SecondBefore Brexit, Jamie Shaker arranged about 500 au pair from continental Europe for British host families every year. She has not placed one since last December. She said her agency, Busy bee Au Pair , Now basically “does not exist”. Shackell-he is also the chairman of the committee British Association of Au Pair Agents (Bapaa)-Indicates that the same is true for other similar institutions. At a time, there were about 30 members. “Now, we have only a few people left,” she said. “Many people are closed.”
Occasionally, people from the European Union with pre-settlement status will look for resettlement. “Then we got the institutions that quarreled after her or him, and the families that looked for independently,” Shaker said.
Au Pair aims to provide a unique cultural exchange. A young person—usually under 27, and most of them from other parts of Europe before Brexit—is welcomed by the family to provide childcare services while learning English and experiencing British culture. “Why would a British national want to live in another British national’s home?” Shaker said. “There is no benefit to them; there is no rich culture.”
For families hiring au pairs, one of the benefits is to have a (hopefully) interesting person by their side, so that their children can learn about another country and language. The other is that someone helps take care of the child without having to pay a higher salary for the nanny. In addition to food and accommodation, the Au Pair usually earns around £100 a week. They also often receive funds for English courses. In return, they expect to provide approximately 30 hours of childcare services per week and help with housework.
Some of the families who dealt with Shackell—she gets phone calls every day—“are desperate—especially now that many of them have been recalled to the office.” Au Pairs are particularly suitable for single parents, people who have no family nearby, and those who work on shifts (they may have difficulty arranging regular childcare services). “I know a family whose parents work in the police and the NHS-the mother had to reduce her working hours,” Shaker said. She added that the loss of au pair seems to have a disproportionate impact on professional women.
There is another knock-on effect. According to a survey by Bapaa, there were approximately 43,000 au pairs in the UK before the pandemic. “They will come to the UK with money and spend pocket money here. They will take courses in language schools, many of which are now closed or reduced. People lose their jobs as a result.”
She said she had heard of some aupairs who entered the country on a tourist visa and worked illegally for their families. She also knew that at least one person was detained in a detention center after being found and then deported.
Shackell said that Bapaa has been fighting for the government to allow EU au pairs to enter, but the government said it would not introduce a special au pair route.
Including the European Union Youth Mobility Program Shackell said-which allows young people from countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand to work in the UK for up to two years-will alleviate the problem. “It’s already there; it’s not that they have to create visas. All they have to do is to add European countries to it,” she said. “Because it is a two-year visa, it does not encourage immigration, but it will provide a time limit for those who want to travel and have experience.”
Coming to the UK as a babysitter is an opportunity for young people to “travel as they grow up,” Shaker said. But preventing them from coming means that both sides lose. “I think it is creating barriers. The whole existence of Au Pairs that started after World War II was to improve and Europe. It now appears that the government is trying to destroy it. “
