Do you pay your au pair in advance or in arrears?

[MrsFogi]

That's it really, our first au pair is about to start and I'm wondering if I should be paying at the beginning or end (or middle) of each week?

In arrears. As is usual for jobs I believe.

If you pay in advance you would be screwed if they did a runner, which is not unheard of.

In arrears.
Fluffy mouse you'll be screwed regardless if they leave suddenly. :-)

In arrears, usually on the last working day of the week. I know that many appreciate it before the weekend, so that they can spend it. However, depending on your au pair's circumstances, you might want to give her a little bit of money when she arrives. Some come from poorer backgrounds and probably spend their last money on the plane ticket.

Sure grandma, but I would be more annoyed if I had paid in advance.

I pay each week in advance on a Monday. Otherwise the first week they are here they have no money (well they probably do have money from home but it seems like a good start). No one has done a runner with the huge sum of £90 so far.

We are still relatively new to au pairs, but I would always always pay in advance. It's so relatively little money (the hassle of someone doing a runner would be huge in any case, however they were paid) and I would feel it was unfair to potentially leave them with no cash for their first week. I also generally, given the 'family' type arrangements, err on the side of generosity to make sure that I am not exploiting them!

Yes, in arrears, we pay on a Friday evening.

In advance as I wanted to make sure she had some money of her own straight away