BUSYBEE AU PAIR NEWS & EVENTS
26/04/2010:
BAPAA working with U.K. Government to Clarify Regulations for Au Pair industry Historically, the role of an 'Au Pair' was a specific category within U.K. Immigration Regulations and the Home Office published Guidelines for Au Pairs, which included: age criteria, hours of work and accommodation requirements. At this time, Au Pairs were not governed by employment regulations. In November 2008 the Au Pair category was removed from the UK Immigration Regulations. Most Au Pairs now come to the U.K. from countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) under the European Freedom of Movement Directive and do not have to meet any specific immigration requirements to be an Au Pair (note that there are still specific Immigration Requirements for Bulgarian and Romanian Au Pairs). Following the removal of the 'Au Pair' category from the Immigration Regulations in November 2008, the relevance of other UK Laws to Au Pairs needs clarification e.g. do the Working Time Regulations (WTR) apply to Au Pairs? BAPAA is working closely with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills “BIS” (the Government Department responsible for the Working Time Regulations) and the Department for Children School and Families “DCSF” (the Government Department responsible for the Vetting and Barring Scheme) to develop clear, consistent guidance on the relevance, (if any) of the WTR or other legislation, the subsequent role of an Au Pair and the responsibilities of their host families. The purpose of this News Release is to advise current and prospective families that the clarification work is actively in progress and before BAPAA receives the official clarification from Government, families may encounter different interpretations on matters such as working hours and holiday entitlement, from different Au Pair Agencies, on the internet and through various other bodies. Please note that in the absence of any definitive guidelines, these are interpretations only. BAPAA recognises this situation is not satisfactory, however it will only be resolved when the clarification guidance has been issued and we are working with the UK Government on this. ****************************************************************************************************************************************** 18/03/2010:
AU PAIRS GRANTED SPECIAL EXEMPTION FROM ISA REGISTRATION Sandra Landau – Chair of the British Au Pair Agencies Association will be formally announcing this important UK Government decision at the International Au Pair Association Annual conference in MIAMI, USA on Thursday 18 March 2010. Au Pairs will be exempt from the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) through a clarification of the term ‘family relationship’ The British Au Pair Agencies Association (BAPAA) has been notified directly of this Government decision by Baroness Delyth Morgan, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children, Young People and Families, following talks BAPAA has been holding with her Department. Some of the concerns raised by BAPAA that have resulted in the Government decision to give Au Pairs special exemption from the ISA scheme: • All BAPAA Member Agencies are already required by our code of conduct to provide a clear overseas police check from the Au Pair’s home country before placement in the UK. • The registration process would have made it impossible for a foreign Au Pair to register in advance of joining his/her host family and would result in delays in the placement procedure that could negatively affect the family’s childcare arrangements. • As Au Pairs are exempt from National Minimum Wage regulations, and earn pocket money in the region of £70 per week, the £64 VBS registration fee would have been unaffordable. • The process of an Au Pair registering with the ISA would have been cumbersome, causing time delays which could have adversely affected his/her placement prospects and the resultant inconvenience to those host families waiting for the process to be completed. ISA registration was meant to be compulsory for all Au Pairs placed in the UK. BAPAA is the voice of the Au Pair industry in the UK and wishes to thank the Department for Children, Schools and Families for their understanding of our concerns.
However the Government is not able to police overseas owned Au Pair placement sites on the Internet. This created an anomaly and the Government’s decision to waive the compulsory registration of Au Pairs has resolved this issue as far as Au Pairs recruited through UK Au Pair Agencies is concerned. It is hoped this will discourage the public from recruiting Au Pairs from websites controlled from outside the UK, where usually few or no checks have been carried out.
