Is this okay for an Au Pair?

[TheGirlWithAPrince]

Hey everyone im posting this on behalf of a friend as she doesnt know if this is acceptable payment for an Au Pair
So she is looking to get an au pair to help out with a 2 year old and a 3 year old - Timetable would be roughly this

Monday to wednesday
8 am - 9am Get both kids dressed after breakfast ( breakfast done by mum) - Take both toddlers to Nursery
Free til 3pm - Pick up toddlers from nursery
Play with toddlers / keep them entertained til 5pm ( clean up after them)

Thursday & Friday

10am - 2pm just look after both kids ( letting them play outside etc but no chores needing to be done other than cleaning up after the kids) maybe taking them somewhere ( park or play group or friends house etc)

Saturday and sunday Off

This would be in Newbury - how much would you pay someone per week for that? and do you think that sounds okay, there wont be any chores techniquelly just cleaning up after kids so any cups/dishes in the dishwasher, clothes put away and toys put away after use etc so general tidying

I think there might be a site that sets it all out but I can't link.

Taken from au pair.com

An Au Pair has different responsibilities according to the Host Family needs. The main task is taking care of the children and playing with them. As a temporary family member the Au Pair is also expected to participate in light housework, for example, folding the children's clothes and cleaning the table.
www.aupair.com › p-duties
Au Pair responsibilities and duties: what should Au Pair do?

Your all confusing me a bit as its 14 hours a week? not 20 + like has been mentioned, also she wont be in sole charge.. the mum will be there pretty much everyday she just needs someone to help entertain the kids/ be outside with them in the garden or maybe take them to the local par for 30 minutes, also she wont be getting the kids ready for nursery just helping to get them changed.

Personally i think £85 and a travel card is a good amount also yes she would give her a phone contract so she could keep in contact.

I was an au pair 5 years ago and got paid 100 euros to look after a 3 and 5 year old for 29 hours a week ...

No chores at all no food preparing etc just making sure whatever the kids use is put back away.

An Au pairs job is light childcare work and light housework up to 30 hours a week....

@SebandAlice not sure where you got 23 hours from? its 14 hours a week ...

mon- fri is literally just picking up/dropping off and then minding them until dinners ready so obviously that is fine.

Thing is paying more than £7 an hour you may aswell get a daily babysitter ...

Babysitters around here charge £8 per hour roughly and dont require food or accomodation.

and as the post said the hours are flexible too to accomodate work or appointments or friends etc as the mum is home 24/7 she just needs the help

We figured that food for au pair would cost about £50 a week ( because she would buy in special treats just for her)

these pictures say the same usual rate is £85 and usual hours are 30 hours so she will be doing half the hours

I was an au pair ten years ago.

I think the scenario you are describing sounds perfectly fair for the standard payment of around £80 per week. That's assuming that the mum will pay for English lessons as well as the travel card.

It is important that the job doesn't subtly keep expanding once the au pair arrives. I was thoroughly overworked. I loved the kids otherwise I would have walked out.

To those talking about NMW. This isn't relevant. The au pair is receiving all board and lodging as part of her payment so the weekly £80 is basically just spending money!

That all sounds okay (I suspect your post trended and you got a lot of ransoms posting who don’t have much au pair knowledge).

The main issue at the moment is finding anyone..,there are very few au pairs on au pair world at the moment who are willing to come to the U.K due to a combination of brexit and Covid.

She should put her ad on for £85/week on au pair world. Big up the fact it’s only 14 hours and also that’s she’s happy for them to get a second job.

Thank you - I was very confused aswell as sounds like a good deal to me haha english lessons are definitely included if needed so would be

85 a week - phone- travel card and English shool ^^
Plus i like it when people say Au pairs should be like big sisters but i wouldnt make my other child take my children to school or make them dinners like others do

she will of course be added to my friends family as a family member ( my friend is so so lovely) but she will also be paid for the help and not as a big sister to the kids but as a caregiver

£85 is okay - just - if the family are also paying for the English lessons and a travelcard.

