Having had three and half years of huge success with our first two Au pairs, we have had turn over of 5 Au pairs in the last 6 months. Three of which were to asked to leave for serious incidents including stealing. One Au pair had a serious accident thankfully O.K. For the last AP, I decided to ditch Gumtree and Great Au pair sites and use an agency for careful vetting. The current one is missing her BF so leaving us after only 5 weeks, she booked her flights two weeks and never even bothered to tell us- I found her flight tickets by the computer. Having paid a huge agency fee, I am extremely miffed as contractually they have no obligation to me after 28 days.
I have 4 DC between ages 4-8 they have very nice accommodation, we pay well and are extremely fair minded and there is very little sole charge as I am around most of the time and work from home.
Having been extremely optimistic, I think I am finally defeated.
Why is it so difficult to find a traditional AP looking to improve their English? Do other families have this problem? Has the quality of Au pairs dwindled over the years? Or is this to be expected? Any advice please?..