How much to pay AP extra for school hols?

[Mendi]

Just planning ahead and trying to budget. Assuming AP is happy to do additional hours in school hols of course.

If you pay your AP £80 per week for 4 hours a day during term time, how much would you expect to pay him/her in addition to that during school holidays, if that entailed an extra 6 hours a day? Is £100 reasonable? Not enough?

Not looking for 'but that's less than minimum wage' points as this is an AP who gets bed and board on top of pay.

Kids are 9 and 11 so no concerns about leaving them with an AP all day.

"it is a free market"

No it isn't, people have to earn money to live: this removes one essential condition of a free market. That is why workers are "willing" to be exploited, and why they need protection both in law and by responsible attitudes of employers.

"National Minimum Wage does not apply to live in aupairs."

No it doesn't, but it can be a guide to a fair rate of pay for additional hours.

You see if an au pair's package is £75 cash plus £100 worth of room and board for 25 hours a week that is £7 an hour (£175/25) NOT £3 (£75/25). There is no logic or fairness in expecting them to work an additional 25 hours for only £3 an hour.

Mr A, you have an agenda and I am not here to debate with you about ?exploitation?. If you don?t like market forces (move to N. Korea), feel free to pay above market for your aupairs, but it is IMO bad advice to come on this board and confuse people who are genuinely looking for guidance to do that.

If you say aupairs are being exploited at the current market rate, why do mine have so many online packages being delivered to my house, go out clubbing with other aupairs and travelling with lots of free time. Clearly living on the breadline and being forced to scrub the floors ? You are welcome to tell them to go back home.

So if you think £175-£225 for 50 hours in Surrey is too much, what would you suggest, and what is the basis for that suggestion?

Thanks MrA for explaining on the other thread how you calculated the figures. I have to say, although I speak as someone who's not had an AP yet and so am prepared to be wrong, I think paying an AP £180 a week for 50 hours for only about 8 weeks of the year (£80 a week for 20 hours the rest of the time), on top of accommodation, no bills and all food provided, is more than generous. That is all disposable income for the AP. I have less disposable income than that myself. I'm really surprised you consider it exploitation.

"I'm really surprised you consider it exploitation."

I don't, that's not what I said.

I said that £175-£225 is probably a fair range and £180 is within that.

I also said that 20 hours for £80 plus R&B is generous compared to the going rate of 25 hours for £70 - so taking the whole package over the year, I think that is quite reasonable.

My comments about exploitation were to another poster; reading back I see that although I did quote the other poster to put my comment in context, I did mix this in a message directed to you. Sorry for the confusion.

MendiI have had aupairs for similar aged children to you - I operate a swings and roundabouts approach. I never ask au pairs to do full weeks of school holidays but I take a few days off and they have a fews days of care. I pay for the entertainment (cinema; swimming etc) children generally like to sleep in on the hols so its lazy mornings and TV for this age group (not hard work at all) and then out to do something in the afternoon. On the days I take off I take the kids out and aupair has the option of coming too - day to beach etc. I have been very accommodating around friends and family visiting (think this one has had 5-6 visits from overseas friends to stay with us.) Now she wants to earn some hard cash before returning home, I have full summer cover so I agreed she could keep the room with en suite and get a job saving up money - she will pay me a very small contribution to bills and buy her own food - shes more than happy. The package doesnt always have to be about money, its about finding out what the other person wants from the experience and then seeing if you can provide that, then no one feels exploited.