Should I pay for au pair's travel to the UK

[GeorgeEliot]

I am hiring a French au pair to help me out in the Summer holidays. He is just coming for a short time, 5 weeks, and travelling here on eurostar.

I know that normally one would expect the au pair to pay their own travel costs to the UK. However, that seems a little unfair as he will be here for such a short time.

So, should I offer to pay half the cost, or all of it?

Would be interested to know what others have done in a similar situation.

He is a friend of friends so I cannot refer to an agency.

Thanks.

I wouldn't in advance tbh, just in case he doesn't turn up or quits after 2 days or something.

Let him pay to come and then if he stays and does a good job give him a bonus to cover the cost of his ticket, or pay his return journey or something like that.

I agree with HolyCamera - an au pair buying their ticket is making a tangible gesture of their commitment to you and to their time in the UK. Assuming that he comes and makes a good effort and you're all happy, then send him home with a nice bonus at the end of his stay.

No, it's his responsibility to get to a major UK port, in this case St Pancras. The host family usually pays to get them for there to their home.

Thanks everyone for the advice.