Au pair benefits

[siyanasaysrelax]

We've been hosting au pairs for many years now. We have a new one due to start in the middle of January. She is very interested in joining the local gym (membership starts from £30 per months).

We pay £120 weekly for before/after school care Tues/Wed and Thursday morning, plus mobile phone contract with unlimited data/calls (around £20 per month).

Should we also offer to cover the gym cost? I want her to be happy and going to the gym will be a great way to meet new friends /get out of the house (our children are both school age and during the day I'm a bit worried about her getting lonely, she's from South Africa so won't be at language lessons). I don't want her to not go if she can't afford it, but not sure if that's a reasonable thing to offer?

Can you afford it? Or afford half?

Yes we can afford it, it will get a bit steep if she wants the super deluxe package with all the classes etc. Offering half sounds like an amazing idea.

None of our previous au pairs have shown an interest so it hasn't come up before.

If you can afford it why not pay the full standard membership then if she wants the deluxe one she can top it up maybe?

We always paid for gym membership. Keeps them healthy and happy.

We used to have an au pair but now use an after school babysitter. How many hours does your au pair work? It sounds as though you are paying at the top of the pay scale and it's coming close to what a live out nanny will cost if you add gym on top of the pocket money, food, bills and mobile phone.

Id be tempted to get a live out one.

Live out isn't an option unfortunately, both my husband and I are hospital consultants so sometimes get called into hospital in the middle of the night (and try to avoid being but sometimes are on call together!). Therefore we need someone else sleeping in the house. We also work unpredictably long hours and sometimes aren't back until 2100 or 2200 on a 'normal' working day.
So in essence our au pairs work probably just as much as any others, just compressed into 3 days a week. We want to pay a bit more in recognition of this, and also flexibility when it (rarely) all falls apart.
I was super happy when she was asking about the gym but didn't want her to not go ahead if it would make things too financially tight for her. We also live in a very expensive part of the country so treats, coffees etc are pricey.

Where I live gym package is standard for an au pair. I would get the one you suggested and if she wants anything more it would be for her to top up

Give her the gym then :) great she's keeping healthy!

In that case I would point her in the direction of your nearest cheapest (council) gym. If she asks if you will contribute then maybe offer half.

Also look at Voxi for the mobile contract. It is £10 per month and has unlimited social media allowance.

This is a total no-brainer to me. If you can afford it, do it. Don’t do the halvsies thing - just pay for it.

Our kids are older, but we had au pairs when they were younger. We made every effort to ensure they felt welcomed, at home and genuinely appreciated all the time. They were looking after our DC - our most important ‘possessions’. We would cover unexpected expenses for them, and give them regular gifts.

£30 a month for a gym membership is nothing - but the good will it generates is significant.

As I say - an absolute no-brainer.

We’re still in touch with our lovely au pairs, we visit them when in the northern hemisphere, and a couple of them have been back down here to us to visit.

Definitely agree with forgetting the halves. Just pay for the standard membership and she can upgrade or pay for individual extras if she wants

Thanks for the advice, she's quite introverted so think she'll be happy with the membership that lets her use the gym floor and pool, and she can add on extra classes as she wants to and pay per class.
I'll look into the Voxi contract too as that sounds good.
We've had wonderful au pair experiences so far so I completely agree with doing all you can to make them feel like part of the family. Our au pair last year stayed with us all through lockdown, and came back to visit for a week in September just gone. She's starting nursing school soon.
Our au pair prior to that is back in Australia at college, and wishes my husband and I happy fathers/mothers days and always remembers our wedding anniversary too! They've enhanced and added to our family so much.

We've had wonderful au pair experiences so far so I completely agree with doing all you can to make them feel like part of the family. Our au pair last year stayed with us all through lockdown, and came back to visit for a week in September just gone. She's starting nursing school soon.
Our au pair prior to that is back in Australia at college, and wishes my husband and I happy fathers/mothers days and always remembers our wedding anniversary too! They've enhanced and added to our family so much.

That sounds so lovely - the connections you make can be lifelong.

The whole au pair experience gets absolutely slated on here, but it’s so very clearly by people who have zero experience of it, or didn’t have the wit or wherewithal to do it properly.

You sound lovely OP.

I agree with pp get her the standard membership and she can pay for any extras herself.

The only risk of you paying for the whole fee is if she doesn't use it then it will be wasted. If she's not paying for it she won't care and may be more lax about going. But if she is contributing, even half, then she will be more incentivised to actually go and use it.

An au pair can be a wonderful addition to your family. Done properly, it can even work out well. Since you say the au pair is not very sociable, maybe consider magazines, books, music and a gym membership as gifts for her. Show her your local cheapest council run and funded gym and she will love it hopefully. You could also give her sweets and chocolates or a bottle of wine at Christmas time as a reward for her hard work.

Don’t suppose you could give me the name of the agency you use?

Were trying to find an au pair to start this coming May it’ll be our first time doing this and they’re so many companies on Google I don’t know which ones to trust.