@TheGirlWithAPrince

Plus i like it when people say Au pairs should be like big sisters but i wouldnt make my other child take my children to school or make them dinners like others do

I do - well mostly holidays clubs, etc - It's the main reason I am keen for my eldest to pass her driving test!

I think your friend needs to read up on this a lot more if she doesn't have experience of au pairs. In my experience, they work best when they fit into your family like a much older sister or a cousin or something.

Babysitters around here charge £8 per hour roughly and dont require food or accomodation.

If it’s a regular thing, then it isn’t a babysitter but a part-time nanny. As the employer, you’re responsible for a contract, pension, national insurance etc and you do need to pay at least the minimum wage so £8 p/h wouldn’t be legal in most cases.

So that’s very different to having an au pair stay and get pocket money.

Your friend needs a childminder.

If she's over 20 £6 is below minimum wage per hour

@CorianderLord Not for an au pair.

@thegirlwithaprince
mon to wed 8 to 9 and 3 to 5 is 9hrs
thur and fri 10 till 2 is 8hrs
not sure where you are getting 14 from

But it is also the positioning of those hrs prevents college type attendance really, on top of that one nights babysitting and things rack up. I suppose it depends what else you are including in there e.g. travel, phone, car, food etc. Its not a race to the bottom in terms of how much she is paid etc. As to using babysitters there is no commitment there and you could easily be let down at the last minute - but you also assume that the babysitter has that level of availability week in week out. If you are in that sort of long term sitting agreement they really become an employee not a sitter especially as the times of the work are so specific

@RB68 ohh so 17 hours, It is 14 hours sorry as i was calculating just monday and tuesday sorry wednesday would be day off and on wednesdays the mum takes the kids for a day out :D

I thought i had put that - dripfeed

Also babysitting is a no no - there would be no evening babysitting as in the evenings the parents have a commitment that means they cannot go out ( a care commitment)

as i said in previous post it would include phone, travel and language course.

I did also say that the hours are flexible to work around a job its the the amount of hours that stay semi the same ( between 12 and 18 hours a week

@CorianderLord Au Pairs arnt paid a wage so minimum wage wouldnt come in to play.

They are paid pocket money

ah I thought i read the thread but may have missed that.

I think alot depends on the au pair as well as the family. It is quite a light workload and especially as Mum around so its supervisory stuff. I think you have a good idea of the variables involved so a good place to start

Some really weird posts on here. What you describe is exactly what an au pair does!! It sounds fine to me.

@NotFrozen Thank you :D I thought i had completely lost the plot and was feeling a little taken advantage of when i was an au pair haha

@RB68 its fine :D yes its 3 hours a day monday & tuesday and then thursday and friday is basically just supervising them 4 hours a day ( but these can be any times )

I borrowed someone's au pair years and years ago and she looked after my son full time and did all my housework (didn't ask her to do that she just did). She was amazing tbh. Sounds like things have changed a lot.

@MiniMum97

Full time nanny/housekeeper for a bit of pocket money? Sounds like modern slavery and taking advantage of a vulnerable person.

[quote JoJoSM2]@MiniMum97

Full time nanny/housekeeper for a bit of pocket money? Sounds like modern slavery and taking advantage of a vulnerable person.[/quote]
Not really. Surely it’s just another way of travelling when young. Similar to summer camp work for example where you get board and lodging and “pocket money”. There are lots of other examples of this type of work and travel combo for young people.

And the au pair is supposed to fit in with family life so they get to experience family life in another country. It’s really not the same at all as modern slavery and I think it’s a bit insulting to the people affected by modern slavery to say so.

Anyway my comment was because attitudes seem to have changed to this type of work which is fine. Things move on. That wasn’t the view 20 plus years ago.

I feel like what you're describing is a part-time live-in nanny. Not an au pair.

Au pairs shouldn't be in sole charge of under 3s. I feel like your friend is being cheap and exploiting young workers desperate to work in Britain and further their English.

We pay our nanny £12 an hour for 10 hours a week, sole charge of 1 and 2yr old. And that is with me being around I might add.