Net for the unwary

Nannies as well as au pairs should consider a warning issued by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation about looking for jobs on the booming number of unregulated internet websites. Elizabeth Elder, chair of REC's childcare division, said the practice posed a danger to childcarers who might be lured to a bogus job vacancy or the wrong sort of family, and a danger to children whose parents hired a carer without background checks. She said recruitment via websites has been steadily increasing and that REC member agencies had been dealing with at least one family a week 'who have selected unsuitable au pairs and need a quick and properly vetted replacement'. Even experienced nannies might think they can expand their job options by looking for work via the internet. But if they do so, Elizabeth warned, they should stay away from any online recruiters who put families and potential childcarers directly in contact with each other, with no input from an agency. Jobseekers should check the websites for REC itself or the Association of Nanny Agencies to see if the agency in question is a member, and ensure that it also shows its postal address.