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.

CostanzaG
I agree that in some families, the mother (usually) cannot afford to go back to work.
Apart from that, what childcare is cheaper than an au-pair if you consider them a luxury?

Kelsoooo - if there were no au pairs perhaps a childminder would pop up due to the demand

Different markets. An au pair works in the home, which is part of the appeal to families.

Anyone who needs cheap childcare is a rich bastard and deserves to be shat on by Brexit.

Its not so much the au pairs it the ancillary staff in hospitals - the staff who serve tea & food, the engineers who fix all of the medical equipment, the cleaners, many nurses & nursing assistants etc etc & random unemployed people wont have the skills or lets face it the attitude- education - desire- ability -background to fill these posts you need commitment for these roles - even before we "joined" we used overseas staff - some of who became the "Windrush" generation

I still don't think some people are grasping the idea that if you can afford childcare without having to rely on tax credit/UC then you're doing alright! You stop qualifying for UC once your household income goes above roughly £40k, depending on how many children you have. So that's not doing too badly!

anniehm I think you will find that everybody from overseas is going to be affected by these extra charges - so I am afraid that having an au pair from elsewhere is not going to solve the issue

And a fair few MC remainers don't think au-pairs are a priority either

Fair enough - but then why bother commenting? In case you didn’t notice, this wasn’t posted as a plea to campaign for au pairs, but just to highlight something that might affect a few people (not me)!

@TightPants I am a single parent, earn about the same as a nurse and I don't get the childcare element of tax credits. Possibly this is because my older children don't use after school childcare any more, but I still wouldn't want to leave them alone overnight - they are all under 15.
If I wanted someone overnight an au pair would be the only affordable option. i would have to bring my daughter into my room to free up a bedroom.

It's the bigger picture biscuit
Yes the actual childcare element is cheap but you have to provide lodgings and food for an additional adult. The average family in the UK cannot accommodate an additional adult in their home and some would struggle to feed another person.
That's what makes it a luxury.

anniehm there is no au pair scheme for Indonesians. There is a scheme for a limited number of non EU countries. Either your friend’s au pair holds nationality of another country or she is not here as part of a legal au pair programme.

ChariotsofFish - yes I thought tyat too .... wonder how many illegals this will unearth

A friend of mine has a daughter au-pairing her way around Europe, she's having such a great time. It is really sad these opportunities will be much harder for those younger than her. Brexit takes so much from all of us.

@ConstanzaG I do get that a spare bedroom is a luxury - really I do - what I was simply trying to say that an au pair is a very specific job. No au pair ( in my opinion) should be asked to look after a baby. We also did a private nursery then DS was younger - an au pair would have been inappropriate. Not their job. When Ds was older we had an au pair ( yes we had a spare bedroom then ) and they got on famously. She had all the hours to get on with the course she wanted to study & is now doing very very well. It gave her time to live relatively cheaply & get on with her studies in return for a very very few hours week . It is what it is what it meant to be about ( is it not) . If that isn't possible after Brexit - well - but when it worked well I think the au pair scheme worked well. That is not to say some were asked to do more than they should have been & that was wrong.

For shift workers, especially single parent shift workers, it's au pair or no job. So I wouldn't say a luxury.

But for people who need or are an pairs, this isn't news.

Anniehm, yes, the UK has specific visas for au pairs from a number of non EU countries. That’s not going to help families with EU au pairs, or the au pairs themselves, if we crash out, or until a new visa system is set up for EU au pairs. That will take time.

Personally, I wouldn’t be comfortable having an EU au pair here by March 29th. Too much scope for things to go wrong. I just wanted to highlight the issue to anyone affected!

You stop qualifying for UC once your household income goes above roughly £40k, depending on how many children you have.
Out of interest, can you roughly guess how much a single mother with two primary aged children will have in her pocket from £40K once standard market rate housing and non-subsidised childcare are paid for? Say, somewhere in outer London?

@echt - exactly - a different thing - possibly equally despised but - different.

Yes because all au pairs are kept as slaves ! Maybe the sneerers would like to talk to any of the au pairs we had when the kids were younger - who were welcomed as part of our family and given free board and food and wages so that they could improve their language skills (which is what an au pair is - not really an employee) and experience the culture of another country in return for a few hours babysitting and a bit of light housework. The same ones that we are still in touch with and visit us for holidays and who made friends with other au pairs while they were her who they had a ball with most evenings and every weekend they were here - a lot of assumptions being made here.

Only au pairs friends employs are British.

Dontblameitontheboogie

I commented because I am frustrated. It's an argument that goes straight into a goal at the UKIP end of the pitch.

I'll worry about Au Pairs after we have sorted out food, medicines and jobs - by which I mean the ones that pay more than minimum wage and help people to pay for their housing.

And tax credits etc only help with a certain amount. Full time shift work needs childcare that outstrips that, and in many areas, you can't get childcare, especially for anti-social hours, cheaper than an au pair.

It can be a good option for a single mum on benefits to stay in work.

Yes because all au pairs are kept as slaves ! Maybe the sneerers would like to talk to any of the au pairs we had when the kids were younger - who were welcomed as part of our family and given free board and food and wages so that they could improve their language skills (which is what an au pair is - not really an employee) and experience the culture of another country in return for a few hours babysitting and a bit of light housework. The same ones that we are still in touch with and visit us for holidays and who made friends with other au pairs while they were her who they had a ball with most evenings and every weekend they were here - a lot of assumptions being made here.

I get that, i really do. No sneering here. I have no issues with the concept........ but it's still a luxury.

British "au pairs" in Britain aren't au pairs.

It's not slavery. These are educated, free young adults who know the deal, from the EU. Not trafficked vulnerable people who have their passports removed. Equating the au pair scheme to slavery does a disservice to actual modern day slaves. (Who does your nails? Folks your take away? Etc etc.

Out of interest what childcare can you get overnight that accepts tax credits?
The only options are nanny, au pair or babysitter.
Neither the baby sitter or the au pair can take tax credits. I'm not sure if nannies can, but I'm willing to bet the race credits would nowhere near cover their salary.
And finding a reliable babysitter to sleep over on a regular basis and then walk children to school would be a nightmare, plus you'd have to pay a lot more than £100 per week

British "au pairs" in Britain aren't au pairs

Well in that case what ever they are called there is that option.