Queen Elizabeth. Photo Reuters
Working as a cleaner for the Queen seems to be about
prestige rather than pay, and a backlash over a recent job ad
has prompted the monarch to review salary levels.
The official British Monarchy website called for applications
for a part-time cleaner at Windsor Castle, offering the
successful maid STG6.67 ($NZ13) per hour, British tabloid the
Daily Mirror reported.
The hourly rate is STG0.47 above Britain's minimum wage but
STG0.78 below the government's recommended "living wage".
It means the cleaner - who would perform tasks including
vacuuming, mopping, dusting, and changing bed linen - working
from 8am to 1pm Monday to Saturday, would earn a full-time
equivalent salary of STG13,000 ($NZ25,200) a year.
"This looks really bad. Since the Queen receives considerable
support from the public purse she should pay a living wage,
not just barely a minimum wage," Labour MP Grahame Morris
told the newspaper.
"She's setting a bad example to other employers."
In June Windsor Castle advertised for a servant to work 40
hours a week for STG14,000 a year.
A royal spokesman told the Daily Mirror: "We are reviewing
our policies regarding the living wage".
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