RTE INVESTIGATES AU PAIRS

SEPT 23 1989

some of those parents should have their kids taken off them

Disgraceful behaviour

BoJack Horseman

are au-pairs regular workers?
ie: does the employer pay employers PRSI & USC?

Atlantic Dawn

Does the provider of the au pair insure them while working?
Are the providers of the au pairs licensed?
Is there any qualification required to run an au pair agency?
Are au pair agencies tax compliant?
Do any TD's use au pairs on a similar exploitative basis?

loyatemu

BoJack Horseman wrote:

are au-pairs regular workers? ie: does the employer pay employers PRSI & USC?

They're not regular employees, I think it's treated as some sort of cultural exchange. They're students who do chores in exchange for room/board/pocket money.

Slave labour.

Put legislation in to protect workers and employers.

How the hell could you pay someone 3 quid an hour.

byhookorbycrook

Jobsbridge still exists to exploit workers,

Dirty Dingus McGee

Not watching the programme but if someone coming in from abroad and not being paid in line with a regular job (i.e. getting a payslip and having PAYE and PRSI taken off and being paid at least minimum wage) is a disgrace.It's ripe for exploitation.

Krispie

Very one sided report. Had aupair who was asked to do 30 hrs. Provided with car and fuel. Did nothing. Left us high and dry. English paid for. Tf we have left it behind us. Aupair knew coming over t&c.

Krispie

Krispie wrote: »

Very one sided report. Had aupair who was asked to do 30 hrs. Provided with car and fuel. Did nothing. Left us high and dry. English paid for. Tf we have left it behind us. Aupair knew coming over t&c.

High and dry? Did she steal your car or what happened?

Very vague post

Atlantic Dawn

Krispie wrote: »

Very one sided report. Had aupair who was asked to do 30 hrs. Provided with car and fuel. Did nothing. Left us high and dry. English paid for. Tf we have left it behind us. Aupair knew coming over t&c.

Was she an EU citizen, were you paying her at least €8.65 per hour?

Red Kev

There'll be sweet FA done about the au pairs. It's too convenient for those who benefit the most from it. These people also have a direct line to the lawmakers in this country and nothing will come of it.

I know people who have au pairs, some of them treat them OK, some of them are treated like crap. It's cheap, unregulated labour for the wealthiest sector of our society.

Mrs OBumble

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Was she an EU citizen, were you paying her at least €8.65 per hour?

Very few au pairs have had two years work experience since they turned 18. Until they do, min wage for them is lower.

And cost of accommodation is a legitimate deduction from the wage they get.

Dricmeister

This €8.65 an hour stuff is a red herring.

They're being provided with accommodation and being fed.

The standard deal is €450 a month and everyone including the au pairs is happy with that.

Applying minimum wage rules to something that is different to an employment is a lazy argument.

snoopy12

I don't get how anyone could treat their childminder poorly. Surely to do so would cause resentment which would be passed onto the child , even subconsciously.

* Edit to add that I didn't see the documentary but basing it more on anecdotal stories of au pairs working hours basically as nannies rather than exchanging babysitting for bed and board.

darkdubh

People who hire au-Pairs are generally &rseholes.Keeping up with the Joneses Nouveau riche types.

Dricmeister

darkdubh wrote: »

People who hire au-Pairs are generally &rseholes.Keeping up with the Joneses Nouveau riche types.

Or they just have jobs and need someone to mind their kids...

Stealthfins

darkdubh wrote:

People who hire au-Pairs are generally &rseholes.Keeping up with the Joneses Nouveau riche types.

Definitely,I seen it a few times.
Miserable fckrs,who only want to hang out in coffee shops,go to the gym and shop.
He usually works a demanding job,while she is a grown-up brat.
It's not uncommon for the wife to pick out an unattractive au pair in case her hubby gets any ideas 😱

ted1

darkdubh wrote: »

People who hire au-Pairs are generally &rseholes.Keeping up with the Joneses Nouveau riche types.

Utter rubbish.

El_Duderino 09

loyatemu wrote:

They're not regular employees, I think it's treated as some sort of cultural exchange. They're students who do chores in exchange for room/board/pocket money.

I was looking up minimum wage in the the UK and you don't need to pay minimum wage to carers who take part in normal family activities such as eating and living together and going on outings together. I presume it's similar in Ireland.

loyatemu

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

I was looking up minimum wage in the the UK and you don't need to pay minimum wage to carers who take part in normal family activities such as eating and living together and going on outings together. I presume it's similar in Ireland.

It's similar in lots of countries and Irish students also go abroad to work as au pairs. There needs to be safeguards against exploitation but if regular employment rules were applied to it, no one would do it at all.

BoJack Horseman

It seems much of this can simply be covered by legislation.

The government can very easily ensure pay standards & employer PRSI/US compliance arrangements.

degrassinoel

70 hours a week is a bit much for anyone tbh

au pair
əʊ ˈpɛː/
noun
plural noun: au pairs
a young foreign person, typically a woman, who helps with housework or childcare in exchange for food, a room, and some pocket money.
"an au pair girl"

It does need legislation if it's being abused, and it clearly is by some people here. 'Reasonable' should be the key-word used for both sides.

jim-mcdee

I know several people who have worked and are working as au pairs and I would say the program last night was spot on, not a bit exagerated, and if anything the situation is even worse. Expecting people to work 40-50 hours a week for €100 - €150 is utter abuse - modern slavery really, because the market (people) have forced these unfortunates into it. How these people delude themselves into thinking its ok is beyond me, and I am ashamed of the behavior that is rampant in this country. Whatever happened to fair play? If you cannot afford to pay some the minimum wage minus the food and board deduction - guess what - you cannot afford an au pair. This is not opinion. This is legally speaking. Any au pair, I encourage you to take detailed notes of their working hours, calculate what they are owed when they want to leave their employment, and present the bill to their employer. If they don't pay, take them to court.

jim-mcdee

Dricmeister wrote: »

This €8.65 an hour stuff is a red herring.

