Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

How much do au pairs earn these days?

38 replies

collision · 26/08/2005 21:28

I know this has probably been done to death but I sort of searched and couldnt find anything.

We are moving to Cheshire from Italy and bringing an au pair with us. I need her to work over the lunchtime with 2 boys from 12-4pm and again in the evening at bathtime. She can have use of the car and all mornings and evenings free. She will be part of the family and eat with us and have her own room.

What do we pay her? Any ideas?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Ameriscot2005 · 26/08/2005 21:46

I pay £70 for 25 hours + 2 eves babysitting; £90 for 35 hours + babysitting

princesspeahead · 26/08/2005 21:49

going rate for au pairs seems to be about a quarter of the lowest amount that you think you could in all conscience pay someone for the work, as far as I can see...

Ameriscot2005 · 26/08/2005 21:49

So how much is that, PPH?

Original poster

collision · 26/08/2005 21:50

pph!

OP posts:

princesspeahead · 26/08/2005 21:52

oh crossposted ameriscot.
so 35 hrs plus two eves babysitting is about 43 hours lets say, at £5 ph that would be £215... so not a quarter, just under a half.

couldn't in all conscience pay for childcare at £2 per hour personally

Ameriscot2005 · 26/08/2005 21:54

Yeah, but they get a bit more than just the monetary reward.

And it's not all childcare - it's about half childcare, half cleaning.

princesspeahead · 26/08/2005 21:57

ah well I pay my cleaner £7 per hour for a 25 hr week, my conscience stretches to cleaning staff as well.

anyway I'm off to bed, collision pay her what you think she is worth, not the lowest you can get away with. and remember she will very quickly meet 100s of other au pairs and compare notes so a tenner above going rate will buy you a lot of respect...!

Ameriscot2005 · 26/08/2005 22:01

Bully for you, PPH.

Me, I'm obviously all fur coat and nae knickers

Original poster

collision · 26/08/2005 22:03

Thanks PPH.......I used to be a nanny and will not rip her off as it makes me I do realise though that the money I give her will be just for her and not bills and rent so that is to be taken into consideration.

She is also a friend and I want her to stay so I will pay her more!

OP posts:

CountessDracula · 26/08/2005 22:03

I also pay my cleaner £7 an hour and my Nanny a lot more!

BUT , isn't an Au Pair meant to be over here living as part of the family earning pocket money and not in sole charge of small children, learning English and experiencing another culture for a pre-agreed paltry sum?

nannyjo · 26/08/2005 22:08

i think they deserve a decent wgae too, you'd have to pay a cleaner £7 and an au-pair £2????
Wheres the logic in that??
I'd like to think my au-pair would take greater care in her job (looking after my children!) then my cleaner

Original poster

collision · 26/08/2005 22:10

Yes, CD. She will have sole charge of lunch with a 3 yr old and a 9 month old and then the baby goes to bed. The idea is that she is an extra pair of hands and can speak to the children in Italian so they can keep up with being bi-lingual (Ds1 that is) and I will be downstairs in the restaurant. She will hardly have anything to do really and I wouldnt expect her to clean.

OP posts:

Ameriscot2005 · 26/08/2005 22:15

You don't generally feed your cleaner or put a roof over her head...

princesspeahead · 26/08/2005 22:16

but you do your live in nanny...

nannyjo · 26/08/2005 22:17

it doesn't cost that much for some food and to make up a bed and they are doing a slightly more important job, i just don't think i could do that and be comfortable to leave the house happy that my au-pair is happy so she can do a good job.

Ameriscot2005 · 26/08/2005 22:18

Some people are just braver than others, Nannyjo

nannyjo · 26/08/2005 22:19

brave doesn't come into it when your kids are involved IMO

Ameriscot2005 · 26/08/2005 22:20

Nannies mostly look after babies and pre-schooler; au pairs mainly look after school-age children and the housework. There's no reason for them to be on the same pay curve.

nannyjo · 26/08/2005 22:21

?????????????????

Ameriscot2005 · 26/08/2005 22:21

Obviously it does, Nnnayjo - if some people "just couldn't " and others are "perfectly content"

goldenoldie · 27/08/2005 07:25

I never pay more than £50 - £55 and we are in central London.

Nannyjo - the cost of bed and board is substantial. We know as we sometimes rent a room too. The free room/rent/electric/gas/telephone/internet and so on cost us another £140 a week and the free food/snacks on top easily costs another £60 a week.

So in total the cost of an au-pair for 25 hours a week is £250!

dizzydo · 27/08/2005 07:54

The whole idea of an au-pair as someone else said is that it is recognised as a cultural exchange arrangement. They come and live with you as part of the family, you help them with their english and in exchange for food and lodgings you give them pocket money. Goldenoldie is right, if they were to try and rent somewhere and pay for their food they would discover they are being "paid" far more just not in cash.

Nannyjo in my experience an au-pair is NOTHING like a nanny. More often than not they have no experience of children, (or cleaning for that matter) other than younger members of their family whom they may have babysat for . They are supposed to be "an extra pair of hands" and not intended, as Ameriscot says, to be used as nanny's for very young children. Obviously different au-pairs have different capabilities and if you have a really good one who looks after very young children and does have childcare experience then yes perhaps you should pay them more. That said the usual arrangement is that a large majority of them are young people who have just finished college are leaving home for the first time and want to come to learn English for a year before they go on to further studies and live in with an English family. The arrangement works very well for a lot of the time. It is not all about money and it is NOTHING to do with a nanny's salary or the cleaners salary for that matter.

moondog · 27/08/2005 08:22

Sounds fair enough Ameriscott,I must say,especially when you consider how many foreign students are being fleeced by paying huge amounts just for the dubious honour of living with a British family to experience British culture in some cases!

bobbybob · 27/08/2005 08:30

Wish they had au pairs in NZ. Would solve all my nursery problems for ds - we have loads of room and I work from home.

princesspeahead · 27/08/2005 13:03

I think working 15 hrs a week for pocket money and free board with time to do courses and go out and about etc is one thing.
Working 35-40hrs and more a week is a full time job. Anyone who pays £100 or less for that is kidding themselves that they are paying fairly for time.

Flip

1 2