Counselors allowed to work at other jobs??
Hi Edina and host parents,
I have a question that I hope you can answer for me. Can counselors or LCCs work at other jobs while they are working for au pair agencies? The reason I ask this is because we have had such a time getting our counselor to return our phone calls. We usually have to wait a few days before she gets back to us, and she always returns the calls at night (she is allowed to call us during the day, at work). We are usually tired and spending family time in the evenings and we would prefer if she called during our work time.
Then, I heard, from one of the host families in our cluster, that this counselor works full-time at another job in addition to being a counselor for our agency!
I would think, given the money we spend for agency fees, etc., that there would be some kind of regulation or rule, that prohibits them from holding another job, that of course, takes away their time from host families and their au pairs.
I would also suspect, that if they are allowed to work multiple jobs, this may be one of the reasons that agencies, like Cultural Care, get so many complaints about customer service. If you are working at another job, how can you possibly service your families and your au pairs? My au pair also complains that she cannot get our counselor to answer her questions, etc.
Can you answer this for me?
Thank you!
Chinagirl
Call the Agency and Confirm
Hi. I would suggest that you call the agency and confirm that your counselor is working full-time. They may not be aware of this at all. If you can confirm beforehand that your counselor is working full-time (call the company she works for and ask), then you have more leverage when speaking to the au pair agency manager. Tell them who you spoke to and give them the work number so they can confirm it themselves. Then, once it is confirmed that your counselor is indeed working full-time and has more than 15 famlies in her cluster, the au pair agency must respond in a timely fashion to address this situation.
Typically, they will break up the cluster and assign 15 families to the current counselor and hire another one to manage the remaining families. This will ensure that you and the other families, and their au pairs, receive the best service and coverage you all deserve and expect.
Please let us know how it works out for you.
Good luck,
Edina
Dept. of State Requires Counselors to Limit Work Hours
Host families and au pairs are their paying customers, and they deserve a timely and quality response to any inquiry, whether it is serious in nature or not. But, more importantly, counselors who are working full-time at another job, is illegal and in violation of the Dept. of State's Regulations regarding the running of au pair agencies.
According to the Dept. of State, no counselor is allowed to work full-time at another job if their cluster numbers over 15 families.
We are aware that agencies look the other way, and allow this to happen. We know of some counselors who have more than 50 familes and run businesses on the side or have full-time jobs outside the home!
To see the regulation that prohibits this click here: http://www.expertaupair.com/forms/22cfr62.31.pdf and read rule #8.
We advise all host families to ask about this when you are interviewing your agency/counselor and before you sign the contract - you have a right to know if your counselor is working full-time.
Even if she/he has a small cluster, it can grow quite quickly - the agencies are supposed to split off the cluster to maintain the legal limit of 15 families (and if the counselor is working full-time) or have the counselor either resign or limit her work hours at the other job. This rule is often not enforced and there is no real documentation or checking except for a yearly question of the counselor by the agency: "Where are you working outside of the agency, and how many hours do you work?" The counselor's answer to this is not ever checked, that I know of, and agencies are reluctant to fire or let go of any counselor since there is so much turn-over and it is difficult to keep any one person in this position for a long time. So, many agencies do look the other way.
Do your homework, ask questions and find out where and what your counselor is doing during the day - it is your right to know, backed by your government, with the intention of protecting your rights, and to maintain the safety of your children and home!
Edina
Counselors Do Work Full-Time Outside of Au Pair Job
Edina, you are correct here - many LCCs and Counselors do work fulltime while they are managing large clusters (over 15). I have a cluster with about 46 host families and I work full time outside of the home. I also have a family (3 children) my own au pair, and a busy family life with extended family around me. My husband does not make enough to pay all the bills, so I work fulltime. We use my au pair money for vacations, gifts for our family, the "extras."
We have to work other jobs, and the pay scale is low for counselors. If they paid more, we would work less at other jobs, and be more available to service our families. Is there a lag between phone calls? Yes, of course. Sometimes 48 hours, but most of the time, these calls are not emergencies. One of the Dept. of State rules is that we have to get back to all call (au pairs and host families) within 24 hours but it is fine, many counselors break this rule on a daily basis and the world does not suddenly end, right??
Excellent Resource!
Edina, excellent reporting and commenting here! Your website continues to be a great resource for me and my family and to all host families out there. I am going to inquire today as to what my counselor does during the day!!! I had no idea it was illegal for them to work fulltime while serving my family. I do know that my counselor, has over 15 families and I do think she is working at another job, but I don't think (??) it is fulltime, but I am not sure. Considering the money I pay out, I am going to find out!
Thanks again for the great insight!!
Loyal fan and reader,
Thank you Mark!
Thank you for your comments here - we are always happy to hear from our readers and get feedback from them. We would love to hear from other host families and counselors/LCCs on this topic.
We would like to hear back from you regarding the working status of your counselor and how the conversation went.
Edina