Nicky Busch

• Richmond, The American International University in London

This chapter examines the different experiences of citizenship of au pairs in the UK who all ostensibly have equal citizenship rights as European Union (EU) nationals. The chapter shows how deregulation of the au pair sector since 2008 has allowed a hierarchy of au pairs to develop with only those from the most prosperous states able to access the...

This article argues that au pairing in the UK has evolved from being a cultural exchange scheme operating primarily between middle-class families across Western Europe to being in many cases a euphemism for low-paid care and domestic work involving people from the across the EU and beyond. For this reason I argue that au pair are usefully understoo...

Migrant women are important sources of labour in the commoditised in-home childcare sector in many regions of the UK. Jobs in this sector, which include nannies as well as au pairs, babysitters, housekeepers and mothers' helps, are often low paid and low status with pay and conditions being determined by employers' circumstances and whims. This art...