To ask if you realise au-pairs are seriously under threat after Brexit?

[Dontblameitontheboogie]

On another thread discussing a potential au-pair who would be starting this summer, I was struck that not a single poster pointed out that it’s far from certain au-pairs will be able to arrive or even stay after 29 March!?!

I thought this deserved its own thread, and in AIBU rather than the “Brexit” echo chamber. People may not even realise they could be affected.

Even in a “Deal” scenario, au-pair status isn’t guaranteed, as far as I know. They won’t qualify for pre-settled status, as they’re here temporarily and won’t be able to provide proof of ordinary residence. So technically they could be here illegally from 29 March. Access to health care would be a worry, as would re-entering the UK after trips home - or getting here in the first place.

The current au pair scheme is an EU-wide arrangement, that allows young EU nationals to temporarily live in another EU country without exercising Treaty rights. Some countries, like France or Germany extend the scheme to au-pairs from outside the EU too, but the U.K. doesn’t.

In case of a no deal Brexit, the Immigration Bill that was passed last Monday means that EU citizens wishing to come here must have a job offer worth at least £30,000k. Some exceptions I believe, such as nurses and doctors, but I haven’t seen any mention of au pairs anywhere.

Check out www.saveaupairs.uk for more info.

I've been in my role for 13 years, I'm now single, I have no family and no option other than an aupair. I earn over the threshold to receive tax credits just, but I also pay 14% into my work related pension, I also pay subscriptions that cover my health and legal cover for me to do my job. I take Home 2200, my rent is 1300 this is the standard rent for this area, I get 200 from my ex for his daughter he continuously lets down. If I change my role, my take home reduces, I'm on the bones of my arse. There is no overnight or weekend childcare options where I am, believe me I've been looking. So please tell me how exactly I work, keep a roof over my families head, and keep my daughter safe and cared for without an aupair. I cannot give up my job,

You have to understand that this is MN where anyone who needs child-care is privileged and wealthy, where WC never want to go overseas to work and where Brexit is going to deliver milk and honey and unicorns for all.

The luxury!

As your contention that a spare room must be a luxury doesnt make any provision for all the people whose spare room makes them poorer katarina, yes I expect we will have to agree to disagree on the point. You should come and volunteer at our CAB. It would be illuminating.

How did it used to be done... well, ther used to be an immigration category, only stopped on 2008 for non EU nationals. I suspect EU nationals will do the same as any other non EU au pairs!

Historically, au pairs came to the UK under an Au Pair immigration category, which was closed in November 2008 Home Office when a new points based system was introduced, which included a Youth Mobility Scheme under tier 5 of the points based system Youth Mobility Scheme for the nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Monaco.

It may not exist now but, as the EU and UK governments have said that onbody will be deported on the day I can only imagine that more rational minds will prevail (though maybe recent idiocies give the lie to that hope!)

Either way, au pairs are, and should be, a very much valued quid pro quo and, unicorns or no unicorns, they will continue to exist post Brexit!

Fenella if you take home 2200 and your rent is 1300, you absolutely are entitled to universal credit.

Fenella OMG you live in a home with more than one room, you go to work, you don't get tax credits - you are clearly immensely privileged and living a life of utter luxury!!!!

On a more serious note - it does eventually get better and all those years slogging away for not very much do pay off. Hang in there.

Before I went back to work, DHs take home pay was 2253, our rent is 675 and we received £398 UC every month.

March, you are now deliberately misreading my posts. I said above that the bedroom tax was a wrongheaded policy. I believe that (a) a spare room is a luxury, and also (b) social housing tenants should not be penalized for having a spare room.

We can acknowledge that something is a luxury without needing it to be confiscated / financially penalized.

