Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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910. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps she will take to regulate the au pair and domestic workers sector to protect vulnerable women from exploitation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22909/16]

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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There is no separate legal definition of the term “au pair” in Irish legislation, and individuals described as “au pairs”, “nannies” or “child-minders” are not exempted or treated as separate categories of workers under Irish employment law. Ireland’s body of employment rights legislation protects all employees who are legally employed on an employer-employee basis, regardless of what title is given to them. Therefore, once it is clear that a person is working under a contract of employment (written or verbal), on a full-time or part-time basis, that person has the same protection under employment law as other employees, including entitlement to the national minimum wage.

All employers, including those in private homes, carry the same obligations in relation to compliance with employment law. Where the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), which is responsible for securing compliance with employment legislation, receives a complaint involving somebody described as an au pair, the WRC will investigate with a view to establishing whether a person has statutory entitlements under employment law. Complaints involving au pairs are considered on a case-by-case basis, in the light of the facts of each case.

The recent WRC decision regarding an individual working as an Au Pair does not constitute any change to existing employment law and any persons working under a contract of employment must continue to have the full protection of employment law. I have no plans to review the status of au pairs with a view to deeming persons determined to be employees to be outside the scope of employment law. My Department’s remit in this area is primarily concerned with ensuring that those people found to be employees can enforce their rights, as provided for under employment rights legislation.

Finally, under the National Minimum Wage Act 2000, certain reckonable components may be taken into account for all workers to determine an employee’s average hourly rate. In this context, if an employer provides an employee with full board and lodgings, or lodgings only or full board only, a monetary allowance can be included as reckonable pay (The term ‘full board’ means an entitlement to meals during the day), as follows:

- €54.13 for board and lodgings per week, or €7.73 per day;

- €32.14 for board only per week, or €4.60 per day;

- €21.85 for lodgings only per week, or €3.14 per day.

The inclusion of this provision in the National Minimum Wage legislation was recommended by the Inter-Departmental Group on Implementation of a National Minimum Wage. It was the view of the Inter-Departmental Group that the monetary value of the allowances for the purpose of the National Minimum Wage would not be set at market value but rather would be similar to the amount provided for in Employment Regulation Orders.

The National Minimum Wage Act 2000 (National Minimum Hourly Rate of Pay) Order 2000 (SI No. 95/2000) provided for the amounts specified.

As I indicated during the debate on the Au Pair Placement Bill 2016 during Private Members' Business last week, I am very conscious of the passage of time since the board and lodgings rates were set. It is my intention therefore to ask the Low Pay Commission to review these rates as part of their next Work Programme.