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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

Is there some law about Au Pairs and how long they're supposed to work?

31 replies

plug · 11/05/2006 13:59

My lovely cleaner (aged 18) is an au pair for another family. Dad works away a lot and Mum runs her own business - they have three kids. Au pair has been doing more and more childcare, culminating in being left in sole charge of all three children over the whole Bank Holiday weekend .

Is there anything she can do apart from leave? I feel very sorry that she's being exploited like this.

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Original poster

plug · 11/05/2006 14:22

OP posts:

annh · 11/05/2006 14:52

OMG, someone left an 18-year old in charge of 3 children for a weekend?! Some people really do abuse their aupairs don't they? I don't know that there is much that the girl can do. If she came here through an agency perhaps they could speak to the family? Otherwise, I think the only thing she can do is say that she's not happy to work so many hours or have so much responsibility. Sadly, that may well end up in her parting company with the family.

acnebride · 11/05/2006 14:57

No more than five hours a day, at least 2 full days off a week - I think. (I'm not legally qualified). Suggested allowance £45 pw?

And I'm afraid I'd question whether she should be doing other paid work as well.

annh · 11/05/2006 15:04

I think the allowance is more like £60 a week now, but the amount she may or may not be getting paid is really secondary to the fact that she is obviously working way too many hours. Don't know whether au pairs are or aren't suposed to do other work but any I have ever known have had additional income from babysitting, cleaning, ironing etc. In the case of your cleaner, my only real concern would be whether she is up to doing work outside of her aupair family if she is doing so many hours for them.

Uwila · 11/05/2006 15:05

Is she actually here on an au pair visa or is she say an EU citizen?

Original poster

plug · 11/05/2006 16:14

She's an EU citizen. She probably shouldn't be doing extra work now as she looks so tired . What a mess. Thanks for the input though - think I'll talk to her and suggest she looks elsewhere.

OP posts:

fennel · 11/05/2006 16:21

I thought it was supposed to be something like maximum 25 hours a week "childcare and light housework". for about £60 a week.

more if they're officially an "au pair plus" and get paid more, which is more like a nanny.

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 11/05/2006 16:43

uwila has hit the nail on the head - a true "au pair" = someone on an au pair visa. this is a visa that allows someone to come and do small amounts of domestic work in exchange for spending money, and bed and board, whilst they study. I'm not sure what the conditions are but the visa does impose certain limits on how much work they can do and how long they can stay. if she is from an EU country, she's not technically an au pair, in this strict sense of the word. She is an employee, just like anyone - which means she has rights like the rest of us. She's entitled to a contract for starters, which specficies her hours, her duties, her pay. She's entitled to paid holiday and her employers are legally obliged to pay tax and national insurance (though I guess if they see her as an au pair she's probably getting paid so little that she's under the limits). I am not sure, but as an EU citizen I would have thought that CAB might help her - or at least be able to tell her who can.

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 11/05/2006 16:46

you're right - that maybe the easiest way out is to look for another employer - without visa constraints she is of course wholly entitled to do that.

scienceteacher · 11/05/2006 18:11

If she is in the UK on an au pair visa, then the limit is 25 hours per week.

This should be a guideline for visa-less au pairs too, although many au pairs are actually au pairs plus (who work 35 - 45 hours and are paid more).

MrsSchadenfreude · 11/05/2006 21:35

Work colleague of mine has just spent 10 days in Greece on holiday and has left her au pair in sole charge of her 8 year old daughter for that time. She will not pay her any extra for this. Au pair is off home for a family wedding this weekend and HAS to leave on Friday. Child's mother told her on the phone "Well, you had better sort out someone to look after Topsy on Friday and Saturday PDQ then, hadn't you? Text me and let me know where I have to collect her from on the Saturday when I get back." If she hadn't had this conversation with her AP in my car, I wouldn't have believed it.

Belgian families often seem to leave au pairs of 18 or so in charge of their offspring for a long weekend while they disappear off on holiday. My au pair's friend got left with 3 children of 6, 4 and 18 months for 4 days while the parents buggered off. Apparently, Granny was supposed to come and stay and help out, but "didn't fancy it" and the parents went off anyway!

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 11/05/2006 21:39

is she really called Topsy? says it all. poor girl.

IvortheEngine · 11/05/2006 22:08

Sorry to hear this, plug. She is definitely being taken advantage of. I would suggest a visit to CAB, too. I hope you can get it sorted between you with help and advice from others.