My take home is as a result of daily mail labelled 'gold plated pension' my salary is too high for tax credits, I have looked. I have to pay subscriptions for legal cover and health at work too which brings my pay down. I could cancel them but I'd be fucked if I had one accident or an allegation against me. My aupair lives in my living room, our kitchen is now a kitchen/living/dining room. She has more money than me each week, I've sorted language classes for her, I do all the cooking and prepare everything for her on the days that she is looking after the littlest. I even take my littlest with me to the gym, I go to the gym as I have to remain fit for work or I could be sacked. Sometimes due to the nature of my work I'm late home, I can't leave in the middle of an incident. Because I'm managing everything my area commander has advised other people who are struggling with childcare to look at aupairs because it works so well for our role. Some people have been so narrow minded on this thread, the world needs a bit more kindness

But universal credit only looks at your take home pay, after all deductions. Including pension. The first 198 of any thp is disregarded, which will rise to 248 in April. Universal credit is vastly different to tax credits, so when it rolls out to your area, look into it.

Also, I pay into my ridiculously expensive pension as there is every chance that I will be too broken to do much after I retire from this shit show. I am now going to study for my job in my luxurious home, having been to the gym after doing the school run while my aupair had a lie in. She's currently getting ready to go out for lunch with her friends, the poor disadvantaged girl

Most of my fellow au pairs I met in my year out were working rather than middle class. For all of us it was such an amazing opportunity to widen our horizons. We also had an au pair (connected via one of the friends I had made years before), again from a working class background who was keen to better her English and would not have been able to afford to come here to study. It was a transformational experience for her too - she met her future husband (who is from the UK but she met him back in her home country) due to her ability to speak English, and they now live in Australia.

I don’t see any complaints from any posters above that they’ll be losing the mutually beneficial cultural exchange. Just the cheap, live-in labour.

SaucyJack, have you actually read a single one of my posts??? I’ve repeated until I’m blue in the face that an au pair ISN’T labour, it’s all about the cultural exchange, which is mutually beneficial. And I’ve repeatedly pointed out that young Brits can also hugely benefit from the scheme by going abroad.

If I remember correctly, you were one of two posters who suggested young Brits should be able to be au pairs in the UK, instead of foreigners - now that WOULD be just all about cheap labour, and indeed exploitation, as I’ve pointed out numerous times.

You really make no sense at all.

My main concern isn’t even for the families, but rather for the young people who have come here in good faith and could find themselves in a vulnerable position, through no fault of their own.

crumpet - that is really encouraging to hear.

For me it’s first and foremost about affordable childcare. So what.

I'm not misreading any of your posts Katherina, merely pointing out the large hole in your reasoning. Certainly didn't suggest you were pro bedroom tax.

I just wish mums could all support each other. All of those of us who work need childcare. Some of us have a spare room and can accommodate an AP. Some of us struggle to afford any care at all. Some of us have a healthy, local parent who is able to take on a lot of childcare saving us thousands per year. Some of us are single parents who are having to hold down multiple jobs are are hardly taking a thing home after our costs and have lost jobs due to childcare failure Some of us have stellar careers or partners with one and can afford a live-in full-time nanny.

Yes, access to childcare is not equally distributed, but we can't blame mums for accessing what they are able to.

I thought that a scheme was going to be introduced to allow young people to come to the UK for a year. That would cover au pairs.

However, you could just ignore the law. Brexit is stupid. Stopping people coming here to provide useful services is stupid. So just ignore it, invite them over, they can be come in without a visa, and all they need is health insurance.

Quite frankly, nobody is going to be arrested or deported for having or working as an au pair.

I did it myself illegally years ago - only for a summer in my case, but I didn't get arrested or banned from the then non-EU country I worked in. I suspect the UK government will have much bigger problems post a no-deal Brexit (although nobody is going to come to the UK anyway if there isn't enough food).

Though i have to say I am worried that if our current ap visits home post Brexit and there's no clarity on ap status, he could be blocked from returning by someone being a jobsworth.

I think you have all gone off topic here. Brexit is a serious topic, and will change everyone's lives. This is not project fear, even Rees Mogg says we will go into recession for the next 5 years. And yes, it will be harder to find an Au Pair as they will not want to come to this country due to the rise in the racist, bigoted and outspoken right wing elements of our society who have been fuelled by the Brexit debate.

Daisiesinavase
Before Brexit we didn't have the "hostile environment" policy - horrendous!

@CoachBombay
That meme made me cackle in the café - how embarrassing! Fortunately not a lot of people around to hear...

Great post, Echobelly

Only on Mumsnet would loosing one's Au Pair be classed a crisis.