Au Pair - From Germany - Rules and Regulations

[Mollydolly124]

Hello All,
I am just about to employ an Au Pair from germany who is 19.

When she comes here to england I want to know if we need to do anything like apply for anything or is she just ok to start work and I start giving her pocket money each week?

Can she join my doctors?

Also should she get some kind of Insurance??

Clueless and the net is rubbish for information - or maybe I just dont understand any of it!!

Any help would really be fantastic.

Massive thanks in advance.

Katie. xxxx

Hi,
we have had two German Aps of that age.
She can just start work with you - unless you are paying her over the NI threshold and then she needs an NI number (easy to get she just goes to the local Jobcentre and they will help her sort it all out).
She can register with you GP - she needs to take her passport along and something with her UK address.
It is worth opening a UK bank account so that she has official proof of UK address for things like GPs, libraries (good source of cheap dvd rentals as well as books in English). Barclays do an account that just has a debit card which our aps have used - they need a bank statement from a German bank with their German address and 2 forms of photo ID (passport and driving licence worked well).
Check your home insurance policy, her possessions may be covered under that - if not she can arrange some kind of long-term travel insurance to cover possessions etc.
Also check local english classes is she is here for a while as sometimes they need to be enrolled in something educational to allow their parents to claim child tax benefits.
Hope that helps

Same as an au pair for any nationality, you need to have a written statement of employment/a contract and you need to give the 5.6 weeks paid holiday etc but other than that you're probably good to go. It's a good idea to send the contract and any house rules you have over via e-mail, that way she can look through them, ask you questions and get any translations she needs.

If you're paying above the thresholds for NI or tax you need to keep records/sort out PAYE. Ditto if she gets a second job (although keeping records is good practice anyway so you can see what you've paid when and prove it should HMRC come sniffing round).

As a UK resident she'll be entitled to NHS care so proof of address and popping down the GP - just double check with your doctor whether they're currently accepting new registrations. Most GPs are fine but if you live in a particularly densely populated area with only a few doctors they may not all be open and she might have to go elsewhere, but somewhere will register her.

Insurance of what kind? Personally I would recommend for her protection that she gets insurance as a childcarer - you might say now that you'd never sue but firstly what happens if there's a serious accident where she's negligent and your child ends up needing expensive care for life, and secondly a child can sue for damages up to the age of 21, so even if you didn't think it was serious at the time if your child finds out later that the time they banged their knee under her care is preventing them from becoming a premiership footballer society may be even more litigious by then and she would be well advised to protect herself - and I say that to eveyone who is in care of children. If she gets it through Morton Michel they'll also cover her possessions as she's live in.

You will need to check you have employer's liability insurance and if she'll be driving your car the appropriate car insurance.

She shouldn't need additional health insruance although many Germans do have it.

what is employers liability insurance? having an au pair is now becoming too complicated.

who else has this insurance and do we really need it?

It usually comes under your house insurance. Don't worry - it's not that complicated!

However it's worth checking because someone on here the other day checked theirs (I think they were with the co-op?) and they didn't have it as part of their household cover. IMO if you have someone working in your home then it's worth choosing an insurance provider which does offer it.

Do you really need it? This link would suggest you can be fined if you don't.

Nannytax explains it more clearly.