Mary Poppins and the minimum wage

Is your au pair entitled to claim the minimum wage? Currently £6.19 per hour if she’s over 21.

     It can be a time consuming process removing all the eggy bread, pasta etc. that your little darlings may throw to the floor with gay abandon.  My kids worked on a one in three ratio when they were small.  Eat a mouthful, throw the next one on the floor and smear the third over their face, body or any other surface in easy reach.  So if you're paying for every minute they spend looking after your little treasures it can soon mount up.

     The Court of Appeal have been asked if the minimum wage can be claimed where certain tasks are not shared with the family?  In Nambalat v Taher & others they came up with a big fat NO!  Provided you treat them as part of the family and not just some skivvy to be exploited at will.
    The National Minimum Wage Regulations say domestic workers and au pairs can’t claim it if they live in the family home, get free board and lodgings and are treated generally as part of the family.
    However if you take the Cinderella approach to your domestic help then the situation may be different.  So the next time you’re considering asking the kids nanny to spend the evening cleaning your car as opposed to joining in the family meal think twice!