1st time looking for an aupair. so many questions! help.

[cheapandchic]

What are the max hours they can work? is it easier to go through a friend of mine or is it better to use an agency? What do agencies charge? Do they take care of the taxes? Are they not allowed to watch babies?

How much do you pay in london? Do I have to provide all meals?

aupairs live with you, like a member of the family, so you do have to provide all meals. They need their own room, but they often share a bathroom with the children. They work about 25 hours per week and babysit a maximum of 2 nights per week, on the top of their hours. They normally go to school to improve their English.

They are not qualified in childcare. They are normally students looking to learn English and experience the culture, so they are not meant to look after babies.

They tend to earn about £80 per week, I believe.

Many people here use the web sites greataupair or aupairworld. I have used them both in the past and you can normally find someone within 4/5 weeks. It does take quite a lot of time to read the CVs, interview, check references, etc.

thanks.

so what age do the children have to be? is there a law against them looking after babies? or people just don't trust them?

The guidance used to be that you didn't leave aupairs usupervised with under 3s.

However, the law has changed with regard to aupairs, and they are now technicaly employees and the money you pay them is a salary. You don't usually have to worry about tax & NI because their earnings are below the tax/NI threshold.

There is some useful guidance here www.universalaupairs.com/family/about_au_pairs__nannies.html

My sister has used aupairworld and had a fantastic au pair. The advantage of this over any agency is that if you are willing to put the time into reading the cvs you can choose someone appropriate for your needs. My tip would be pick someone with strong interests e.g. horse riding. It demonstrates a level of dedication which should transfer to their dedication to their job.