Au pair plus / nanny / from outside EU aged over 35?

margaretclare

gettingready wrote: »

Surely fine for young students coming here to learn English and working as pairs for the duration of their studies - but not for a woman over 35....

This is actually what an au pair is meant to be. There is a vast difference between someone like this, and a nanny. The OP does not seem to know the difference. A nanny is a qualified person who will have done a 2-year course at college.

The idea of living au pair - living as part of a family, like an older daughter in fact, with the idea of getting some experience of a foreign country and learning the language - seems to be different from what the OP wants.

Remember the recent trials and tribulations of Baroness Scotland!

gettingready

margaretclare wrote: »

This is actually what an au pair is meant to be. There is a vast difference between someone like this, and a nanny. The OP does not seem to know the difference.

That is what I was afraid....

BitterAndTwisted

In the current economic climate I'd say there would be a fair few British women who might be happy to exchange a few hours work a day in return for £100 a week. That's a decent amount of disposable income when you've no rent, bills, fares or food to buy imo. Working full-time left me less than that once all the outgoings were factored in.

Milky_Mocha

The intended focus of this thread appears to have shifted somewhat. Nonetheless, I'm interested in your opinions so far of what is considered to be a fair wage.

I actually don't care what the title of this person is - nanny/aupair/housekeeper, whatever. All I know is that I would like a mature individual who would help with care of the children in exchange for accommodation, food, other expenses + an allowance. Via the agency I would carry out all the necessary police checks and interviews to check their integrity just as one would with a UK nanny.

I spoke to several individuals who have used aupairs in the past and they all stated that they had paid in the region of £85 per week and had some excellent help. None of these were over 30 years old, you are right, with the exception of one Polish lady who worked in Denmark and was paid the equivalent of £75 to care for 3 children. A lot depends on the hours worked but they were all around 25 to 35 hours a week.

I have had four ladies seriously interested in my ad, two of whom are already in the UK working as 'au pairs/nannies'. One lady, aged 33 is very interested.

No I'm not looking for someone who has studied childcare for x amount of years with a dozen certificates on the subject but a mature person with experience of looking after children who has a generous amount of common sense, honesty/integrity and first aid training which I will pay for if they don't have.

As someone mentioned, this is 'disposable income' and true, many households do not even have this much after deducting the month's expenses.

Anyway, does anyone have knowledge of the tax issues I questioned in my last post, i.e. is tax/NI payable to a say, Polish national (who I don't believe is illegal, conidering that the home office site states they can move in or out of the UK with no restrictions).

Please correct me if I'm wrong on the legality/illegality of a Polish 33 year old woman coming to the UK to work as a child carer.

With regard to the Japanese lady, she is 27 and therefore within the age range of those who qualify for the youth mobility scheme. The agency recommends a weekly wage of £75 per week for 25 hours so my £100 offer is very reasonable, actually. I guess people in the UK are so used to paying sky high costs for childcare that anyone who discovers any different after paying this for so long, understandably becomes defiant LOL!

BitterAndTwisted

Tax and NI are due and payable for any worker in this country, regardless of origin or nationality but £100 a week is below the threshold (I believe the single person's tax-free allowance is currently about £6k per annum) so it's likely that no tax would be payable but I don't know what the lower earnings-limit is for NI but I suspect that it's lower.

Naturally, if you choose to employ a person from an EU member-state they automatically have the right to live and work in this country and to be on the safe-side I would want to see proof. To protect yourself from any future potential unfortunate circumstances I would keep a photocopy of their passport because if they have only newly arrived here they may not yet have an NI number. All employers and employment agencies these days do the same so any candidates you interview should not be surprised to be asked for this.

I spent two years as a full-time, live-out nanny/housekeeper some years ago for a family with three young children with no previous experience and hence no formal qualifications and I loved it!

PolishBigSpender

Milky_Mocha wrote: »

Please correct me if I'm wrong on the legality/illegality of a Polish 33 year old woman coming to the UK to work as a child carer.

She will have to be paid UK minimum wage, and you will be required to register her under the Worker Registration Scheme. WRS registration will also open your payments up to scrutinisation - so don't try and employ someone under the WRS and then pay them less than minimum wage.

The agency recommends a weekly wage of £75 per week for 25 hours so my £100 offer is very reasonable, actually.

It's actually unreasonable because it'll be less than minimum wage. She'll also require a work permit, which isn't easy to get.

I guess people in the UK are so used to paying sky high costs for childcare that anyone who discovers any different after paying this for so long, understandably becomes defiant LOL!

I think most people don't try and flout minimum wage and other laws.

BitterAndTwisted

I think that's unnecessarily harsh, Polish. The OP will be providing free accommodation, free lighting and heating, free meals, free laundry and the employee will most likely have access to a car for their own use from time to time as well in exchange for what sounds like a part-time job AND they'll have £100 a week as completely disposable income. That sounds rather generous to me

kegg_2

£100 per week is quite reasonable if it is one child for morning breakfast and school run and then afternoon school run, tea and an hour or so minding.

Not saying this is true in the case of the op but i have known au pairs treated like general skivvies with lists of chores like washing, ironing and housework included plus expected to act as a babysitter most of the weekend.

BitterAndTwisted

Agreed; I once know an Austrian au-pair who worked for a family with two children, one in primary school and the other home all day who was a complete spoiled brat. She was expecting to work from 8am to 8pm five days a week, do the shopping, cook meals, do the housework and laundry and babysit two nights week as well as the daily childcare responsibilities. All for £35 a week and a 10 pm curfew. I helped her find a better job for a nicer family who appreciated her and paid her more than a notional amount of pocket-money.

Ruby_Moon

It really is fascinating how people think and get on with things. It never ceases to keep me occupied.
Anyway, what I mean by that is that OP, I think the exact opposite to you. I would worry more if an over 35 year old were looking after my children than a 25 year old. Don't forget, so many women in the world have been married for 9 years and maybe have their own children by the time they are 35.
At 35 I would be thinking about the lack of children in this lady's life. To reach 35 and never have you own children is knocking on a bit so is she likely to leave her job in a few months time when she meets someone new and realises she doesn't have long left to make babies.
I think of the psychology of a woman who has no mature relationship in her life by the time she is 35 and how is she able to take on a full time position.
Everyone is different, I know that, however a 36 year old nanny is not one for me. Far too many issues there.