WHAT IS AN AU PAIR?

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Mostly, au pairs are young people who will stay with a host family as a temporary additional member of the family. The au pair will help looking after your children and do housework in exchange for a comfortable room, pocket money, food & drink, the chance to learn English and to get a taste of the host family’s cultural and sociallife. Many au pairs already have good English skills and can help with homework, listen to children read and play games. Learning can therefore be fun and educational for all.

Many au pairs already have good English skills and help with homework, listen to children read and play games so that learning can be fun and educational for all.

In general the au pairs wish to improve their language skills eitherbefore they continue their studies or before they enter the job market.Some may consider a career in childcare or teaching.

To facilitate the most flexible childcare solution, our au pair agencycan offer candidates from the EU/EEA; who are highly flexible and ableto travel at short notice. We also have a limited number of applicantsfrom English speaking countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand.These applicants have a ‘Youth Mobility’ visa, allowing them to joinyour family in the UK as au pair, mother’s help or tutor, withoutrestrictions on their hours or income.

HOURS AND POCKET MONEY

For the au pair program, we have adopted the guidelines from ECAPS (European Committee of Au Pair Standards) all other options below are outside of the ECAPS guidelines.

Pocket money varies depending on the number of hours and the level of experience of the au pair.

In all cases, families should provide a comfortable room and full board for the au pair. Duty hours should allow an au pair to study and attend structured classes. Two days per week should be free and suitable compensation should be agreed if extra work is required.

During school holidays you may ask your au pair to care for the children all day at extra pay.

Some families, especially in remote areas, will also contribute towards travel expenses. There are also families who are prepared to pay for, or contribute towards the cost of English lessons.

If you have broadband internet that they can use to keep in touch with home, it will minimize the risk of them being homesick.

An au pair pays for her/his own flight but should be collected from the airport unless otherwise agreed.

It is very important to agree in advance what you expect from each other.

• On duty approx. 5 hours per day, 5 days per week
• Babysitting can be 2-3 evenings per week
• Free time minimum 2 full days and 3 evenings
• Minimum pocket money £70 (25 hrs)
  
• Minimum recommended pocket money native speaker £100 (25 hrs)
  
• Limited light housework 
• No sole care for children under 2

Au Pair Plus* & Summer Au Pair (31-35 hours per week including babysitting)

• On duty approx. 6 hours per day, 5 days per week
• Babysitting can be 2-3 evenings per week
• Free time minimum 2 full days and 3 evenings
• Recommended minimum pocket money £85 
• Limited light housework
• No sole care for children under 2

 Tutor** (25-30 hours per week including babysitting)

• Works 5 hours per day, 5 days per week
• Baby sits 2-3 evenings per week
• Receives 2 free days and 3 evenings off
• Recommended minimum pocket money from £100 
• Focus on educational support, school age children – very limited light housework

 Mother's Help* (35+ hours per week)

• Works up to 10 hours, 5 days per week
• Baby sits 2-3 evenings per week
• Receives at least 1 full free day and 3 evenings off
• Pay minimum £130 - 35 hrs, £150 - 40 hrs, £180 – 45 hrs for Europeans
• Pay minimum £180 - 35 hrs, £210 – 40 hrs, £230 – 45hrs for native English speakers
  
• More responsibility, younger children and/or longer hours, more housework

 Extra hours for au pairs are usually paid at minimum £4 per hour/£7 for specialist positions.

*mother's helpers or tutors are not officially part of the au pair cultural exchange scheme. They are candidates who are willing and able to take on higher levels of responsibility, but not fully qualified like a nanny or teacher.

Please read more information about mother's help or more information about tutor program.

We can help find candidates who are able to work over 35 hours and/or offer more experience. Mother’s help is a ‘real job’ rather than cultural exchange and pay varies depending on skills, experience and hours.

Tax and NI contributions are payable as soon as pay is more than £124 per week. (£ 6,475 tax year 2009/10)

NOTE TO ALL HOST FAMILIES – During the (summer) holidays you may ask your au pair to do extra hours. Holiday pocket money should reflect the extra hours. Most language schools are CLOSED during July/August.

WHAT EXPERIENCE CAN I EXPECT?

We encourage host families to involve their au pair in family activities from shared meals to sports and days out. It is important that the au pair is given the opportunity to attend language classes.

Many host families only require a genuine affection for children from their au pair. Practical experience is an advantage, even if it is only babysitting, as is an outgoing nature for coping and living with new people in a foreign country. We expect an au pair to be honest, mature and responsible.

Au pairs with good English and additional childcare experience are very popular. Some have a background in education or have been (summer) au pair before. Expect to pay more pocket money for experienced candidates. We have candidates in this category marked as ‘gold’ au pairs and our placement fee reflects their additional skills and/or experience.

We also place ‘childcare apprentices’, who are combining the au pair experience with a childcare qualification such as an NVQ/BTEC. These candidates can be au pair or mother’s help as formal learning is limited to just one Saturday per month. Placement fee is either ‘gold’ au pair or ‘platinum’ specialist according to family requirements. 

Consider if your family has specific needs. A family where sole care is required, especially with more than 2 children, very young children or a child with special needs will benefit from a person with some experience, possibly even a mother's help. A family with teenage boys may consider a male au pair to connect with the boys through sports and hobbies and a young mum may wish to consider a mother's help to assist her.

Ensure your profile reflects your requirements.

An au pair is not a domestic help, nor a nanny. Help and enthusiasm is expected, experience is a bonus. They should not be expected to take charge of all household chores or all childcare.

EXPECTED & UNSUITABLE DUTIES

Duties will vary by family, but most families expect the following to be part of the au pair’s duties. The balance of the au pair position should always be on childcare, rather than household duties.

• Wake the children in the morning and get them ready
• Help the children to tidy their rooms and make their beds
• Prepare breakfast and lunch for the children
• Clean up breakfast dishes
• Make sure children have books and homework for school
• Drive children to/from school (if needed)
• Tasks while children are at school: shopping, light housework
• Prepare a healthy afternoon snack
• Assist the children with their homework, initiate and supervise play
• Help the children with their bath routine and help get them ready for bed

We ask the host family to outline their expected duties in the profile. Prior to the arrival of the au pair we also recommend preparing a detailed handbook, for which we provide a template. It outlines jobs and basic house rules so that expectations are clear and the au pair has a fair chance of not only meeting but exceeding your expectations.

Please see below for a list of unsuitable tasks (as outlined by BAPAA)

List of duties considered unsuitable for an au pair:

Gardening
Window cleaning
Spring cleaning
Cleaning the oven, other than simple wiping out
Washing carpets
Washing the car
Weekly shopping
Pet training
Clearing up after untrained pets
Making parents bed*
Ironing for parents *
Cleaning parents’ en-suite bathroom*
Polishing silver and brassware*
Cooking the family meal, unless the au pair enjoys cooking and has chosen to do this for the family

*these duties can be included where there is less childcare and the children are out of the house for most of the day.

Au pairs should not be required to do housework such as ironing, when looking after children of primary school age or toddlers.

WHAT ABOUT FREE TIME?

An au pair should have 2 days off per week and at least 3 evenings per week of free time (2 evening babysitting are included). At least one full weekend per month should be given. An au pair should have 2 weeks per year paid holiday, one week for every 6 months.

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