More Au Pair questions

[JoshandJamie]

Hi

I am now looking into getting an au pair more seriously but have some questions:

• how did you find your au pair? Did you go through an agency or did you just find them online?

• Anyone ever found an au pair through www.profiaupair.com

• If an au pair is living in another country, is it her responsibility to get here or is the family supposed to pay for that?

• Any nationalities easier to live with that others (a generalist question I know but just wondered if there was norm as far as au pairs from a certain country usually always being great or not)?

• I assume you don't have to pay au pairs tax like you do with nannies?

• What's the deal with au pairs holidays - i.e. do they get paid vacation and if so how much?

Thanks in advance for any help.

how did you find your au pair? I found mine through Gumtree.

www.profiaupair.com. Never heard of them.

If an au pair is living in another country, is it her responsibility to get here? She pays up to port of entry in UK, the family picks up from there, or pays onward travel. So try and ensure they get a flight/ferry to somewhere close to you!

Any nationalities easier to live with that others? No idea. French are meant to be terrible, but ours is French and fine.

I assume you don't have to pay au pairs tax like you do with nannies? No, it's classed as pocket money and under tax and NI thresholds.

What's the deal with au pairs holidays? I think around a week per 6 months is the average. I tend to pay a full week even when our ap leaves on a Wednesday to go home, and returns on a Tuesday night, so she's effectively getting paid holiday that way. She's also had a month unpaid over Christmas, and is taking a week unpaid next week. Obviously all weekends are free (our ap works 25hrs pw Mon-Fri). If we're away on holiday (e.g. to family so no space for ap too), we pay her to stay at our house even though she isn't working.

HI Josh and Jamie
how did you find your au pair? Did you go through an agency or did you just find them online?
I always use an agency so I can have police and medical checks and the security that if we don't like them or vice versa the agency will replace.
Anyone ever found an au pair through www.profiaupair.com
Not heard of them either
If an au pair is living in another country, is it her responsibility to get here or is the family supposed to pay for that?
Lauras right, you collect them when they arrive here.
I assume you don't have to pay au pairs tax like you do with nannies?
Not if you are paying pocket money under £91 a week
What's the deal with au pairs holidays - i.e. do they get paid vacation and if so how much?
My agency suggests 2 weeks paid holiday a year. I after 6 months, 1 after 12. I also give another 2 weeks unpaid but usually give a bonus at Xmas holiday.
HTH's

We use aupair-world.com. Haven't heard of the site you mention.

We go for western Europeans or Scandinavians. French seem to have a bad reputation but of course that's anecdotal, you just have to do as much homework as possible. Current AP is German, been fab and so I have been drawn to future Germans... similar culture etc.

Again, pick up from airport and I drop off on their way home. However if they go home for weekends/trips etc I only drop them at the airport if convenient. If not I would expect them to pay the train fare.

I don't mention any holiday in the contract then I am in control of it. In reality I pay it but our AP is reasonable and only has taken a few days and a week at xmas and she goes above and beyond the call of duty in other ways so I feel happy to do so.

HI

Thanks for the answers. Well I've made some headway. i stumbled upon greataupair.com which seemed pretty good. I paid £30 to be a member and got to see loads and loads of au pairs.

I interviewed two girls today - both of who live locally and who want live out positions - which is what I prefer. But am not sure either one is going to work for us. I need to figure it out.

If you have a live out au pair with wages in excess of £91, does that mean you have to start paying tax etc like you do for nannies?

Second question, if someone has a basic introduction to childcare qualification and no previous childcare experience, can they still expect to earn nanny wages (e.g. £300 per week)?

thanks again for your help

I've just checked on the agency website and yes, you do pay tax and NI after £97.

Au Pair

Works 5 hours per day, 5 days per week
Baby sits 2-3 evenings per week
Receives 2 free days and 3 evenings off
Weekly pay from £ 60
No sole care for children under 2
Au Pair Plus
Works 6 hours per day, 5 days per week
Baby sits 2-3 evenings per week
Receives 2 free days and 3 evenings off
Weekly pay from £ 75
No sole care for children under 2
Mother's Help*
Works up to 10 hours, 5 days per week
Baby sits 2-3 evenings per week
Receives at least 1 free day and 3 evenings off
Weekly pay from £120 for 35 hours
Sole care for children under 2 may be possible
*mother's help is not officially part of the au pair cultural exchange scheme. They are candidates who are willing and able to take on higher levels of responsibility, but not fully qualified like a nanny. Please read more information about mother's help.

We can help find mother's help candidates from the EU who are willing to work over 35 hours and/or offer more experience. Pay varies depending on age, experience and hours. Tax and NI contributions are payable as soon as pay is more than £97 per week. (2007)

I would have said a candidate with a qualification but no experience is probably a mothers help level. Obviously you'd haveto pay more as they are live out, but IMO, experience counts a lot more than a qualification

Thanks ingles.

I interviewed two girls today.

One was completely flexible - was just looking to make some pocket money and do something with her time. Would be ideal for me as I need someone who can provide more care during school hols and less during term time. She had childcare experience. BUT she didn't seem to have any natural rapport with the kids. She didn't really try to interact with them. She was friendly, but I just couldn't see her getting stuck in and playing with them (or dealing with wiping poo bums etc)

Second girl was the one with a basic qualification and no real experience other than loads of friends kids and boyfriend who has weekend access to his own young children. She's less flexible in that she wants a fulltime job (which I can't offer her) and she wants to earn at least £300 a week. BUT she was a complete natural with the kids. Had them playing games and dealt with wee'd in pants without batting an eyelid within about 10 mins of meeting them.

Argh. poop. Need to think about how to make it work.

Aarghhh Poop indeed
£300 is a hell of a lot, for no experience at all
(my AP is doing an NVQ at the mo, and it's rubbish, just legislation and fridge temperatures!)
BUT
on the other hand...
It's not much to live out.
Keep looking J&J there'll be someone who fits you better.
Mothers Help sounds like it may be what you need...

Is that £300 net? I really do think you could find someone more real experience than that who ALSO gets on with your children well. I think I also mean experience being an employee as much as knowing what to do with children. I would want to be able to speak to at least one former employer to see how she got on in the arrangement. I agree with the keep looking.

My view is that a live-out au-pair is not really an au-pair. They are more a mothers-help or unqualified nanny. If they are still wanting 'pocket money', then the government says they can still be an au-pair (so working up to 5 hours per day, and learning english).
Where the 'au-pair' is working in excess of 5 hours per day and/or is earning in excess of the NI threshold, my view is that they are a mothers help, or nanny. If wages exceed the threshold, then indeed Tax, NI and Employers NI will all apply.

INF 16: Au Pairs - Read this guidance for details of what an au-pair is.

Thanks again - can anyone tell me what the hourly net figure would be if the hourly gross figure was £8?

ListenToTaxman - Free UK PAYE Tax calculator

Can't really do Gross to NET on just one hour. So multiplying out to £8 gross per hour, 10 hours per day, 5 days per week = £400 gross per week. If employee had a typical tax code, then net would be 306.25 per week (for 07/08 tax year). Divide that by 50 (as multiplied out to 50 hours per week), that gives £6.125
Employers NI is around £38.40 see E-Gismos PAYE calculator

thanks nannynick