House Rules For Aupairs

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Hi we have a new Aupair and I'm just putting together a pack listing her duties and wanted to put in some house rules without sounding to draconian does anyone haave examples of house rules that I can adapt?

UKM, I doubt that many au pair read jobs on Nannyjob.

hope nobody minds me asking, but what is the average salary paid to an au pair?

£55 for 25 hours is the minimum. Most people pay around £70.

Sorry Ameriscot, would disagree about the aupairs reading job ads on Nannyjob. When I advertised on there for what was definitely a nanny, sole charge position I had several replies from people who were obviously more suited to an aupair position. There were several good-quality responses but certainly a number of responses from people who didn't have the necessary experience or qualifications. If you do a search on the candidates registered on nannyjob, there are also LOADS of aupairs registered there.

Think UKMickey made a good point about aupairs describing themselves as nannies without any real understanding of what is required. On the other side of the coin, there are many families who advertise for aupairs when what they really need is a qualified, experienced nanny.

Ah well, then, must be true

Guess my au pairs have all been the exception to that rule.

Ameriscott - I've never paid more than £50 - £55 for an au-pair, and we live in central London?

Yeah well you probably have to pay them more to get them to live in Staines.

goldenoldie- Almost every AP has gone home heavier and all have done similar things with food as you say.

Although i have been critised for doing this, I alway insist that our AP eats an evening meal with the family during the week. I would always try to cook something everyone will like and alway take into account anything they dislike. It avoids having to put up with a freezer full of convienance food, or AP suddenly deciding to cook her dinner 9 in the evening after we have finished. If they can manage to eat after dinner they more than welcome to..thats if they want to look like the back end of bus.

Sorry to hijack, but who is in Staines? I'm in Stanwell, or Ashford borders as I like to call it!!!

Yikes £50!

Toothyboy,

I am just across the river from Staines.

Celtic,

We've always assumed that the au pair will eat with us - never really given them an option to do otherwise - it's take it, or leave it. If they want to cook their own food, then they can do whatever they like at lunchtimes.

celtic - Funnily enough, thinking about it, all my au-pairs also have gone home much lardier than on arrival too. I think that is an excellent idea of insisting that they eat an evening meal with the family. I have a new girl currently and she always eats the tiniest salad with us and then raids the frig. A family bag of Jordans Original Cruncy in a day!! Yikes. At least she might be a bit too full to manage the whole bag.

Can see £50 for an au-pair myself. Once they talk to any of their friends they would be off.

Sorry - meant to day "I cant see" £50 quid a week for an au-pair.

Dizzy - maybe I just get the hungry ones who make up the extra £20 by eating me out of house and home every week!

Goldenoldie, I bet if you add it up you spend more than that, it doesnot take long to clock £20 up the rate a lot of them eat at.

Definitely think a list of rules and expectations is a good idea. I would say it is definitely worth sitting down and going through them point by point though to make sure that they have completely understood everything.
I pay my aupair £80 for up to 40 hrs per week (which she never does, usually about 30 hrs). I ask her everytime I go shopping or order online what food she wants.
I definitely expect my aupair to use her own mobile phone for all personal calls, including to her family. If my aupair was without a mobile, I think I would allow her two 5 min calls a week to her family but I would be getting her a mobile and pay as you go system pronto!

Bag of Jordens is some going!!

Our last AP was a lovely size 8 when she arrive rising to nearly 14 on departure. At meal times she would run up stairs and get changed in to what she called her 'big trouser with more room for food' then run round the park trying to burn it off.

I think we try to eat healthy as a family but I think she got use to snacking in the afternoons spending afternoons in cafes and cake shops. I think its like someone said, that food is in abundance, lots of new things to try and no restrictions.

THe first thing her family said to her when she got of the plane was ' it must be true all British People eat fish and chips and fried breakfast'

We haven't had particularly big eaters. My first au pair was very faddy - turned her nose up at lots of our food, particularly the American stuff, and would eat unbelievable amounts of fresh fruit, but not a lot else. Then we had two that seemed to be on major diets.

The current one is very normal - she looks as if she's about a size 10, and eats 3 normal meals a day - plus she does tons of exercise in terms of playing with the kids and going out for a run every evening.

As an aupair, I used to cook for me and the single dad and he would do the same for me. Used to sit in at night in front of the tv with bags of crisps and chocolate and get a chinese about once a week. I was so very settled and at home in that house, especially when I was so at ease with putting my feet on the sofa and the dad and I having these feasts every night! After a while I decided enough was enough and went to weight watchers and lost 10 and a 1/2 pounds the first week!!! Was hard with the kids chocolates and crisps tho and when we did baking was hard to disipline myself not the lick the bowl!