What am I doing wrong... or do we just have too many kids?

I think you would get lots of takers for £150 but I can see that with au pairs you might not get the experience which made that worth it. I would go with £125 and see what happens with that. A day's nursery is expensive and you are getting a lot more flexibility with a good au pair plus help with the other children, basic meals ext and someone in the house when the kids maybe have a cold/bug ext and can't get to school/nursery. This kind of help is invaluable with 4 kids. None of those last minute panics about getting off to work or trying to work from home.

My understanding from friends with au pairs is that they are for limited after school care rather than proper childcare. So I do think you are expecting quite a lot in wanting your preschool child cared for as well as getting 4 children washed and ready for bed. My two friends with au pairs both only school pick up, play and entertain them, might give a cheese sandwich but don’t cook meals, and do after bedtime babysitting but don’t do the actual bedtime part. They also only have two children and pay the same.

So maybe change the expectations and up the pay or perks.

Brexit will be making Britain an uncertain place too.

Some might like more evening babysitting included in the hours is this is suitable to you because the children would be in bed.

I would up the pay a bit or reduce the hours. I would also make sure you are advertising any perks you are offering eg ...use of car for personal use or no evening babysitting ...or 1 max 1 night a week babysitting included in hours ext.

I know you don't think the hours are high and the pay low op ..but the fact that you are getting no takers seems to indicate this. You have had 2 before but did you have lots of people interested at the time or just the ones you took on?

You have lost a day a week placement at nursery. Could you use the money you are saving there to up the pay?

I know it's not like employing a nanny but au pair duties are similar to a mother's help and they would get more than double this and would still receive room and board.

You do sound like a nice family but you're really minimising how much work there is with 4 kids instead of one or two. Why would anyone ever choose to pick 4 rather than two for barely more than a tenners difference.

Quite a lot of ignorance on au pairs here .

Manchester will certainly have appeal to au pairs. Plenty of people in towns can get au pairs ffs, so I don't think someone living in Manchester will have an issue.

I also know several Manchester familes with au pairs.

OP: I would probably add another extra to entice interest. Only you can know what that may be.

I think you’re underpaying OP, unintentionally but still!

A friends daughter is an au pair to two boys, one aged 2, the other aged 6 in Edinburgh. Eldest in school, youngest goes to nursery three days. Au pair takes children to school / nursery and collects afterwards, plus childcare two days. She babysits Fri / Sat once a month until midnight. She cooks basic meals for the children, makes beds, and does kids laundry. Everything else domestic is done by cleaner twice weekly, and parents cook their own meals. She gets travel pass, gym pass, mobile paid for, Cineworld membership and attic room with en-suite plus £150 weekly. During school holidays she’s paid £350. Australian so no language lessons required. Even in 2004 when I aupaired in London for 10weeks for a mum post op I got £100/wk plus board and lodgings and my mobile paid for. The upcoming Brexit is putting off your EU staff, so you’re left with those on a working holiday gap year type visa probably Commonwealth citizens.
Realistically calculate 30 hours at minimum wage, deduct lodges rates for your area plus your extras. How close is your offer to your calculated amount?

Simples! you just need a Man U supporter;) Dunno how much a season ticket is but;!

Sure some do exist.

I'll ask our au-Pair but she is an older one maybe that might be a drection you ought to look in?.

I love Manchester. But someone not British, applying for an au-pair job in the UK is going to be attracted by all the iconic London sights. I wonder whether you’d be more successful trying to find someone local.

That seems really low!! I was an aupair in Italy 22 years ago and got approx £40-50 a week to look after 2 children.

Please no Morris dancers

breastmilk. No. She’s not. You haven’t factored in the costs they’re covering housing, bills, food etc.

£100 per week to look after 4 children is about 83p per hour per child.

I don't think the room is high on the agenda for au pairs but I think London is.

Friend had 2 au pairs to look after her 1 DC during the week. Friday night to Sunday evening off every other week and Friday night till Monday after noon off the other weekend for that she paid £170 each au pair and she was in London. And this was 14 years ago.

£100 seems very low

So, no weekends, usually another day off in the week, no real cooking, no cleaning & in a decent city

3 at school all day, one preschooler some of the days.

...nice room, all bills & food covered and £100 pw

Personally, I’m failing to see what there’s not to like to stay in a new city for 6 months (or so).

What are you not saying? You’re naturists? Your house resembles a skip? You are big supporters of the wind chime proctors? Morris dancers? ...??

Or, god forbid, worse than all of those put together, you work from home?

Sounds like a nanny job on pocket money “ wages”.

You're right that the recommended hours are 30 BUT most people have 2 kids. If most families in London have 2 kids and are offering the same money then it's a no brainer who they will pick. My friend with 4 has had to go with older au pairs and offers £170 a week.

So you’re only paying them £3.33ph? I’m not sure 100% how au paring works but surely you ought to be paying them national min wage?

Can you see on the au pair sites what others are offering? Because if there are lots of families in London with one or two children, paying £100 + car or travel pass, well its no surprise you can't get someone. I still think 30 hours is a lot of work for a small amount of money. A homestay arrangement isnt really comparable.

Manchester isn’t really somewhere that young people would necessarily want to go. Maybe offer more money/holiday so they can travel. Alternatively consider taking au pairs from commonwealth countries. It’s easybto sort their visas and brexit is a nonissue.

Sounds like slave Wages to look after 4 kids for 30 hours a week no wonder no takers.