Do I have to provide all day heating for my Au Pair?

[anniemouse]

I'm relatively new to having an au pair and so far things are going fine. My au pair always stays in - apart from going to pick up the children from school and for 2 days per week she attends a local college for 2.5 hrs. Our heating normally goes off at 8am and comes on again at 2pm. However with the colder weather setting in will I have to make sure the house is constantly heated?? We have a 4 bed house which would be quite costly. My au pair hasn't asked for the heating on so far. What are my responsibilites to her in terms of this?

If the question is about your 'legal' responsibility then "as far as practicable the temperature in workplaces where the working activity involves severe physical effort should be at least 13° C (56° F). In all other workplaces the minimum temperature should normally be around 16°C (60°F). There is no specified maximum temperature."

However, the Health and Safety at Work Act exludes 'a domestic servant in a private dwelling'. So whilst you have no obligation to keep your house a certain temperature I'd agree with those who've suggested an oil filled radiator for her to use wherever she is in the house something like these?

Thanks for all your messages. Two cupcakes - yes you are right - I want to make sure I am doing the right thing by my au pair. Our house when the heating is on is set to 20 degrees and it doesn't usually fall below 16 degrees unless extremely cold. I will definately get an oil filled raditor this weekend for her. She hasn't complained, but I want to make sure she feels comfortable. At the same time I asked this question because it did not seem energy efficient to heat up the entire house which has 10 rooms when she only really would stay in one - yet I also didn't want her to freeze either!

yes I do (for the nanny). I leave it on the thermometer control so it's not on constantly iyswim but just heats it up to a reasonable temperature.

i LOVE my furlined slippers that mb got me as one of my xmas pressies last year - woofa as a 5mth puppy attacked and made a killing of my last furry pair

came home and saw fluff+fur all over the hall

central heating that has an hour boost is good - alas i dont have this at home, and felt chilly last night (heating goes off at 8.30pm at the blondes resdence) so dh put on and we forgot and was still on at midnight - and one very hot house to sleep in !!

slippers+fleece+mini heater (one with thermastat) is the way to go

Your au pair is living as a member of the family - so I'd treat them how I'd want my own flesh and blood to be treated if they were to go and stay with a family in another country.

If an oil filled radiator is good enough for your own daughter then that's what I'd offer the au pair. If you would leave the central heating on for your daughter then I'd do the same for your au pair. You can't have one rule for your own family and one for your au pair though.. Well you can but it would feel very divisive..

It makes sense to find out from your au pair the times she'll be out at English classes etc so if you do leave the CH on, you can set up the timer to turn it off accordingly, and obviously show her the buttons to turn things off if she does go out unexpectedly..

We have the heating on for au pair (and she knows how to turn it up/down), also relatively young girls tend to feel the cold more in my experience, so we have oyt ab additional heater in her room which she can switch on whenever she wants. We also make sure living room, kitchen and bathrooms are at 20 degrees celcius and have bought some slippers for her because she was always going round on socks on wooden/stone floors. We turn radiator thermostats in our and dd bedroom a bit down during the day.

I think that it is important to ensure that your au pair feels comfortable and looked after. I agree with one of previous posters, otherwise you will risk that she will go somewhere else. I also wouldn't like to sit in a cold house myself.

We have a marvellous au-pair who's been with us since March. She's totally reliable, trustworthy, loving to our daughter - basically a joy to have around. However for the last 3 weeks we've been getting home to truly sauna like conditions in the whole house (thermostat set to 28 degrees and it's not even cold outside) - I'm heavily pregnant now and it's so hot it makes me feel ill. It takes a few hours for the house to cool down as the first thing we do when we come back from work is turn down the heating about 12 degrees - at the weekends we have it on at about 15. It never came up as a problem in the Spring. I have asked her not to turn it up too much but I don't think she realises quite how hot it is. It's a big house so if she keeps it up it's going to ruin us financially. I clearly have to take a firmer line but she's so great it's hard to tell her off. Just spotted this thread and thought I'd share.

This thread is 3 years old! Start a new thread if you want advice on your au pair heating issue

Hmmmmm. I don't really need advice. . I know what to do. Just nice to know that other people out there have confronted similar situations. Call it a rant. Thanks Mumsnet for listening!

I've always told nannies to turn on the heating if they're cold and showed them where the switch is. So far (5 years later) no one has turned it on.

I've always told nannies to turn on the heating if they're cold and showed them where the switch is. So far (5 years later) no one has turned it on.
If she's cold he'll be grumpy - I always am.

Get an Australian AP - our houses at home aren't heated. When I lived in the UK (not as an AP tho, in my own place) I used to open the windows on sunny winter days to let the fresh cold air in. In winter we're used to wearing a jumper inside - I hate heating!

Hooliaaa. It is really bad form on MN to post on old threads, Your assertion that 'I know what to do' clearly shows that you don't realise this.

I've never seen the problem with posting on old threads if people still have the same issues. Am I missing something?

I think there are a number of issues.

I disagree its bad form to post on old threads. Posters often can't win, they either get told off for posting on an old thread, or starting one on a topic that's been "done to death"

That said, I rarely think its a good idea to post on an ol thread. Whether you want advice or chat, posting on an old thread loses a lot of replies by people who assume they will have nothing to add, so avoid the thread. Others spend a while getting up to speed, only to realise how old the original problem is, and this derails the thread.

So, in summary, not naughty to do it, but rarely achieves the desired result.

Yes. I think there is.

Many posts are written contextually. There are people on here all the time ranting about their annoying kids and irritating husbands. but husbands sometimes leave and kids sometimes develop illnesses or worse. Having previous comments resurrected can be very painful when the context has changed. And the topic is irrelevant - it is the tone of the comments. There is one very well known poster on MN who was very funny and frivolous in lots of her posts, before her DD became ill. If I saw a post in her old style (on any topic) and didn't see the change in date, I might make assumptions about that posters' current state of mind that would be wholly wrong and could lead to very hurtful misunderstandings.

Good point - I've actually started a thread about this in chat to discuss it without derailing this old thread!