Struggling to find an au pair

[MrsMorse]

Is anyone else really struggling to find an au pair with apw? It was bad last year but it seems even harder this year. Have been looking for a while and it’s difficult to even get people to respond!

I just found one to start in September but it’s been harder than ever. Much fewer applicants, some nationalities have completely vanished from apw (for jobs in the uk/London).

I just started looking last week for my next au pair to start in September. I'm finding a lot of Brazilians apply this year and not many EU citizens!

Of those who are EU citizens, they seem to be asking for more money. One asked for £150; another asked for £100 + any evening babysitting to be paid extra.

I had to offer above £150 to find my aupair.
The first direct consequence of Brexit (or the perspective of Brexit) on the economy is indeed inflation...
Not just on food and goods manufactured outside of the UK due to the depreciation of the currency but also wages inflation for some services that previously were fulfilled by cheap EU labour, eg nannies, cleaners, coffee shop and restaurants staff...
For aupairs, with the number of applicants having plummeted and the same number of families competing for far fewer aupairs, I think weekly money will probably have to move up to a minimum of £120-140 for a 25 hours week and most often >£150 for 30 hours or, when having to look after several young children.

@Uptodate2019 thanks, that is really helpful to know.

Which part of the country are you in if you don't mind me asking?

Roses2 - We are in London

I've only been on two days and had an OK number of applicants, and have replied in positive to a few of them, but I notice they haven't got back yet and previously people who have applied to me have got in touch pretty fast once I've given them my phone number. The numbers available seem to be OK, but I'm getting the feeling there's a lot of competition. I've approached a few favourites, but IME you seldom hear back from anyone you approach yourself.

Yeah, must be Brexit.

Don't forget you need to register as an employer and pay tax above the £118 threshold.

DropOfffArtiste - surely the au pair needs to register and pay tax not the family (but of course the family should brief them)? In my job my salary is £x however that's not what I get in my bank account each month. I get £x minus tax.

www.gov.uk/au-pairs-employment-law

The AP can't register as self-employed, as the employer you need to take tax from their salary.

roses2 - DropOfffArtiste - surely the au pair needs to register and pay tax not the family (but of course the family should brief them)? In my job my salary is £x however that's not what I get in my bank account each month. I get £x minus tax.

You are actually contradicting yourself - you get a net salary with the taxes deducted because your employer is responsible for running a payroll, deducting taxes, paying employers NI etc.

www.nannytax.co.uk/blog-1/nannies-vs-au-pairs

One thing I find works on au pair world is to open your profile up to any nationality. You can't hire people from non-EU or tier 5 visa countries, but people applying to your profile makes you look a more attractive option to other au pairs. It can be a bit of a popularity contest.

I also create a fake au pair profile to check where my listing appears and the fake au pair always applies to me too!

I also find that it's slightly easier to get an au pair for a late October/March start, lots of host families want September starts, so there's more demand. If you get a summer au pair who doesn't start uni until October time, you can fill a gap until an October one starts.

That's really good advice underneaththeash - thank you!