Too much for an au pair surely?!

[SouthPole]

I've just seen this advert on au pair uk (Facebook) and it just seems like so much to ask a poor au pair to do?! And all for the princely pocket money of £100 a week.

I know board and food obviously counts, we've had au pairs before (looking for another at the mo).

Just seems too much to ask. Is it taking the piss? Don't know how to link to it so here's the body of the ad:-

We a Christian family looking for someone to help look after 2 children aged 6 and 9 and help with cooking meals and some household duties.

Your role will be to wake them up every morning by 7am, get them washed and dressed give them breakfast, get them ready and take them to school. At 3pm you have to pick them up, give them snacks, encourage them to do their homework or play games with them, then give them dinner by 6pm and get them ready for bed. There will be some light housework to do. For this we will give you free food, free accommodation in your own room, and pay per week will be £100. You will not be expected to work on most weekends except if I am working weekend.The children are generally very well behaved and love reading and playing in the garden. I prefer someone with experience.
Please inbox if you're interested. To start ASAP. I'm in Oxfordshire

[WaitingForEgg]

It seems about right for an au pair i'll be honest...

[M0nstersinthecl0set]

Blimey, they do need a nanny by the look of it (and have the children washed and scrubbed for half an hour with parents in the evenings looks to be missing).

[Liiinoo]

That looks like a lot for very little return. I thought au pairs were not meant to have sole responsibility and also only had to work 3-4 hours a day. I doubt this family will get anyone with experience to sign up for that.

[Seekingadvice123]

Slightly off topic but I saw an and today for a weekend maternity nurse and a weekend nanny to pick up where the weekly maternity nurse and nanny leave off when it's the weekend. Mum is a SAHM. Why on earth bother having kids

[WyfOfBathe]

It's quite a lot of work, but I don't think it's unusually high. I was helping a younger relative look at au pairing jobs recently, and the childcare required varied from 2 hours a day after school to full-time nannying from 8 til 5, and the housework required was equally variable, from none to doing all the child-related jobs (washing & ironing their clothes, tidying/cleaning/vacuuming kids' rooms and play areas, cooking).

And the higher paid jobs weren't always the ones which involved more work.

[witsender]

Unless they are loading up the school hours with chores it doesn't look too bad.

[SouthPole]

The word 'exploitative' springs to mind...

[mrsblackcat]

Might be disabled seeking

[monkeywithacowface]

Doesn't look so bad I would expect a 9 year old to be able to wash and dress independently. I think the only bit that needs clarification is just how many weekends the parents are likely to be working, that sounds like it could easily turn into a piss take situation

[SouthPole]

But there's no mention of language school or car, or public transport links and travel card... I mean where the fuck are mum and dad in the morning?!

Defo nanny needed. Cheapskates.

[SouthPole]

Disabled mum (and it is generally the mum) tend to be mentioned in a seeking ad. As does smoker, disabled child or single parent...

[NoHatNoCattle]

We've had au pairs (also in Oxfordshire) for the last three years, and that seems pretty standard. Our have always done 25 hours of childcare, 2 nights babysitting and 1 hour of cleaning per week and received £80, plus a mobile, a bus class, and we pay for English lessons.

They usually aren't supposed to have sole charge of under-2s, over that is fine. We normally did bedtime and breakfast ourselves, but it really depends on the needs of the individual family.

[mrsblackcat]

Would people need a nanny for school age children?

[NoHatNoCattle]

a bus pass... we don't teach them about busses...

[ImCatbug]

That sounds basically like my job - I'm a nanny for 2 children, working before and after school. I don't think it sounds like toooo much work, especially with room and board thrown in, but they could get a nanny to do that job, yes. Would cost them a lot more though!

[SouthPole]

Out of interest catbug would you mind sharing your fee for that? If we can't find au pair, it'll be a nanny we'll have to employ.

[Cocklodger]

I've seen a few adverts like
"Wanted nanny/au pair"
As if they're interchangeable or closely related. Or they ask for an au pair for 100 a week with childcare qualifications

[Idefix]

Depends on how many hours that equates to, it shouldn't be more than 30 per week.

www.gov.uk/au-pairs-employment-law/au-pairs

We tried very hard with our lovely au pair that she only did the school drop off or pick up she stay with us for 3 1/2 years and is now a good friend.

Ime there can be a high turn over of au pairs where families expect too much.

[Fezzik]

I really don't understand what you are getting worked up about, this doesn't seem especially exploitative or unreasonable to me. The only slightly dodgy bit is the weekend work, as another poster mentioned above this could get into a pisstake situation.

As for your comment I mean where the fuck are mum and dad in the morning. This is pretty rude and judgemental. My au pair starts at 7am as I am commuting to work.

Also 'experience' doesn't have to means years of childcare experience and a formal qualification. We've had an au pair who had done 3 months in another part of the country, and it was much easier than getting someone brand new.

[ample]

That's quite a lot to do (not taxing work but still work) for £100 per week.
It's only £20 per day and there's a few hours of work involved there.
Sounds more of a Nanny job spec to me and I would expect them to be paid more. Perhaps they don't want to pay more and therefore recruiting au pairs instead.

[daisypond]

I think it sounds OK work-wise and pay-wise. That's £100 a week for the au pair just as spending money, which seems OK. Could you get a minimum wage job working those few hours a day that would leave you that amount of spending money after you've paid rent and bills? And £100 is the standard rate, apparently. And I suppose five part-time days equates to the three days plus evening babysitting as mentioned below.

www.nannytax.co.uk/help-for-employers/nanny-or-au-pair

"An Au Pair is usually a foreign national who lives with the family and is treated as part of the family for the duration of their stay whilst learning about British culture and attending language courses. They will look after the children for around 2-3 days a week and sometimes babysit for an evening or two. They have meals provided, a private room, and outings with the family. An Au Pair may also help out with elements of housework.
Au Pairs are traditionally paid up to £100 a week ‘pocket money’ to spend as they wish and are not usually subject to the National Minimum Wage."

[nosyupnorth]

£100 a week works out at about £400 a month - if I had £400 a month personal spending money after paying for food/bills/rent I'd consider myself rolling in it - I sure as heck wasn't that well off when I was working full time at just above minimum wage.

The fact that food, housing, ect is included is a BIG factor.

[ample]

I wish I was paid for getting my DD out of bed and dressed in mornings (worth £100 for starters)

[oldlaundbooth]

It doesn't seem much pay to me.

[Toomanydragons]

That's over £400 per month, disposable income (presuming she is getting bus/car/phone.)

I was also under the impression that you couldn't ask Nannys to do house work?