They're being provided with accommodation and being fed.

The standard deal is €450 a month and everyone including the au pairs is happy with that.

Applying minimum wage rules to something that is different to an employment is a lazy argument.

How is it different to an employment? It is different only in your head, because it suites you. €450 for a months work is a disgrace, you don't think so because your mates are doing the same, so you think its ok. Its not ok, pay a decent wage!

ted1

jim-mcdee wrote: »

I know several people who have worked and are working as au pairs and I would say the program last night was spot on, not a bit exagerated, and if anything the situation is even worse. Expecting people to work 40-50 hours a week for €100 - €150 is utter abuse - modern slavery really, because the market (people) have forced these unfortunates into it. How these people delude themselves into thinking its ok is beyond me, and I am ashamed of the behavior that is rampant in this country. Whatever happened to fair play? If you cannot afford to pay some the minimum wage minus the food and board deduction - guess what - you cannot afford an au pair. This is not opinion. This is legally speaking. Any au pair, I encourage you to take detailed notes of their working hours, calculate what they are owed when they want to leave their employment, and present the bill to their employer. If they don't pay, take them to court.

That's a bit sensational. How much would they have to spend on accomodation, food, Elec, heating, Internet, travel etc .
You need to add these into the costs.
If an au pair is coming to Ireland for the first time then they would need 2 months rent up front.

Family members of mine have had several au pairs mainly students who came for three months learn English.
They bought the kids to school at 8:30 then went off to do their own language course. Collected the kids at 2:30 and minded them till 5 when their mum came home.

They are really grateful for the work which wasn't to hard, and had relative few hours , but enabled them to learn English , live in Dublin and get some money to spend while they were here.

There is no way that they could have come here other wise

Dirty Dingus McGee

ted1 wrote: »

That's a bit sensational. How much would they have to spend on accomodation, food, Elec, heating, Internet, travel etc .
You need to add these into the costs.
If an au pair is coming to Ireland for the first time then they would need 2 months rent up front.

Family members of mine have had several au pairs mainly students who came for three months learn English.
They bought the kids to school at 8:30 then went off to do their own language course. Collected the kids at 2:30 and minded them till 5 when their mum came home.

They are really grateful for the work which wasn't to hard, and had relative few hours , but enabled them to learn English , live in Dublin and get some money to spend while they were here.

There is no way that they could have come here other wise

Surely a better idea would be to pay them like a normal job Payslip,PAYE PRSI and then charge the Au Pair for the cost of their food , accommodation etc.and have everything completely above board so their is less chance of them being exploited.

Sam Kade

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Very few au pairs have had two years work experience since they turned 18. Until they do, min wage for them is lower.

And cost of accommodation is a legitimate deduction from the wage they get.

Meals provided as well, they hardly expect accomdation and meals for free.

ted1

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

Surely a better idea would be to pay them like a normal job Payslip,PAYE PRSI and then charge the Au Pair for the cost of their food , accommodation etc.and have everything completely above board so their is less chance of them being exploited.

Why Would that have been better? The Au Pair would have no money then?

Say 20 hours a week. 20*8.65 =173 euro. A ensuite room in Dublin is 800 a month. So straight away the au pair is actually 27 euro out of pocket. Before she pays for food , travel , heating etc.
And see loses the 100 euro a week

jim-mcdee

ted1 wrote: »

That's a bit sensational. How much would they have to spend on accomodation, food, Elec, heating, Internet, travel etc .
You need to add these into the costs.
If an au pair is coming to Ireland for the first time then they would need 2 months rent up front.

Family members of mine have had several au pairs mainly students who came for three months learn English.
They bought the kids to school at 8:30 then went off to do their own language course. Collected the kids at 2:30 and minded them till 5 when their mum came home.

They are really grateful for the work which wasn't to hard, and had relative few hours , but enabled them to learn English , live in Dublin and get some money to spend while they were here.

There is no way that they could have come here other wise

I'm not going to make assumptions on your situation. It sounds like your au pairs were the lucky ones. Going by what you stated, 1 1/2 h in the morning, 2 1/2 h in the evening, 4h pd, 20 hours per week, 20*8.35 - 55 room and board = 112e pw. I therefore find it surprising that you do not agree that au pairs should be paid fairly when they are being asked to work essentially full time hours and more (of course these are not really au pairs). Nobody is arguing against au pairing. Strange you have picked it up so.

jim-mcdee

ted1 wrote: »

Why Would that have been better? The Au Pair would have no money then?

Say 20 hours a week. 20*8.65 =173 euro. A ensuite room in Dublin is 800 a month. So straight away the au pair is actually 27 euro out of pocket. Before she pays for food , travel , heating etc.
And see loses the 100 euro a week

Thats not an au pair. An au pair pays 55 per week for food and board. Funny how people justify virtual slavery in their own heads.

ted1

jim-mcdee wrote: »

I'm not going to make assumptions on your situation. It sounds like your au pairs were the lucky ones. Going by what you stated, 1 1/2 h in the morning, 2 1/2 h in the evening, 4h pd, 20 hours per week, 20*8.35 - 55 room and board = 112e pw. I therefore find it surprising that you do not agree that au pairs should be paid fairly when they are being asked to work essentially full time hours and more (of course these are not really au pairs). Nobody is arguing against au pairing. Strange you have picked it up so.

What's the 55 for room and board? It's 200 a week in Dublin.