Job ad criticised for 'asking too much' of a nanny
A Sydney family’s advertisement for a nanny to look after two children has been criticised for asking too much of their prospective au pair.
The ad, posted on a Woolworths community message board in Sydney's inner west, offers the nanny $350 a week for 14 hours of work.
But it’s the extensive list of duties has raised eyebrows.
“We’re a Balmain family looking for an after-school caregiver for 14 hours per week ($25 per hour) starting early 2018,” it reads.
“Hours will be 2:45-6:15pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and you will be caring for our two children aged eight and four.
"The role involves school pick-ups in the Balmain/Birchgrove area so the successful applicant will need his/her own car as well as a clean driver’s licence.”
The ad requests the nanny has a “kind and generous nature” along with excellent English as “you will be helping our Year 3 child with spelling and other homework”.
In addition to that, further tasks include preparing dinner for the two children, making school lunches, walking the dog and light housework “such as folding washing”.
“Would suit a university student or an au pair who has some free hours,” it reads.
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“Minimum six-month commitment. Must have Working with Children check and First Aid certificate. Looking forward to hearing from you!”
A passerby has already criticised the ad, writing with some sarcasm: “Don’t want much for $25/hr do you?”
According to the Fair Work Ombudsmen, nannies and au pairs aren’t covered by an award rate. However, they are entitled to the national minimum wage of $22.86 for casual workers.
A study by the University of Technology Sydney Faculty of Law’s Dr Laurie Berg published last year found about 10,000 people work as au pairs in Australia but there is still a “significant lack of data about their experiences”.
Dr Berg wrote Australia “clearly” needs better regulation to safeguard the interests of both au pairs and families.
“Currently, au pairs have very little recourse if seriously injured in the host family’s home or refused promised payments by families," she said in the paper.
"Equally, if an au pair leaves without notice, a family can be left in the lurch without adequate childcare."
