Au pairing after the au pair scheme: Interviews

Cox, Rosie (2017). Au pairing after the au pair scheme: Interviews. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-851638

This project investigates the lives of au pairs and host families in the UK. Au pairs are now depended upon by thousands of British households to provide childcare and help with housework and there is evidence that au pairs are now less distinguishable from other domestic workers. However, au pairs are not protected by employment law. They have no right to a minimum wage, nor defined maximum working hours nor a right to holidays. The project aims are: to investigate the effects of changes to recent UK immigration legislation on the supply of au pairs within the UK. to examine the place of au pairing in the life and work trajectories of au pairs. to evaluate the subjective experience of au pairs. to examine understandings of au pairing within host families’ narratives of (good) parenting. The project uses four methods: an on-line survey and analysis of existing data to provide an overview of the nature and extent of au pairing in the UK; in-depth interviews with au pairs to explore their experiences; interviews with host families to uncover how au pairing to fits with their identity as parents and interviews with key informants to provide context.

Data description (abstract)

This is a collection of 15 qualitative interviews with families who currently host or have hosted an au pair in the UK. The interviews asked about motivations for hosting an au pairs, how the au pair fits in to family life and how hosting an au pair to carry out childcare fits with hosts' childcare philosophies.

Data creators:

Creator Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Cox Rosie	Birkbeck, University of London	http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2830-7234

Sponsors:

ESRC

Grant reference:

ES/J007528

Topic classification:

Social welfare policy and systems
Labour and employment
Society and culture

Keywords:

au pair, childcare, family, housework, work-life balance

Project title:

Au pairing after the au pair scheme: New migration rules and childcare in private homes in the UK

Alternative title:

Au pairing after the au pair scheme: New migration rules and childcare in private homes in the UK Interviews with families hosting au pairs; Interviews with host families.

Grant holders:

Rosie Cox

Project dates:

From	To
1 May 2012	31 October 2014

Date published:

17 Feb 2015 14:16

Last modified:

10 Nov 2017 11:29

Coverage and Methodology

Collection period:

Date from:	Date to:
1 May 2012	31 October 2014

Geographical area:

Country:

United Kingdom

Data collection method:

We interviewed 15 au pair hosts who between them had hosted over 50 au pairs over a number of years We aimed to interview 40 people (men and women) who had employed or who currently did employ someone they identified as an ‘au pair’ We were surprised to find that making contact with employers of au pairs who were prepared to be interviewed about their experiences was one of the most challenging aspects of the project. The surprise was because based on experiences of previous research projects we had assumed that we would be able to make contact with employers more easily through agencies, personal contacts, advertising on websites such as mumsnet and through snowballing. However, we found this was not the case and it was a frustrating aspect of the project. We offered a £10 M&S voucher to all those interviewed. Agencies We contacted au pair agencies to ask if we could send out a flier to employers on their books but we had no response. We attempted to make contact with employers by posting ads on facebook pages used by families seeking an au pair and by placing ads on sites such as mumsnet and netmums. We had no success with the facebook postings and very limited success with the ad on mumsnet. We found the only reliable method for recruiting employers willing to be interviewed was through personal contacts and word of mouth. This was limited to the number of people who fit the criteria for interview that we knew or could make contact with through friends and contacts. Also, for one of the two interviews who drew on contacts through her neighbourhood network and through her children’s school, this risked blurring boundaries between personal and professional and meant that she felt uncomfortable with interviewing people she had daily contact with.

Observation unit:

Individual

Kind of data:

Text

Type of data:

Qualitative and mixed methods data

Resource language:

English

Access and Administration