JOB DESCRIPTION and CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENT

“Irish Aunts” (hereinafter called “the Agency”) is an Employment Business established by Iris I. Brownrigg in 1967, assigning Irish Aunts from a roll of carefully screened staff, to Clients who are registered with the Agency.

An “Irish Aunt” is a Companion, a Housekeeper and a Domestic Manager who will take up residence in a Client’s home and may take charge of that household, wholly or partially, and run that household for the benefit of a designated resident (hereinafter called their “Charge”). An Irish Aunt’s principle qualification is their lifetime’s experience of running a household. An Irish Aunt is not a nurse and does not undertake nursing duties.

An Irish Aunt is a Casual Worker assigned from the Agency’s roll, for a contract lasting from one to twenty-eight days (but never longer than twenty-eight days) living and working with their Charge. The Irish Aunt’s contract with the Agency is a precise parallel of all or a specified part of the Agency’s contract with the Client (a long term Client’s contract never projects more than twenty eight days into the future), and subject to the same one-week’s period of notice and payment in lieu of notice. The Irish Aunt is not obliged to accept work offered by the Agency, nor is the Agency obliged to offer work to the Irish Aunt. The Agency however, will endeavour to supply the Irish Aunt with a succession of assignments to suit both the Irish Aunt and the Agency’s Clients. These assignments may be with the one Client or they may be with several different Clients. The assignments offered to an Irish Aunt will be specifically tailored to when and how often they want to work.

Different patterns emerge. One or two of the Irish Aunts want to work almost full time. Most tend to work week on week off, or fortnight on fortnight off, or two weeks in three, or one week in three, or one week in four, or even less frequently. Each assignment is very much full time for its duration, but the Irish Aunt can tailor the time off in between to suit their own lifestyle.

Working Hours – The Irish Aunt is paid in units of one day. The working week is considered to be five days, but on some assignments may be six or seven days. For accounting purposes the Irish Aunt is said to work SIX hours each day (A rate) and remain present and on call within the household for a further 15 hours per day in case of emergencies; FIVE hours each day (B rate) and 16 hours “on call”. There are no fixed work times during the day. “On call” the Irish Aunt lives in as a member of the family and must have adequate recreation, rest and sleep. A three hour complete break from household and charge should be provided each day. Where only one day off is provided each week the Irish Aunt is usually required to return for the night, their “day off” being from after breakfast until before bedtime. When days off are worked the Irish Aunt is paid for them at the standard rate. When a day off is made available by the Client, but the Irish Aunt chooses not to take it for whatever reason no extra payment will be made for that day. It is normally the responsibility of the Irish Aunt to organise their own time and, where necessary their charge – in the nicest possible way – to ensure that their time off is forthcoming. For the Inland Revenue’s purposes, the Agency bills the Clients and pays the Irish Aunts, operating PAYE.

Cancellation: when an assignment is cancelled or its start is delayed and the Irish Aunt is paid in lieu for those days they expected to work during the period of one week’s notice or is waiting at home, they will be paid at the B rate.

Public Holidays: when an assignment agreed between the Agency and an Irish Aunt includes a public or customary holiday, that holiday is a normal working day paid at the standard rate.

Cleaning: Irish Aunts do not undertake any heavy cleaning. An allowance may be paid through the Agency if there is insufficient cleaning assistance provided in the household.

Supervision: the Agency does not directly supervise the Irish Aunt on assignment. The Irish Aunt either works unsupervised, or is directly responsible to the Client. The Agency may act as arbiter in a dispute. All complaints and grievances which cannot be quietly dealt with between the Irish Aunt and the Client or Charge must be brought immediately to the Agency for resolution.

Location: the bulk of the Agency’s work is in the Greater Belfast area (the Larne, Hillsborough, Donaghadee triangle). The Agency provides limited cover throughout the rest of Northern Ireland and just occasionally into Donegal and the other border counties of the Republic of Ireland and South West Scotland.

