Au Pair
Are you looking for an an economic childcare solution and an extra pair of hands around the house?
What is an Au Pair?
An Au Pair is a single person, without dependants aged 18-27 who wants to learn a foreign language and learn about the culture by living as part of the family. An Au Pair can be male or female. Most of our Au Pairs are French but we do also provide other nationalities as well.
An Au
Pair is not a trained childcarer but will have some experience with children through babysitting, looking
after siblings or tutoring but they rarely have any qualifications.
They may also have some experience in housework. The Au Pairs tend to
have a basic or intermediate level of English. Some Au Pairs are
experienced drivers. Want an Au Pair with more experience? See Elite Au Pair
What is an Au Pair's role?
An
Au Pair has a role that could be considered to be that of an older
sister, or a visiting niece. Au Pairs are primarily expected to help
with the children and also to carry out some light housework which
should be mainly child-related. They are not a replacement for a
cleaner or a hired help.
An
Au Pair should be included in family activities including most
mealtimes and some outings. They will expect to be treated as a
family member and not an employee. This is essential if the placement is to succeed.
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About the Au Pair's work conditions
What are the recommended hours and pocket money?
Pocket Money : £60 a week - £65 in London.
Total Hours : 25 hours / week + 2 evenings babysitting Mon-Fri. (the odd Sat evening is accepted).
Childcare Hours : Up to 5 hours a day Mon-Fri.
Housework : Max 10 hours a week. An Au Pair must not be the only one doing housework.
Days off/Holiday : Saturday & Sunday (The odd Sat evening babysitting is accepted).
One week's paid holiday every 6 months.
Optional Benefits An end of placement bonus can encourage an Au Pair to complete their placement.
Use of a car - pay as you go mobile phone - help with cost of language lessons etc. These benefits are all optional and not expected by the Au Pairs.
What can the family ask an Au Pair to do?
An Au Pair's duties include taking the children to / from school; helping them get ready in the morning; amusing and supervising them until the parents come home; babysitting in the evening. They also do some light housework - this should be largely childcare related i.e. preparing their meals, tidying their room, cleaning the bathroom & kitchen, ironing, dusting, feeding the pets etc.
What can't the family ask an Au Pair to do?
- The Au Pair should not spend more than 50% of their time on housework and no more than 10 hours
a week. Successful placements rarely involve more than 7 hours cleaning/errands per week.
- The Au Pair should not be the only person carrying out housework duties in the home as this quickly
leads to resentment. The duties they can do are tasks that need doing on a daily/weekly basis.
- The family should not ask the Au Pair to do any heavy cleaning or housework, or maid-like duties - this
includes defrosting the freezer; cleaning the oven; gardening; cleaning the car; changing the parents'
bedding / cleaning their ensuite bathroom.
- Children under 3 years of age should not be left in the sole charge of an Au Pair during the day –
if there is any confusion on this, please contact our office for clarification.
==> Please remember - an Au Pair does not replace a cleaner - a cleaner is paid £7-£9 an hour -
significantly more than Au Pair so the expectations should not be the same.
What are the Family's Obligations?
You can find details on all the Family's obligations regarding Accommodation, language lessons, travel arrangements and insurance on the FAQ page.