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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Simon Murphy

Tory MP Jonathan Djanogly and wife face complaints from four more fed-up housekeepers

Four more housekeepers have complained about working at the homes of millionaire Tory Jonathan Djanogly.

They spoke to the Sunday Mirror after we told how two housekeepers won employment tribunals against Mr Djanogly’s wife Rebecca – their boss.

The four made claims about their time working for the couple at homes in West London and Cambridgeshire, where Mr Djanogly is MP for Huntingdon.

One alleged she was paid less than the minimum wage and another claimed to be owed at least £450 – and that she was reduced to tears, with her mental health taking a hit.

Their accounts come after Hazel Settas, 32, told how she was treated like a slave, insulted, reduced to tears and had to take legal action against the politician’s wife to get paid.

Jess Phillips, Shadow Safeguarding Minister, said: “These accounts are chilling in their similarity.”

The London home of MP Jonathan Djanogly (TIM ANDERSON)

Fresh claims have now been made by a Hungarian woman who was the Djanoglys’ live-in housekeeper in London for more than two years until mid-2015.

She says she was paid around £800 a month to work shifts up to 16 hours, four days a week. The woman, 34, insists she was paid under the minimum wage.

Or, she added: “I was paid for much less hours than I was actually working.”

The woman’s P60 to April 5, 2015, shows she was paid £10,349.48. Based on a 48-hour week, that would equate to £4.15 an hour.

That does not account for holiday, food or accommodation. At the time, the minimum wage for adults over the age of 21 was £6.50 an hour.

A second ex-worker claims she has also chased the Djanoglys for wages – but is still at least £450 down.

The 42-year-old, from Poland, was a live-in housekeeper at Mr Djanogly’s constituency abode and also spent time at his London home for around 10 months until mid-2016.

She claims she ended up in tears after a 17-hour day and her mental health suffered.

A third woman who says she left a religious cult to work at the ex-minister’s home claimed her experience was “equally bad”.

The woman, in her 30s from eastern Europe, says she too was reduced to tears during her tenure. And a fourth worker – a Latvian aged 33 – said she was unhappy working for the couple.

Jess Phillips is the Shadow Safeguarding Minister (©2021 Steve Bainbridge)

Mr and Mrs Djanogly dispute the claims, stating that all workers were treated and paid properly and that they “do not recognise the upsetting and ugly picture now painted”.

They also say they do not recall receiving any complaints.

The Tory Party declined to comment.

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