Au pair and child illness?

[Wildwaterfalls]

Following on from another thread:

Does anyone know if au pairs would look after a sick child (or a well child that wasn't allowed to go to nursery due to having vomited etc).?

I know they're supposed to work only 5 hours a day (?), but would they be flexible and perhaps then work less the rest of the week / following week?

TIA

Some families have this arrangement but it may mean the au pair misses their English class or something else they have planned, so it usually means extra pay. I wouldn't rely on it, personally, and many au pairs wouldn't cope with a genuinely sick child.

I told my au pair up front. The main reason I'm getting an au pair is due to inflexibility of the work I'm doing this year. So if she was happy to stay home with a sick child, then great. If not I explained I would look for another au pair. If you already have an au pair, maybe you could chat to them and see how they feel. I think it's about flexibility. When my au pair was really sick when she arrived for practically the entire 1st week, I took care of her. Cancelled what I could, told her to rest and took her to dr's repeatedly. So I think it's a bit of give and take on both sides.
Good luck

Thanks both.

Lukymum that sounds like a really sensible approach re agreeing objectives before hiring. We don't have an au pair yet and I think are in a similar position to you re work. Do you have any tips re recruiting? Did you go through an agency to ensure you got an au pair with willingness / sufficient maturity/experience to do this?

Thanks again

I put it in the advert. Usual hours of work are xx-xx but in case of child's sickness or school holidays additional hours will be needed with extra-pay involved. All of our au pairs agreed without hesitation.
As Lukymum says it should be a little bit of give and take and I always look after our au pairs when they are not well.

I used au pair world. I think there's a bit of luck involved. Someone recommended getting au pairs who are trained teachers. I chose someone with hobbies so she wouldn't sit around moping during day . Also looked for someone who had lived away from home for a period of time and I was very honest with her and broke everything down. We chatted quite a bit on Skype and I asked for references and police check from Spain and got friends to translate/check for me.
Good luck

P.s I don't intend to pay for extra hours due to being on such low income. I just give her time off when I'm around. Also, I didn't deduct pay for her being sick, so don't think I should have to pay if she has my little one extra. We just have flexible mutually agreed arrangement. My manager also told me his au pair doesn't fall in any bracket of au pair. They have their own arrangement.