Going rate for Aupairs in Europe?

[mint]

Here i am on the great Aupair site and find myself a bit confused. The rate asked for is in US dollars, but surprisingly enough some Aupairs with an amazing profile are asking much less than those with less or no experience. So really whatever the Aupair's ask's goes? or is there some formula? It will really help if I can get my figures right before this question is approached by the Aupairs that I am currently interviewing over the 'net'. The last Aupair I had (my first one ever) wanted more than 45 euros a week for 35hrs, plus I was paying half towards her language course. I had to also remind her, where we're living is considered a prime resort town, lovely beaches, cafes etc. where accomodation expenses are relatively high ....maybe its wrong for me to calculate all the above in the equation. she decided to join another family (happens to be someone I know...small town!!) with the hope that she gets more out of her stay i.e more money ..less hours. Am I completely unreasonable?

45 Euros doesn't sound very much for 35 hours - it sounds very close to nothing! In the UK, the minimum for 35 hours would be £70. Living in a prime area will mean that her pocket money won't go very far.

Perhaps you could think about dropping the payment for language classes (and any other perks) and just pay her straight? From my experience of my former (yeah!) au pair, is that unless they (gross generalisation, sorry) pay for things themselves, they don't appreciate the value of it. And when they meet up with other au pairs, they only seem to compare the actual cash they receive rather than cash plus perks plus job demands.

I have come across websites where they give you the going rate and conditions in many European countries. You also have to factor in their skills/English language ability/driving capability.

that sounds fair to take out all the other perks and put it a one cash package. The previous A-P had no experience whatsoever to the point that DD questioned why her English was funny (I take the blame for that) I would have loved an aupair to avail her driving skills, however in spain the motor insurance under the age of 26 is very expensive. I meant accomodation and related utilities is quite expensive here i.e to find a nice, suitable close to the beach place. Other general costs like transportation, food and espeacially alcohol& fags 2.50 euros are very cheap.

On nanny related threads I have also come across 50pw..Is that with little or no experience at all?

£50 pw is for standard au pair hours of 25 hours per week. It's at the low end of acceptable, so really for someone who has very little experience and/or very little English.

The going rate for an au pair plus is £70+

I think you also have to factor in the fact the cost of living in England, which is very high. In fact, if my memory serves me (and I'm not sure if it does), the cost of living in London is second only to Tokyo.

You should most certainly factor in the perks (like rent, utilities, language class, etc.) because these are cetainly part of her pay.

It's probably best to find out what other families in the area are paying their au pairs and go from there.

Mint - au pair conditions in Belgium are regulated by the government and the minimum wage is 450 euros per month. We are paying our au pair plus 550 per month, plus the whole cost of her language course and medical insurance. She gets 4 weeks paid leave a year. Overtime (beyond 6 p.m, if I am late home from work) and babysitting at weekends is paid at the rate of 6 euros an hour.

The cost of living in Belgium is slightly cheaper than London.

Thank you for giving me an insight of whats going on around my neighbouring, Strangely enough I haven't come across any family so far in my little town who has an aupair that i can inquire the going rate from....i woulden't dare ask the mother who has hired my old aupair(or even ask the aupair)!!!It wouldent please me.
keeping in mind the rent, utilities etc. I have suggested quite a few aupairs at 60-65 euros for 35 hours and I have to say some sound thrilled in pursuing the job.
Tanzie...I woulden't want to live in Belgium, its so expensive or its the fact that people are get paid well with less unemployment issues. In spain, jobs opportunities are very low. I mean to pay that much money is equivalent here to pay a live-out nanny.

neighbouring countries* i meant oopz!!!

I love Belgium. Think I might finally settle down here - can't drag the kids around forever

Don't think it is that well paid in Belgium, by the way - GPs here earn around 30,000 pounds per annum - about half what they get in UK. Rents are also very cheap compared with London.

bummer...I never do read back my mails for corrections!

I feel the same with the idea of settling down-in Spain, but unlike you, still not exactly 100% sure. I feel if there is still another place outhere that will instantly gratify me with its presence. Where have you been travelling and with how many offsprings? So why do aupairs get paid so much. Out of interest what would a Nanny earn in belgium and why is the government involved in setting the salary scale. Almost feels that it could lead to many families being let down to afford an aupair, thats if they cant afford that rate.

Mint, lived in Romania until DD1 was 3, and DD2 6 months, then came here. At the risk of getting lynched by any Belgians on Mumsnet, I would say FROM THE AU PAIRS THAT I KNOW that Belgian employers have a reputation for being exploitative and expecting their au pairs to work a 12 hour day. I think the strict regulation is to give a (not bad) wage (and try to minimise exploitation), and the hours that they are suppsoed to work can be up to 40 per week, but in practice can be more. Nannies (live in) tend to get IME about 1200 euros per month, which is the minimum wage. I like Belgium, it is a very easy place to live (having spent a lot of my life in Eastern Europe).

You are not unreasonable at all.

Have you tried www.aupaircompany.com - it is a great site and so easy to use.

Good luck!

Thanks Kittermaster for the aupair website, haven't checked this site before. The problem I am finding is located a site which is more focused to european Aupair. I am trying to avoid the visa hassle, as Spain is not the best place for paperworks, can sometime take a lot of time.

Have you tried greataupair.com? The site is American, but there are lots of EU members on there. And you can search by country.

I am living in central Europe and have an Au Pair from Poland. Officially here mimimum wage is 1200 Euro but generally you can arrange a contract and pay mimimum 350 Euro per month up to 450 Euro depending on level of housework plus language course and I pay for mobile phone and two trips home per year.
A great web site and several friends have used it too is www.aupair-agency.com You have to pay a fee up front but they send you loads of matches. They can also advice on salary and your offer etc.
Very helpful