Can we talk about au pairs please !

[Hididi]

My family is considering getting an au pair. Brexit has of course completely changed the industry and made it impossible for people to come over and work for families unless they already had a pre settled status.
So my question is- are people still hiring au pairs at the moment? if so are they doing it illegally on a 6 months tourist visa?
If you are currently looking for an au pair can you tell me how you are going about it and how long you've been looking?

Thanks a lot!

Is it legal to pay them less than the minimum wage?
Sounds like exploitation to me.

Bingo

You could try looking for an Irish Au Pair. One looking for a year away before or after uni. I would have obviously jumped at a chance to live in London but Sussex could have been just as fun. You might need to list some travel times to help like "30 minute train to Brighton" or other well known places like that so they can plan a few weekends away to make the most of being here.

Hence the middle ground of au pairs who used to be able to go to English lessons during the day!

Except for the millions of tossers who were using them for care of under 5s all day.... for £80 a week.

Au pairs are not a middle ground, they are paid a fraction of the hourly rate of any other childcare.

If you need wraparound care without paying for the hours between 9-3, this is exactly what after school clubs and childminders provide.

If you need care for an under 5, nurseries, nannies and child minders provide this.

The only need that isnt met by these is a) some people with unusual shift patterns, whom I do sympathise with, as they do have a childcare nightmare and b) people who want what is provided by after school clubs and childminders but want to pay only £80 a week total for it.

In my experience the latter are often well off people.

When I worked as a nanny (50hr a week fully paid) in Paris I met a lot of au pairs. They did a few hours here and there with babies. Or a couple of hours after school and Wednesdays for primary children who had Wednesdays off. Most enjoyed it. One felt hard done by because the wealthy American mother used to treat her like a filthy commoner and make jibes that suggested she was beneath her (ironically the au pair was from a normal middle class family and had just graduated with a first from Durham). Things like not allowing her alone in the apartment with the children if she was out. Insisting that she used "the service" entrance when alone but the main entrance when with the children. She felt even worse because we all liked the families we worked for.

Why less than minimum wage? No salary exchanges hands, the same as in traditional au pair arrangements. Phone and bus money, food and board, possibly paying for ESOL courses (£60/month in my local college), in exchange for light domestic help and after school babysitting. Hosts also get £350 pm for hosting. In cases that I know, it an absolute win-win, well - so far. It is not a solution for a full time nanny, of course, and it is a time limited arrangement, but so are traditional au pairs.

It is definitely illegal to hire someone on a visitor visa though.

@Classicblunder i knew a few people who used au pairs and they didn't only expect 15-20 hrs of them thats for sure

@forinborin its childcare not after school babysitting
I find it so strange people leave their kids with someone that may not have the first clue
And sorry it is exploiting someones situation , these people have just fled their country , the goverment is already giving the host £350
Surely that person would be better earning £1000 a month and paying a little rent but then building up some money which they may need in the future
There is only really one side winning in this is how I see it

@Classicblunder

Au pairs dont work ungodly hours or overnights

Au Pairs are not childcare. I know some people were exploiting them as, effectively, a poundshop nanny, but it is not what the scheme was for.

Well, amongst cases I know is a qualified doctor who needs time to prepare to sit PLABs to get registered in the UK, an engineering student in the 5th year of her 6 year long M.Eng. (studying remotely now, and needs time to arrange a transfer of her studies to another place) and a mother with a 2 year old. None of them are broke, they came with some money of their own. Do you think it would be better for them to go and earn £1000 now somewhere in an unqualified job in a factory or warehouse - abandoning their old professions, putting their own children into childcare which will cost most of that £1000? Why?

Why not overnights? It seems like the ideal childcare for someone who is occasionally on call - e.g. doctor - who might need to leave the house overnight while their children are asleep. I would have thought many au pairs would rather be paid for sleeping while the kids sleep than for looking after active children during the day?

E.g. that seems to be what this person is advertising for
www.nannyjob.co.uk/job/469595/Au_Pair-Greater_London

I have no doubt that there are some parents who exploit au pairs but the "standard" arrangement around me seems ok? I get the sense it has changed a lot now that there are fewer au pairs post Brexit.

I understand au pairs are a sensitive subject given the current climate and the job description and of course a place where abuse can take place. The terrible case of Sophie Lionnet comes to mind.

