Paying au pairs for days when your child is sick

[Hikey]

Hi all,
I would appreciate some views on an appropriate amount to pay my au pair for when she works extra time. I usually pay her £90 per week for an average of 35 hours (sometimes it's less, sometimes a little more depending on how busy I am at work - recently it's generally been more like 25-30 hours p/w), plus give her free use of my car. We have no fixed agreement for paying for extra time. This week DD was off school with chicken pox for 2 days and our au pair stayed home with her (there was no need to miss English class or cancel arrangements or anything, she was quite happy to do it). Any views as to how much would be appropriate to pay extra for this?
Thanks in advance!

Based on your rate of £90 for a week, that equates to £18 a day, if spread over 5 days, so I'd give her an extra £30-40?

It's not really £18 a day though, its that plus bed and board. I think about £5 an hour would be fairer.

How many extra hours? If she's already paid to work 7 hours a day and does an extra 4 hours a day at £6 per hour seems reasonable, although NMW for someone aged 20+ is £6.19ph, and your base rate of £90 for 35 hours sounds IMHO a bit mean (£90 for 30 hours is more like it).

The £90 per week was based on UK guidelines that were in place about a year and a half ago when our previous au pair started. It wasn't me trying to be mean, I just want to comply with the normal standard. That may well have gone up now with inflation so I will have a look around and see if there is a revised figure. In any case I also give her bed and board, driving lessons for getting comfortable on UK roads at the start and then use of car, paying for her to join us on holidays and days out etc, so our au pairs have always seemed happy they were getting a good deal. Also the au pair plus deal is supposed to also include two nights babysitting on top of the 35 hours, which I don't tend to use.

It sounds like I'm probably best to calculate the difference between the 35 hours and what she does over this week, and pay her an hourly rate of about £5-6 for that. Any views of anyone with actual experience of how this kind of thing is seen by au pairs would be useful though.

Thanks!

I pay £5 for first 5 hours and then £6 per hour after that. I also offer AP of asking time off in lieu instead.

Mine gets £20 to cover the school hours when she normally wouldn't be working. And she of course is not obligated to accept the job.... But she's lovely and always does. The actual pay for those hours is probably not all that attractive in itself, but there a fair few perks in our job that her au pair friends do not get. So I think it balances out. Depends on what else you offer I think. Gym? Transport? iPhone? Etc.

"The £90 per week was based on UK guidelines that were in place about a year and a half ago when our previous au pair started. It wasn't me trying to be mean, I just want to comply with the normal standard."

There aren't any "UK guidelines" - just numbers invented by various au pair agencies. Having said that, the numbers I see most often are minimum £70 for 25 hours, £85 for 30 hours so £90 for 35 hours is low.

"It sounds like I'm probably best to calculate the difference between the 35 hours and what she does over this week, and pay her an hourly rate of about £5-6 for that. Any views of anyone with actual experience of how this kind of thing is seen by au pairs would be useful though."

All our au pairs have had a rate for full days specified in the contract (they work full days in the school holidays) calculated on that basis which they are very happy with.

I would pay her the minimum wage for her age or thereabouts. I think the £90pw and bed and board for 35 hours is one arrangement.

The daytime childcare of a sick child should be regarded seperately. If she hadn't have stayed at home and you'd have had to get someone from Sitters or a local student or somthing you'd pay minimum wage so that's what she should get for those extra hours.