Leaving and Retirement: when an Irish Aunt leaves the Agency there is no specific period of notice expected of them. However they will be expected to complete those assignments that they have already undertaken to work. The Agency has no arbitrary retirement age, but may remove an Irish Aunt from the roll when the Agency feels that they can no longer credibly introduce then to a new Client.

Driving: The Irish Aunt may be requested to drive the Client’s car or the Irish Aunt’s own car for any purpose agreed with the Client, being for the welfare of the assigned household and Charge. The client’s car shall be driven solely on the Client’s policy of insurance and wholly at the Client’s risk; it shall be the Irish Aunt’s duty to confirm that the Client’s insurance is valid for this purpose before driving the car. The Irish Aunt’s own car shall be driven solely on the Irish Aunt’s policy of insurance and wholly at the Irish Aunt’s risk. The Agency shall not be liable in any manner whatsoever for any damage caused to either the Client’s car, or the Irish Aunt’s car, or to the car of any third party, or for personal injuries suffered by the Client, Irish Aunt or any third party howsoever arising. Use of the Irish Aunt’s own car should be paid at the current specified amount per mile.

Travel Expenses; Mileage; Housekeeping Money: These should be obtained directly from the Client. The Irish Aunt should be paid for one return journey for each assignment at petrol/public transport costs only.

Pensions: given the Agency’s recruitment policy, a high proportion of Irish Aunts are already in receipt of a pension of some sort, and the rest are approaching pension age. The Agency does not have a pension scheme. Acceptance of these Terms and Conditions is deemed to be a disavowal of a Stake Holder Pension Scheme.

Holidays: since most Irish Aunts already arrange their own breaks between assignments, the Agency does not run a holiday pay scheme, as this would merely involve withholding money due to the Irish Aunt and paying it later in the year. Irish Aunts can manage their own finances better than this. 8% of Wages will therefore be considered to be holiday pay.

Confidentiality: it is a condition of engagement that now, and at all times in the future, the Irish Aunt keeps secret the affairs and concerns of the Client’s household, and its transactions and business.

It is a further condition of engagement that an Irish Aunt shall not, while working with the Agency or for one year after their last assignment with the Agency, operate or become a partner or director of any other agency or business providing similar services within Northern Ireland. Nor during this period shall an Irish Aunt work for a Client of the Agency without the Agency’s prior knowledge or consent.

IRISH AUNTS
Office Hours
MONDAY to FRIDAY
10a.m. - 12 noon
/ Jack & Elizabeth Brownrigg
99 The Mount, Belfast BT5 4ND
office: (028) 9045 7900
fax: 028 9045 7919 ; mobile: 07050 057900
e-mail:

STAFF APPLICATION FORM

surname / full forenames: / maiden name (if app)

date of birth

full address and post code
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...... telephone number ......
Email address: ...... / day / month / year
national insurance number
current tax code if known
marital status
MARRIED / SINGLE / WIDOWED / OTHER (please specify) / DO YOU SMOKE? / yes/no
DO YOU HAVE A CURRENT
DRIVING LICENCE? / yes/no / IF YES GIVE
LICENCE NUMBER

LIST FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS (nurses must give U.K.C.C. no., date and place of qualification)

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GIVE DETAILS OF YOUR PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE OF:

1. RUNNING A HOUSEHOLD
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2. LOOKING AFTER ELDERLY PEOPLE
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The Agency requires that you provide two referees who are prepared to supply references in writing upon application by the Agency. At least one referee should cover your last major period of employment, and at least one should have known you personally for an extended period.

name
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address ......
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position held by applicant ......
FROM ...... TO ...... / name
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address ......
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WHOM I HAVE KNOWN
FROM ...... TO ......

I GIVE CONSENT FOR THE AGENCY TO APPROACH THE ABOVE-NAMED TO SEEK REFERENCES AS TO MY PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT AND CONDUCT.

I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE JOB DESCRIPTION AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT OVERLEAF.

Signature / Date / day / month / year