Au Pair Costs (other than 'pocket money')

[Millarkie]

Could I have some advice from au pair employers please?
How much do you spend on au pair related costs on top of their 'pocket money'?
I am tentatively thinking of hiring an au pair, mainly to help out with breakfast/school run if dh is abroad on business.

Thanks

If the aupair is taking the children out then I pay for everything and similarly if she's coming out with us as a family then I pay for it all.... is this what you were thinking of?

food and stuff from the house - it's hard to tell as there are 5 of us and 1 more doesn't make that much difference.

Was there anything else you were wondering about?

Good luck by the way!

Was thinking of food, phone bills, books for college courses, bus passes..that sort of thing.
I'm not expecting au pair to take kids anywhere (other than home from school if my train is delayed) and I'm getting a bit worried about the family trips out - we tend to do kid's museums, play parks, zoos - would an au pair really be interested in going to that sort of thing?
The amount of childcare we require is negligible but I suppose I could ask him/her to help out with hoovering etc?

Ok this is what we do, (2 boys 3/5)
£65 pocket money
if we go out as a familly we always invite AP sometimes she does come sometimes not.
If we go out for coffee/lunch I pay (but we don't do that much).
Telephone I give her £10 to top up her mob every other month or so so that if she does need to call me it is at no cost to her.
I bought a refurbished PC (£100) for the kids and her to use set up with Skype etc so that she has never as yet used our phone (I put that bit in the original "expectations" letter)
She eats with us so extra food bills seem to be minimal except that she is able to eat fruit like no other I have ever known!!!! Can clear a large fruit bowl in 2 days so I suppose that costs about £10 week but the knock on affect is that the boys are now fruitaholics also yeh!!!
The eating thing evolved from me trying to sort all meals out to her fending for herself for breakfast/lunch and then by her own preference eating with the boys as she prefers to eat earlier than my husband and I.
On 1 occasion when I had a work do at the weekend I asked her if she would babysit (she has weekends off) I gave her an extra £10 and had problems getting her to accept it!!
Language courses, free if EU bus passes are not applicable for us as she walks everywhere unless going away at weekends and then she is responsible for those costs (although as she has no bank account here I do sometimes pay for traintickets etc on my card and than give her less pocket money).
Hope that helps
Syrup

we're going for £50 pocket money for 20hrs, plus;
refurbushed PC with net access for her sole use, (mainly cos our laptops are work ones so she wouldn't be able to use those).
Pay as you go mobile on a low cost tarrif + £10 voucher each month to top it up.
half price cinema pass giving her unlimited access to cinema for £5 a month (so she pays £60 for 12 months unlimted access and we pay the remining £60)
or,
half price gym membership at university gym.
Food, we do a weekly tesco shop and she can add things she likes to eat on the list.
trips out - well we don't do this that much tbh, DS is too young to enjoy museums etc.

why do you have to give them pocket money on top of their wages??

why do you have to give them pocket money on top of their wages??

au pairs get pocket money INSTEAD of wages. They usually get £50-£60 on top of room and board for 20-25 hrs a week

oh right

Thanks everyone. Dh is a computerholic so we always have a spare one or two to let au pair use - and will get headset so they can use skype.
My next worry is that..I hate choosing food for other people, I can cook very well, but most of the time can't be bothered so the children have school dinners and I only give them a light tea (sandwiches/baked pot/something on toast) - which means au pair will have to fend for herself, or eat kids meals. We are veggies so our grocery bill is very small, I'm guessing adding a meat-eater to our family will be more of an impact than to most.
It's hard to work out if the benefits (not having to take holiday when dh is away, not worrying so much if train is late, and sharing some of the housework) are worth the hassle or not.
Thanks for all your help

try for a veggie au pair all three of the girls I'm in the final stages of interviewing with are veggies - we're nto but happy to cater for that as both used to be veggie.

I've got the same thing with evening meals but I think alot of them might be happier with straightforward baked potatoes or pasta rather than fancy meals. It also says to them that if you ask them to cook for the kids thats the type of thing you eat.

I'm not after a great cook - talking to a friend her au pair who was a 'fab cook' used to sepnd £30 of the weeks grocery money on ingredients for one meal, cook an incredibly complex and rich meal for them and then leave the washing up for them to tackle.

Sunnyjim - Are you recruiting via the internet (greataupair/ aupairworld0 or an agency? I've registered with great aupair, but it's a bit annoying and I'm trying to organise house move etc so may just go for agency option for the first time.

I paid £50 per week paid on a Friday. If I asked her to take him to a social event like lunch with other mums I would pay for her meal but ask for a receipt.

internet so far but it is difficult keeping track of them. If I don't get anywhere in a month or so it'll be an agency