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05 October 2012: The life of the modern servant

How different are the conditions for modern-day domestic servants compared with their counterparts in the Downton Abbey era?

During the last week’s ‘Servants: the true story of life below stairs’ programme, Essex sociologist and presenter Dr Pam Cox spoke to Dr Lucy Delap from St Catharine’s College Cambridge to help explain the ranking of servants within a house.

Dr Delap has also been featured on the new Society Central website, calling for reforms to improve the conditions and employment rights for those working as nannies, cleaners and au pairs today.

The employment rights are no better and often worse than those of their counterparts in the Downton Abbey era, according to a new paper by Dr Delap. Read the story in full on Society Central.

Don’t miss tonight’s episode of Pam's programme, ‘Class War’, that explores the whole notion of service up until the First World War.

Servants in the early years of the twentieth century became less willing to accept their lot in life and many left service for a different kind of work, such as in the new factories and shops. Middle-class householders who relied on the labour of others to maintain a ‘decent life’ tried to solve the ‘servant problem’ by searching amongst the most vulnerable young members of society, sending the whole notion of service into crisis.