Migrant Domestic Workers, the National Minimum Wage and the ‘Family Worker’ Concept

Abstract

In countries all around the world domestic workers have been excluded from employment and other legal protections. It was timely, then, that in 2011 the International Labour Organization (ILO) voted to establish Convention 189 on decent work for domestic workers.¹ The convention and accompanying recommendation seek to address issues such as the application of a minimum wage, living conditions and the welfare of children of migrants engaged in domestic work. In essence, the con- vention extends to domestic workers some of the most basic and fun- damental employment rights that other workers are entitled to. While migrant domestic workers in the UK were delighted with the success at the ILO, this was — and is — tempered by the reality that UK employment legislation still acts to exclude domestic workers from protection. In addition, the 2012 changes to migration rules mean migrant domestic workers are again tied to one employer, meaning they now have less protection in law than they have done for the past 15 years. In this context it is useful to reflect on the legal and policy context of all those doing domestic work in the UK, including those who are labelled as ‘au pairs’ (see Busch, Chapter 4 for an explanation of the current lack of an ‘au pair’ status in the UK).