Tory MP’S housekeeper was treated ‘worse than a slave’
A FORMER housekeeper to a senior Tory MP has claimed that she was treated “worse than a slave” after taking his wife to court for unpaid wages.
Hazel Settas was employed by the wife of Jonathan Djanogly, a former justice minister, but quit after two weeks because of the demands placed on her.
She told the Mirror that she “worked like a dog” and sometimes had to fulfil 16-hour days to complete the tasks she was set. They were laid out in a folder, which included detailed instructions on when to rotate avocados between a fruit bowl and the fridge.
She claimed that Rebecca, Mr Djanogly’s wife, used to “click her fingers” while looking down on her as “not even a human”.
The MP for Huntingdon, in Cambridgeshire, since 2001 is the son of textile manufacturer Sir Harry Djanogly, said to be worth £300million.
Ms Settas, 32, responded to a Gumtree advert in 2020 for a £20,000-a-year live-in housekeeper at the couple’s £7million home in west London. She was required to work from 7am until 7pm but sometimes ended up finishing at 11pm as she would be “told off ” if she left anything unfinished.
She said: “There were pages and pages of tasks. I felt like I was working in a prison. I would break down in my room.”
She said on one occasion, Mr Djanogly’s wife told her if she lost weight she would be “quicker” at tasks.
Ms Settas claimed that another time, she told Rebecca: “You can’t treat people like this. This is worse than a slave, this is worse than prison.”
She also claimed that on another occasion Rebecca told her: “My husband’s an MP, you’re worthless.”
Mr Djanogly refused to help after she wrote to him about unpaid wages, she said. She took his wife, who employed her under her maiden name of Silk, to court and won an £886 payout.
The Mirror reported that an unnamed second housekeeper who later worked for the couple also won a case against them. She was awarded £3,148 in unauthorised wage deductions, overtime and annual leave by an employment judge, the paper said. Mr Djanogly was contacted for comment.