Uwila · 12/05/2006 06:44

Yes, she should definately go looking for a new au pair job. I would think she could get lots of interviews / job offers. One of her selling points should be that she is already in the country and available for interview. To be pefectly honest the way she is being treated, I think she is better off if she has no contract and therefore no 4 week notice period. She can just up and go on say a weeks notice.

There is an EU law covering how many hours you can be required to work -- I can't remember how long it is though. I believe it applies to all employees.

acnebride · 12/05/2006 09:23

Mrs Schadenfreude (GREAT name btw)

Bugsy2 · 12/05/2006 09:32

Arghh, hate this abuse of aupairs, drives me nuts. They are human beings not a sub species. Most of them are educated girls here to learn English & they get exploited by horrible people like Topsy's mum & turn into slaves.
Feel so angry.
An aupair from the EU does not have to have a specific visa. They can come to the UK and be aupairs without one. There are Home Office guidelines about what they amount of domestic help they should be offering (remember its not supposed to be "work"), but no one actually enforces any of it.
Plug, I hope your lovely cleaner finds a nice family who will be really grateful to have her help - rather than total piss-takers!

MrsRecycle · 12/05/2006 09:49

If anyone's interested the new Work-Permit regulations which are going to be introduced actually put Au-Pairs right at the bottom of the list so it will be very hard to get a non-EU AuPair once/if this becomes law. Don't know if that's good or bad - just will lead to a black market I guess and lots more being exploited.

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 12/05/2006 10:52

what annoys me is that lots of girls in new EU countries are aware that they can come here without a visa and get a job much more easily than before - what they do not seem to have been made aware of is that this means they have rights as employees - if anything they are - in theory - more protected than they were before, but if people aren't aware of this it's useless. No point in according people rights if you don;t make them widely and publicly known.

Bugsy2 · 12/05/2006 11:12

Prob is though, that AuPairs are not "employees" and the contract that you have with one of them is not that of employer/employee. I'm sure that the "rights" of AuPairs is one of those legal grey areas because it is such a loosely defined role.
People get away with exploitation because they know that the aupair can either stay or ship out, she is hardly going to start taking her host family to court in a foreign country.

scienceteacher · 12/05/2006 20:32

It works both ways. Au pairs are not prisoners. They can always leave if the job turns out to be different from their expectations.

This doesn't mean that abusive families are off the hook, but the au pairs aren't forced to stay. If they have the wherewithall to find a first au pair position, they can always find a second one.

I think we should drop the melodrama.

MrsSchadenfreude · 13/05/2006 01:11

I have just had a horrible thought. Topsy's au pair is off next week and I strongly suspect she will be brought along to "play" with our two after school. Will ensure our au pair is paid the going rate for this.
Thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat - we had a Romanian au pair who was in complete shock when we told her she would get 4 weeks paid holiday a year. She couldn't grasp that she would be paid for not working!

Uwila · 13/05/2006 10:13

Can EU citizens actually be hired on an au pair scheme. Don't they just become employees. If you take them on as employees and pay them say £70/week takes are virtually nothing. In fact, do you have to pay taxes at all on that level of income?

Hey, Mrsschadenfruede, when are you moving to England? Are you bringing your au pair? Getting a new one?

MrsSchadenfreude · 13/05/2006 22:47

Oh God, sod you, Uwila, I am trying not to think about it. Found perfect house to rent in village where we have got the DDs into school and the bloody landlord has taken it off the market. We are coming back at the end of August and au pair will stay with us for a few weeks and wants to work in Ireland after that. Think this should be OK as the DDs' school has an after school club.

Uwila · 14/05/2006 09:10

Sod me? Such harsh language. ^^

HappyMumof2 · 14/05/2006 11:02

I saw one ad on Gumtree which actually made me want to email the advetiser as thought they were just trying to exploit someone.

They wanted 30 hours childcare per week, two children at school and one baby, plus 2 nights babysitting and wanted to pay £100 pw, sorry, but surely that can't be right??

I know this comment will probably piss someone people off, but there's people who earn a very, very high wage combined with a high wage of their partner and want to pay some young, experienced person, who doesn't speak very good English (great for developing baby/toddler's language skills........) rubbish money rather than pay for proper childcare. Then they have the cheek to complain when the girl doesn't do her job properly.

Why do some parents pay their cleaners more than their childcarers??? I just don't get it.......

That really p's me off

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