Frequently Asked Questions By Host Families

 

Questions That Arise Before The Placement

1. How do we use your site?  
2. What is an au pair and what are differences between a nanny and an Au pair?
3. How much should we pay for the Au pair?
4.  Do we need to make a contract with our au pair?
5. Are there any legal requirements that we need to comply with before hiring an au pair?
6. Will my au pair require a visa?
7. I have emailed an au pair but she has not replied or her email is not working?
8. Should we pay for the au pair plane ticket or visa costs?
9. What questions should I ask the Au pair at the interview stage?
10. What job can I require the au pair to perform?
11. What are my responsibilities to the au pair?

 

Question That Arise After The Placement

12. Our au pair is leaving soon, when should we start looking a new au pair?
13. Things are not working out with our au pair. What should we do?

1. How do we use your site?

 Au Pair World Agency is best described as an ‘information platform’ in which host families, au pairs and nannies  upload information about themselves and  then exchange information between themselves with a view to host families finding an  Aupair or nanny. 

Two methods to use the site to find a nanny or Aupair.

• Create profile and let prospective Au pair or nannies make contact with you.
• Create profile and initiate contact with prospective Au pairs or nannies.

For further details on how to use this site click here.

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2. What is an au pair and what the difference between a nanny and an Au pair?

An au pair is a domestic assistant working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as some housework chores, and receive a small monetary allowance for personal use. They are often foreign-nationals of the country in which they are working.

Accordingly Au-pairs should be treated as an equal part of the family and not as a servant, and shall not be required to wear a uniform. There are often a lot of misunderstandings on both sides about what this means. The usual practice is that au pairs eat with the family most of the time, and join in some of the usual family activities such as outings and trips. for further information on this please go to our page for 'definition of an Au pair'.

 

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Difference between an Au pair and a nanny

• Ages
• Chosen career path
• One is  a household guest, the other is an employee 
• Salary
• Age restrictions for visas

In summary, an Au pair is someone who goes to the host families’ home to help with child care while experiencing life in the host country.  Although the salary received is basic the Aupair will receive full board and accommodation i.e. full meals and the Au pair’s own room in the host family or au pair family home.
A nanny on the other hand is a formal employee of the family. She often formally trained as a child carer and does not necessarily live in the host families’ home. Her salary is a full salary reflecting her degree of training and experience.

For more information on the differences please go to our page on 'Differences between au pairs and nannies'

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3.How much should we pay for the Au pair?

Au pair receive a basic allowance plus food and board. The salary that the au pair or nanny receives may also differ according to your personal circumstances and the kind of duties the au pair is required to perform.

For further details please go to our au pair salary guide.

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4. Do we need to make a contract with our aupair or nanny?

This depends on the country that you live in.  Some countries require there to be a written contract between the aupair or nanny and the host family, others do not.
Our advice is that it is always a good idea to state clearly in writing what each party’s obligations and duties are towards each other. It always best to do this prior to the commencement of the placement. This way the au pair knows what is expected of her and avoids misunderstanding down the road.

Click the link to see our sample contract 

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5. Are there any legal requirements that we need to comply with before hiring an au pair?

This depends on your countries immigration rules and the nationality of the au pair.
Generally speaking, as the au pair is not a legal employee, you may not need to comply with any actual legal requirements provided the au pair does not need an immigration visa/work permit to work in your country. For example, a British host family employing a French au pair will not have any legal or immigration requirements to comply with. 
However, a Canadian family seeking to employ an English Au pair would obviously have to comply with the immigration rules for Canada.

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6. Will my au pair require a visa?

It depends on the nationality of the Au pair. For example, if you live in Europe and your au-pair is also from a European country then they will not require a visa or a work permit.  Please go to Au pair world agency visa page to find out specific information about the visa requirements for the au pair of your choice  

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7. I have emailed an au pair but she has not replied or her email is not working

There might be a multitude of reasons why they have not replied to you. it could be that the aupair or nanny has simply not logged on to their account or have simply been too busy to reply.
You should also note that some aupair and nannies who have great profiles receive multitude of host families writing to them.
Our advice is that if you want to attract the best aupair and nannies to work for you then you should spend a little time and great a really great host family or aupair family profile page. Please click here for advice on how to create a great profile.

