What kind of family treats a vulnerable au pair this callously?

THE callous treatment of a Brazilian au pair at the hands of a Dublin couple shows once again how easily a long-running cultural exchange programme – whereby young women receive board and lodgings in return for light childminding duties – can be ruthlessly exploited by families in search of cheap childcare.

In the Labour Court, where they were fined almost €5,500, Bernardine and Thomas McCormack, top left and right, claimed utter ignorance of their legal obligations to their au pair.

They added, probably accurately, that many Irish parents are in the same boat, unaware that their downtrodden Maria or Consuela is not an indentured slave and entitled to the minimum wage.

Call me naive, but I still don’t think there are many Irish families who would sink as low as the McCormacks and impose a contractual responsibility on their au pair in the absence of any obligations from their side.

When the McCormacks’ au pair suddenly announced that she was quitting, they insisted that she pay them over €500 compensation for her failure to give proper notice.

The couple, who have two young children, pocketed her cash, knowing it made her penniless and in debt to her friend who coughed up the final €30. Their cold and miserly attitude is breathtaking.

The au pair had worked a backbreaking 54-hour-week for them for just €3 an hour, but they shook the woman down for every last cent and slammed the door on her like she was a criminal. When the McCormack children eventually fly the nest, I’m sure their parents will hope they meet with more kindness than their unlucky au pair found in their own home.