About Au Pairs

The term Au Pair means “on par” or equal to. Au Pairs are young people, usually students, who want to improve their English and be part of a family in exchange for culture, accommodation and pocket money.

An Au Pair will help with the children and light household duties however an Au Pair is not an employee, neither a trained or qualified child carer, nor a domestic and therefore should be treated as a member of the family; It is important for the family to be sympathetic towards the Au Pair, especially during the initial stage of the placement whilst she/he becomes accustomed to the new environment. Au Pairs are available all year but the best time is at the beginning of the autumn term for the academic year. Shorter period of placement is a good solution to childcare during the summer holidays.

Au Pairs are aged 18 to 27 from within EU Countries – there is no upper limit on age from EU nationals and older applicants choose to be Au Pairs as a cultural exchange in view to brush up their English.

Their level of English depends on their studies but normally Au Pairs have sufficient English to get-by. Au Pairs normally attend English classes known as EFL which they pay for; courses are available at the local college or private school between September and June. It is not always possible for Summer Au Pairs to attend classes.

Au Pairs work a maximum of 30 hours a week including evening babysitting. Au Pairs should not be asked to babysit on either of their free days.

The pocket money is £80.00 minimum/week for 30 hours although most families pay more. We recommend that you contributes at least £20 per month towards language school costs or equivalent benefits.

Au Pairs get 2 full days off/week and should be at least a full weekend once/month. We also recommend they are given 20 days paid leave over a 12 months period (plus free 8 days Bank Holidays). It is worked out pro-rata at 1.66 day/month; i.e. 15 days for 9 months + bank holidays during that period. The Au Pair should not be forced to take holidays to coincide with the family holidays but mutually agreed between both parties.

We recommend that the Au Pair is paid a completion bonus equivalent to at least 1 week's pocket money on completion of their agreed length of stay with the family for placement of 6 months or more; this completion bonus should be agreed in advance.

Phone: 01553 618985

Mobile: 07775 655298 please text

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