Holiday pay for au pairs?

[sunnymum77]

My au pair started 2 weeks ago and has just told me she needs to go home for a few days, from Thursday morning to Monday afternoon, in June. She usually works about 5 hours every week day. What is the norm about paying them for time away when I am not going away (and now will not have any help for those days)? If we decided to go away and gave her time off at te same time i would be more willing to pay her, but feel a bit annoyed that she is just disappearing when I need her help...

as anyone else, an aupair is entitled to 5,6 weeks of holiday a year, including bank holidays.at last BAAPA has that on their website too. with nannies it is common practice that nanny chooses half of that time and the family chooses a half. i think as an employer your dont have to agree when a nanny asks for holiday. i dont know why the aupair needs time off and why she hasnt told you before you matched. i understand its inconvenient for you, but i guess if she really needs to go home she will, given the holiday or not /and you might be left without an aupair/. you should have a back up option, in case the ap is sick or something. not always easy. have you got friends who could have your children? could some of the ap's job be done before she goes? good luck. hope you can solve the situation with your ap.

I pay my au pairs holiday and all BH however I am very specific before employment what their holiday dates are for the next 6 months as I only want the AP to be off when we are off or at Xmas as I recognise they want to be with family.

I would be cross if an AP then wanted time outside that arrangement without alerting me but it depends on the circumstances. Family emergencies of course no problem but I have had AP's asked to go to weddings etc and we have accommodated them.

If it is just that she fancied some time with a friend no specific reason and you already had her paid holidays for the year planned could you let her take it as extra un paid leave?

IT SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN YOUR CONTRACT.

You should have a clause in your contract stating who decides/agrees to vacation times, and how much notice is needed. Normally with nannies the clause states that half of the dates they decide, half you decide. But with au pairs my own contract clause states that I have absolute right to refuse any requests and can insist that holidays are only taken when convenient for me (that way I can ensure they only take holidays when I am able to get cover).

She should have told you before she joined that she needed those dates, but hey ho, its' done now. TBH not much you can do now without her getting all huffy and potentially walking out. That's why important to have it all set out clearly in contract for them to see before they sign.

As for their rights: they are entitled to paid holiday like the rest of us. It accrues at 12.06% of their hours (so for example if she works 25 hours a week, she will accrue 3 hours holiday per week worked).

By the way I never allow unpaid leave (except for emergencies of course). I tried it once and just ended up with someone wanting to swan off nearly every weekend.