Citizens of
the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes all European Union countries, are
permitted to take up any work in the UK. Since May 2004 the EU has included many of
the countries from which young people could previously only work in the UK
if they were au pairs.
Is a candidate committed to being an au pair? Host families
need to assure themselves that a prospective au pair is genuinely here for that
purpose, not as a stepping stone to other work. One good indicator is the intention
to follow an English language course leading to an exam certificate. Another is
evidence that the candidate intends to go back to a university course or profession where
the experience of English language and culture is likely to provide a significant
advantage.
Au Pair Plus This commonly used term has never been
recognised within the regulations for the UK Au Pair Scheme. It is usually
taken to mean full-time working hours (e.g. 40 hours a week) compared with the 25 hours
maximum each week of the Au Pair Scheme. In fact any EEA citizen may work in the UK
under an appropriate legal arrangement. This could include the usual light domestic
work and childcare undertaken by au pairs. However, with increased hours the
host then becomes an Employer, and such work would then be subject to the Minimum Wage
regulations, and also has implications for tax and National Insurance. Only if the
Au Pair Plus is clearly being treated as a guest member of the family, could the host
family avoid being regarded as an employer. This means, for instance, as well as
having a room in the family house the au pair will be sharing in leisure activities and
having most meals with the family.
Live-out au pair An au pair candidate may already
have alternative accommodation arranged, say, with a friend. The host family would however
be responsible for providing accommodation if that arrangement failed at a future
date. It is not acceptable that an au pair placement should be ended because
living-out accommodation was no longer available. The UK au pair regulations
assume that an au pair will live as a member of the host family household.
Commonsense suggests that an au pair living with the host family will be more
reliably available early in the day and for occasional evening babysitting.
Working Holidaymakers The UK "working holidaymaker"
scheme is an arrangement where any Commonwealth citizen, British Dependent Territories
citizen or British Overseas citizen aged between 17 and 27 can come to the UK for an
extended holiday for up to two years and may do part-time or casual work. Work must not be
the main reason for the visit. An arrangement with a host family could be very
similar to that for an au pair. The limitation on working hours is the same as for au
pairs. Fuller information can be found on the Home
Office website. The list of countries currently participating in the
Working Holidaymaker scheme is given in Appendix
3 of the Immigration Rules. |
