Proposed Au Pair bill Ireland

URGENT – au pair bill- we need your help!

Recently there has been a lot of talk in the press regarding au pair legislation. Back in

March an au pair brought her host family to court for under payment of salary. In this

case the judge deemed that the au pair was an ‘employee’ and as such was entitled to

minimum wage. The au pair was awarded just under €10,000. This case has left

approximately 20,000 au pair host families open to being sued by their au pair also.

Internationally an au pair placement is considered to be a cultural exchange programme

between a young foreign person and their host family. In the past this programme

worked well in Ireland as Irish people are warm and welcoming and are for the most

part, wonderful hosts to their au pairs. In the past, young men and women have come

to Ireland to learn English and take time out before beginning their professional career

or time out between their formal education. In exchange for living as part of the family

and help with integration into society, cultural learning, room, board and pocket money,

the au pair helps the family with some childcare. The courtcase in March has thrown this

au pair programme into disarray.

Recently Fianna Fail TD, Anne Rabbitte has proposed au pair legislation to govern the au pair programme in Ireland. As part of this legislation, an ‘aupair’ would be defined in Irish law as a cultural educational programme. If her bill became enacted, then au pairs would no longer be deemed to be employees and would be legislated for outside of employment law. This is really very good news but we need your help. 

We hope that this bill will be proposed to the Dail within the next few weeks. Following the legislation being presented to the Dail, TDs may then be asked to vote on this bill. In order to be enacted the majority of TDs in the Dail need to vote in favour of this bill.

We need your help!

Please email your local TD and request that them to vote for the au pair bill proposed by Anne Rabitte TD. Below is a template email which you can use:

Dear …..,

My name is ……. I am writing to you regarding a bill that is due to be proposed to the dail by Fianna Fail TD, Anne Rabbitte. I would urge you, on behalf of Irish families, to vote to enact this bill into being. This bill will not only ensure and safeguard the au pair programme in Ireland but it will also ensure fair treatment for host families and au pairs into the future. For the sake of approximately 20,000 Irish host families I sincerely request that you vote for this bill.

Your sincerely,

To find the contact details of your local TDs please click the following link:https://www.whoismytd.com/

If you have any other questions regarding the above please get in touch.

Kind Regards, 

Corinna Duke

Kangaroo Au Pair

Au pair wages and working hours

Au pair employment status-Ireland

Au pair programme- Ireland

Au Pair Working Hours and Wages Ireland

*Au pair working hours and wages Ireland

A number of families and au pairs have asked us how many hours of work equate to a particular salaries. We have compiled the tables to help.  Please also note that the below hours have been rounded to the nearest hour and that the allowable weekly deduction of €54.13 per week has also been subtracted from the overall figure. For full information regarding employing an au pair please contact your financial advisor.

Minimum Wages for Au pairs:

From our understanding of employing an au pair the following minimum wages apply.

Au pair who is in her first year of employment: €7.32 per hour

Au pair who is her second year of employment: €8.24 per hour

Au pair who has worked for more than 24 months : €9.15 per hour

Other things to note:

1. Employments include employments in any country.

2. The majority of au pairs are young adults who have never worked before. If this is the case the minimum hourly wage of €7.32 applies.

Au pair in their first year of employment:

Salary of €100 per week equates to 21 hours of work

Salary of €125 per week equates to 24hours of work

Salary of €150 per week equates to 28 hours of work

Salary of €200 per week equates to 35 hours of work

Au pair in their second year of employment:

Salary of €100 per week equates to 19 hours of work

Salary of €125 per week equates to 22 hours of work

Salary of €150 per week equates to 25 hours of work

Salary of €200 per week equates to 31 hours of work

Au pairs who have worked for more than 24 months

Salary of €100 per week equates to 17 hours of work

Salary of €125 per week equates to 20 hours of work

Salary of €150 per week equates to 22 hours of work

Salary of €200 per week equates to 28 hours of work

For more information regarding employing a domestic worker please also see the workplace relations website publication Employing a domestic worker

*Please note that this article was published on the 16th June 2016. At the time of publication there was no au pair specific legislation in Ireland. However an au pair bill is due to be proposed to the Dail in the summer of 2016. For more information regarding the proposed au pair legislation see here.

Other related articles:

Proposed Au Pair Bill Ireland

Au pair status Ireland

Au pair programme Ireland

Template Au Pair Employment Contract

Au pair pocket money-the top 10 countries

Employers obligations and employee rights

Au Pair Employment Status- Ireland

Following a court case in Ireland in March 2016 there has been a lot of confusion regarding the status of au pairs in Ireland. In this court case the judge awarded the Spanish au pair more than €9,000 because the family weren't compliant with aspects of the Minimum Wage Act, and other aspects of Irish employment law. For a more detailed analysis of this courtcase see the complete article published in lexology.

Status of au pairs
There is currently and never has been specific legislation governing au pairs in Ireland. As such there is no specific law governing the work and conditions of au pairs. According to the Council of Europe an au pair is a young foreign person who comes to improve their linguistic and possibly professional knowledge as well as their general culture by acquiring a better knowledge of the country where they are received. 
As Ireland has not ratified the 'european agreement on 'au pair' placement and protocol, the status of au pairs may not be defined under a cultural exchange programme in Ireland, even though it is accepted to be a cultural exchange programme in other countries in Europe and throughout the world.


What does this mean for families and au pairs in Ireland?

Unfortunately the relevant decision of this court case is not available for review, as the adjudication was conducted in private. As a result we are not aware of the what relevant factors influenced the Adjudication Officer's decision in this case. For this reason it is not possible to know what the outcome of any future similar court cases would be.
However from our understanding of this court case, it is likely that au pairs are going to be deemed to be employees until such time as au pair-specific legislation is established. Families with au pairs are encouraged to review their own arrangements in order to consider whether or not they may be exposed in terms of a complaint by their au pair to the WRC.

Current situation of au pairs in Ireland
In recent times, there have been a number of articles in the national press and radio stations stating that Fianna Fail have proposed an au pair bill to govern the au pair programme in Ireland. This legislation would outline conditions including au pair working hours, household duties, money and obligations of the host family. Details of what would constitute household duties would be decided by an Au Pair Accreditation Council. The bill is also aimed at cracking down on the "less regulated elements" of the au pair agency sector. According to an article in the Sunday Independent newspaper if the legislation is enacted, au pairs could only be hired through accredited au pair agencies. 
As always if we are made aware of any other developments in the au pair situation in Ireland or in any other country, we will keep you informed.

Other related articles:

au pair programme Ireland 

Petition for au pair legislation in Ireland