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.

Its been increasingly difficult to find au pairs ever since the referendum. It's a real problem. Presumably all the people sneering at the concept of au pairs have different child care options available to them but not everybody does.

It probably will end up in the DM, which is hilarious because I bet their writers are all rich enough for nannies.

I don't have an au pair, for the record. Just think it's important people are aware of the actual reality of existing immigration law in this situation, so they can decide what they think accordingly.

SaucyJack you’ve totally misunderstood the point of the au pair scheme. It’s not about cheap labour, it’s about young people spending up to a year broadening their horizons, experiencing another culture and learning another language. They are only supposed to do light babysitting duties for a limited number of hours. This can be a huge help to working families, who also see the benefit in their children being exposed to someone from another culture.

Of course our own young people will also lose these opportunities, such as the possibility to work as a nanny in family hotels, chalet hosts etc. Yes, there are far more pressing issues such as shortages of food and medicine, but to sell the “opportunity” for unemployed Brits to work as cheap childminders instead of au pairs as a Brexit advantage is ludicrous. They’d be working for less than the minimum wage but without the added benefits of the au pair scheme. Slow clap.

Of course it was about cheap labour.

Why should w/c people get to explore the world? Only the highly specialised or super rich should be allowed to work overseas.

I applaud brexiteers like Nigel Lawson and dyson going overseas- but young or poor people really don’t deserve opportunities.

Geez. Some people are so silly making such dumb snarky remarks. Some people are concerned about this because they have au pairs. If it doesn’t concern you then butt out. Duh! Some people rely on au pairs for childcare after school or for language exposure. And yes i get others have different worries. But to families who rely on au pairs I can see how this is concerning. In my area there are loads of families who have au pairs. We have an au pair because our children attend a bilingual school. The au pair helps with the French homework and language progress, as we don’t speak French ourselves. So to us, having an au pair matters.

Not just au-pairs. Butlers, valets, and house servants are all under threat.

More affordable/flexible childcare options are hardly the same as houseservants. I neither have nor want an au pair but think it is a shame if those who want to be or hire/host an au pair can’t do so.

“ Slow clap”

Maybe you should see what universal credit is doing to British people before you suggest that giving a young person a roof over their head and an allowance in exchange for work, or for single Mums to be doing low-paid childcare that they can fit around their own child’s schooling would be disadvantaging them?

I didn’t vote to leave by the way, but this is really something I’m not going to be up all night crying about.

Of course it was about cheap labour.

I have been an au-pair! True, the cash was only pocket money and could not be compared to a salary.

BUT I had a room, no bill, full board, all my weekends and plenty of free hours during the week. Opting for a full time job instead would have barely covered my rent and bills in a house share, would have given me no time whatsoever, and that's assuming I would have found an employer who didn't need someone speaking (let alone writing) English fluently.

People who talk about cheap labour and people being exploited have no idea what they are talking about. Young people will miss out a lot if the au-pair schemes disappear.

You have to remember that although Brexit was mostly voted for by the old and less well educated, brexiteers are massively invested in pretending that Brexit was some wc movement- (led by the elites) and that it will bring great rewards to Wc people.

arethereanyleftatall yes it’s cheaper than child minders but the point is that it’s hugely beneficial to both parties - hence why it isn’t classed as employment, and why it’s always only temporary!

But you’re seriously suggesting that young Brits should be doing this instead, as employment??? That already exists btw, it’s called “live-in nanny”. Rees-Mogg has one.

Why dismiss a scheme that opens up opportunities for young people of all classes who want to travel, whilst also providing affordable childcare for families who aren’t millionaires???

An au pair is more of a luxury because you need a spare room for starters, and also because they tend to not be ofsted registered so you couldn't claim tax credit/universal credit element in order to pay them. Those who think an au pair is more not a luxury, tend to be the people who can afford them.
I'm not trolling, I'm just pointing out there are vast differences. A childminder has early years training and can replace a nursery if need be. They have to follow the EYFS and complete all the paperwork which comes with it. An au pair does not.

the funny thing is that wealthy people employ nannies, not au pair.
Wealthy young people do "work experience" or "voluntary work" abroad, they don't become au-pair

The only ones who use or want to be au-pairs are the ones who are struggling financially. But let's keep the haters pretend au-pair is about privileges

Not sure why they should be "at threat" after Brexit. When I was growing up (1950s/60s) loads of people had au pairs and we were not in the EU then.

This has brought up an interesting question for me. My friend's ex wife lives in France. Their ds is 12 and lives with the Mum (Mum is French and ds is French I think). My friend lives here in England and is English. He doesn't have any formal access arrangements, but generally, the ds comes over for a couple of weeks over the holidays. How is this now going to work out for him?

😂😂😂😂😂😂 at an au pair not being considered a luxury. Of course it is.

What a ridiculous place this is sometimes

I was a au pair in France before we joined the EU and, we had au pairs from the Netherlands when I was a child

Gah universal credit childcare element, and who knows where the rogue 'more' came from in the next sentence.

I think au pairs are the least of our worries.
Gosh, we can look after our own kids if it comes to it, or employ somebody who lives here.

SaucyJack the slow clap was because you and arethereanyleft seem to be seriously suggesting that young Brits should be able to live the way au pairs do in our own country. You do realise that au pairs only earn pocket money? Sure, some people may be prepared to work for room and board, but that would be the thin end of the wedge to exploitation and modern slavery! Workers rights and minimum wage exist for a reason. But yes, this is the sort of thing the arch Brexiteers want to see: deregulation of the work market.

Au pairs aren’t stealing British jobs. Those aren’t jobs, it’s an exchange system, designed to promote cultural awareness.

Yeah there’s so many positives of Brexit, aren’t there? Makes it sooo worthwhile to limit the opportunities of wc youth and working families.

Not sure why they should be "at threat" after Brexit. When I was growing up (1950s/60s) loads of people had au pairs and we were not in the EU then.

We did. But there is currently no provision for EU nationals to continue to work in the UK as au pairs once the transitional period finishes at the end of 2020, and no proposal for any either. We don't just automatically go back to our 1973 immigration laws if we leave.

There is no way that I as a single working mother could have afforded an au pair.

1. My home is only just big enough for DS and I. No we’re not in London either.

1. No spare room.

1. Tax credits helped me to pay for childcare and that enabled me to work (professional but NHS so crap wage).

I could not have claimed tax credits towards an au pair.

So even those single mothers using au pairs quoted here were obviously on very good salaries (and with a spare room in their home) to be able to afford an au pair in the first place.

I’m a single mother working full time, not regular hours, and I have au pairs for child care. If I looked after my children myself, I couldn’t work. There are no childminders or after school clubs that operate the hours for which I need child care. The snobby fucking attitude that this is somehow a luxury I could do without - not unless I took DCs out of school and into prisons with me it’s not. I don’t exploit my au pairs, they live with me as a family member and my DCs have lovely relationships with them. Of my past ones, one is a teacher, one trainee doctor and one studying social work, so a year of school runs with my DCs didn’t stunt them.

Not sure why they should be "at threat" after Brexit. When I was growing up (1950s/60s) loads of people had au pairs and we were not in the EU then.

This has been explained multiple times. See for example MarchCrocus’ post on p2.

Immigration law today is totally different from the 50s and 60s. No provisions have been made for the au pair scheme to continue post Brexit. New visas will probably be created eventually, but it’s hardly a priority, and meanwhile existing au pairs in the U.K. could be in a very precarious situation.

Same goes for young Brits working in resorts abroad.