Should an au pair have an employment contract?

[CowWatcher]

Hi. I'm hiring an au pair who we have found direct, through family contacts. We have met her, and everyone is happy to go ahead. She's French, so there are no visa issues. We will be paying her 'pocket money' of £80 per week, for about 25 hrs a week, also for her English classes.

Does anyone know if we should have an employment contract with her?

I am in the process of writing down what we expect from her & what we will pay/do in return. She falls below the income tax threshold. I'm reluctant to use a payroll agency.

Hi,
Yes, you should have a contract. I would also suggest a house rules type of document. Make sure you are clear about what happens if your child(ren) are ill/off school at the time when she needs to be at college, as in does she miss the lectures, do you cover etc.

Yes absolutely. Protects you as well as her and means there are no misunderstandings.

I don't mean just from a strictly legal perspective, I mean you can THINK that she's understood/taken in all you've discussed but it's amazing how much assumption there is in these arranagemets (on both sides and even if her English is bomb-proof) and it's best to have it all laid out in writing, and for her to have a good read through before she arrives. You don't want someone claiming to be surprised about a basic component of the role after the fact, finding you are re-negotiating with her or having to find a replacement. Esp if it's through a friend, it's much easier for you if you're seen to be transparent.

Our letter is a combination of a contract and house rules includes the following:

• Duties, hours she is contracted for in total during the week, plus the daily schedule.
• Weekly pocket money amount and overtime/babysitting rate *Holiday entitlement *our policy on sick leave pay *details of her accommodation *Grounds for dismissal *house rules on things like visitors *language school arrangements (you need to say whether she pays or you do. I would also state whether you would be expecting her to take time off to cover children's illness - in which case you should pay for the course IMO but opinions vary on this) *other things about family life, i.e holidays we celebrate, what we do for birthdays etc. Something about you guys.

There's probably other stuff as well but need to crack on now.

This may seem like over egging it and you will meet people who don't do this. BUT my AP trotted her letter out this year (hadn't read it properly but that's another story) and there was a notorious story a couple of years ago on here about a woman who's AP threatened to take her to the Citizens Advice Bureau. So it really is better for everyone to have it all sorted.

Absolutely yes. There are good online tools and if you write a better contract than you need you are definitely covered IYSWIM.

Thanks all. I've found a pro-forma on line.