However and in most cases it is a wonderful arrangement where a family welcomes someone and where a 2 way support is provided. And yes discussing an illegal activity can be a sensitive matter, but its happening all around us and it is interesting to know it can be done with a lot of safeguarding. Although I appreciate it should not be 'advertised' and it remains a path people should most likely avoid.

Thank you to all the lovely people who Private messaged me to give useful information and hindsight. Its a shame (and understandable) they couldn't be bothered to share it on the forum because of opinionated know it all. Your angry posts as usual deny lots of others valid points and considerations which could have been useful to many.

You are asking people for advice on a public forum about how to employ someone illegally and you think people who have an issue with that are 'know it alls'.

I can't decide if you're phenomenally stupid or just hopelessly naive.

And yes discussing an illegal activity can be a sensitive matter, but its happening all around us and it is interesting to know it can be done with a lot of safeguarding.

Is this serious 😂

And I'm glad the au pair industry is shrinking, despite people on here knowing people for whom it's worked out fine, the very nature of it leaves young women very vulnerable to exploitation. Many au pairs work longer hours that they should and care for under 2s which is also a no-no. There is no governing body to monitor and intervene. I'm a nanny and hear it all the time.

It's standard for an au pair to work for 35 hours a week, for up to £200.

I'm a nanny, work 37 hours for nearly quadruple that amount.

And guaranteed the expectations are the same, caring for children, whole family laundry and cooking, babysitting late into the night.

It is in no way a 'good deal'.

And don't get me started on the people using refugees of war for childcare, the mind boggles. The Facebook group is rife with drama already with Ukrainians looking for new homes after fallings-out, incompatibility and unfulfilled promised, add to that the extra stress of someone having to also care for people's children while adjusting to a new life, culture and language and dealing with trauma

And don't get me started on the people using refugees of war for childcare, the mind boggles. The Facebook group is rife with drama already with Ukrainians looking for new homes after fallings-out, incompatibility and unfulfilled promised, add to that the extra stress of someone having to also care for people's children while adjusting to a new life, culture and language and dealing with trauma
The mutuality of obligation, actually, de-stresses the situation quite a lot. If the host also benefits from the arrangement in some way, it is actually a much healthier situation overall - symbiotic not parasitic. The majority of falling outs that I observed was when the host has already collected all social admiration tokens for being oh-so-virtuous, and was left with an annoying stranger in the house who just costs money, has next to zero support from authorities, and consumes free time and space.
Take it from a Ukrainian person, who knows, literally, dozens of people who are sheltering in the UK now, and not through posts on Facebook. They also want to be useful and not feel like they are an annoying useless pet at someone's house.

We had a succession of lovely au pair, mainly from SA on ancestry visas or who had UK passports due to family members being British. We keep in touch with the majority of them as they used it as a way of settling in here.
Our local town used to have a massive au pair scene, a lot of people have big houses, some with annexes. Local bars had au pair nights and it was also an easy way to come and learn English. I now know no-one who has an au pair at all.
I do know one person who tried to get in on a tourist VISA and was detained for several hours and then deported.
Keep looking, you may get a match eventually.

@Hididi , I’m a bit late on this tread, but I wonder if you found more on the topic of au-pairs working in the U.K. with tourist visas?
I am currently looking for an aupair on aupair world and a few girls from various countries are saying they are applying for T5 visas. From what I read they need sponsorship, which I don’t think a family can provide.
anyway I’d be interested to know how do people do it with aupairs on Tourist Visas.
And before the rest on start lecturing, I know it is criminal offence and hefty fine are applied for employing anyone without the right of work.

And as for exploiting au-pair, I believe it’s a lot
of nonsense, before Brexit we were paying 125 p/w for 20hr work (before and after school care for one child) plus a travel card, along when the free accommodation and food provided, it really was not a bad deal.
Most au-pairs come only for a year before or after uni, their aim is to improve their English language skills.
The reason people like us like to have aupair instead of leave out nanny is not only cost (if you are lucky to find a nanny that wound do part time before & after school care) it is the security of having someone at home with your kids when the transport fails you, when the train workers are on strike or you are stuck in traffic. With a childminer or nanny there is the constant stress of being late, due to reasons out of your control.
I really struggle to understand how women on average income managed childcare & work.
Brexit really messed it up for women in the UK.

By the way as for paying aupairs cash, our previous aupairs had Revout accounts that they can apply for from their county and basically arrive with here with a GBP account ready.