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8. Should we pay for the au pair plane ticket or visa costs?

The decision is entirely up to you. Our advice is that you should not under any circumstances advance any sort of payment to an au pair or nanny prior to their arrival at your home. The reason for this is that there are many professional scam artists who pose as au pairs and target host families inducing them to make advance payment to them. Once payment is receive the con artist never heard from again. Please click her to read our full warning on scam artists.

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9.What questions should I ask the Au pair at the interview stage?

Our advice is that you should ask the au pair or nanny all the questions that our important to you and to the job. you should satisfy yourself that the Au pair meets these requirements. Issues like;

1. Why does the potential  aupair want to do this job?
2. What work experience has the au pair or nanny previously had
3. What previously experience of looking after children have they ever had.
4. Have they ever had to deal with an emergency regarding children
5. Do they have any CPR training or experience
6. Can they cook.
7. Any experience of running or managing a home
8. Are they able to give you any references
9. Are they reachable on the phone or via video call (skpe , yahoo messenger )

Most au pairs are either available to speak via their mobile phones or on skpe and yahoo messenger. It’s always a good idea to have a video call with an aupair prior to employing them.
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10. What job can I require the au pair to perform?

The normal duties of an aupair are child minding and associated tasks of child minding. E.g. Picking up and collecting children from school.
If you have other tasks that you may want your aupair to perform it’s always best to discuss these prior to the arrival of the aupair.

Normal duties undertaken by an  Au pair

• taking children to and from school
• taking children to after-school activities
• cooking children meals while parents away
• light cleaning and  ironing,
• baby sitting.

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11. What are my responsibilities to the au pair?

 

• Provide a schedule, expectations (specified in as much detail as possible), general description of the family members, family pictures etc;
• Treat the au pair as a family member;
• The host family is expected to provide adequate opportunities for the au pair to participate in local cultural activities;
• Provide a list of "house rules" for the au pair;
• Invite the au pair to join the host family in family trips where appropriate

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Host families  financial obligations:

• Pay the pocket money on time (weekly or monthly) as agreed in advance;
• Keep paying pocket money to the au pair during the agreed periods of holiday;
• In the event of illness, pocket money shall be paid until termination of the agreement, but payment will not be made for more than two weeks;
• The host family is responsible for providing adequate health, accident, repatriation and liability insurance during the time the au pair and host family are sharing the cultural exchange (see also: Definitions au pair: Insurance).

Other obligations:

• Register the au pair with the appropriate authorities (if required) to ensure the au pair is legally registered at all times and/or apply for the required visa / residence permit;
• In case a visa/residence permit is required, the host family will pay all expenses required by the authorities in their home country (visa approval and application costs);
• Guarantees the au pair is always able to contact the au pair agency that placed him/her.

For further information on your obligation as a host family please go to our ‘definition of a host family page ’.

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Question that arise after the placement

12. Our au pair is leaving soon, when should we start looking a new au pair?

As soon as you can. The longer that the notice period is for potential au pairs the more chance that you have of finding an au pair or nanny that you actually want.  

You don’t actually have to actively look for an au pair or nanny. You could just activate your account and wait for au pairs to contact you.

13. Things are not working out with our au pair. What should we do ?

If things are not working out there are several alternatives available between you. Often things are not working out simply because of a misunderstanding between you and the au pair or nanny. If this is the case it often helps to have a third party to medicate on each party’s behalf.  Au pair world agency will be happy to help you with this.

However if it is clear that things are not going to work  then by all means consider changing your au pair. We believe that it’s fair to give your au pair  at least one weeks’ notice to find suitable arrangements.

 

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