking meals and some household duties.

Your role will be to wake them up every morning by 7am, get them washed and dressed give them breakfast, get them ready and take them to school. At 3pm you have to pick them up, give them snacks, encourage them to do their homework or play games with them, then give them dinner by 6pm and get them ready for bed. There will be some light housework to do. For this we will give you free food, free accommodation in your own room, and pay per week will be £100. You will not be expected to work on most weekends except if I am working weekend.The children are generally very well behaved and love reading and playing in the garden. I prefer someone with experience.
Please inbox if you're interested. To start ASAP. I'm in Oxfordshire

My employers pay me £10/hour net (not sure how much gross exactly as they work out and pay the tax for it themselves). So a nanny doing roughly the same hours as that advert (7am-9am and 3pm-6pm) on the same pay as me would cost minimum £250 a week (plus tax).
Nanny wages vary depending on area though, I live and work in London.

Also I used to drop DS at nursery when it opened at 7:30 in my "gym clothes" when my commute was only 45 mins. So I could go home and shower in peace! We did get an extra hour of snuggles in the morning though because of this!

7am-9am and 3pm-7pm is just about ok (30 hours a week).

However, if they are adding in cleaning hours on top, weekend work and presumably full time in the school holidays then it is far too much for an au pair.

That is way more than 30 hours a week - she's going to be working at least 6-7 hours a day, possibly more.

So yes, it's exploitative. And as there is no mention of bus, car, phone or any other amenities, I would imagine there isn't any.

No telly or wifi either I bet

I think, on the face of it, it would be ok but there are a few red flags that would give me pause:

"Light housework" - exactly how much are we talking here? The childcare hours on their own are quite close to the max for an au pair as it is.

"most weekends" will be free - what exactly does that equate to? Feels like it could turn out to be one weekend in four, which is quite a lot.

"give them dinner" - is the au pair expected to cook it as well?

"Christian family" - the fact that this is explicitly mentioned makes me wonder whether they'd be ok with the au pair going out, having boyfriends, etc.

I'd do all that for £100 a week..I'd be delighted...but oh wait a minute it's called being a mum....must remember to ask dh to pay me.

Sounds fine to me, pretty standard aupair role

Really? It sounds quite a lot more than most au pair roles - most au pairs don't wake the children in the morning and get them ready for bed again at night.

Looks pretty standard to me. 6 hours for 5 days a week is 30 hours.
I wouldn't ask for weekend work though, unless paid extra or time off at another time.

ImCatbug presumably your pay doesn't include housing though?

It sounds like a lot more than my understanding of an au pair role. 30 hours per week is almost a full time job and au pairs are certainly not meant to work full time.

Cooking a dinner every single week night ... that is a massive task in itself! I am almost driven to despair at the thought of producing something nutritious that the dc both like day in, day out, day in, day out. And I actually love the little blighters.

Yes, and what happens in the school holidays or if one of the children is sick?