Au Pair

The candidates that we are currently able to offer are those who are eligible to travel under the Youth Mobility Scheme visa (T5).

Please note Short-term Students are not allowed to work in the UK nor are those entering the UK on a Tourist Visa.

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The Au Pair Programme is a cultural exchange for young people aged from 18 – 35 years of age. The vast majority of Au Pairs are young people taking a 6 – 12 month gap in their studies to improve their knowledge of language and culture.

An Au Pair lives as part of the family and is expected to be made welcome as a family member. He/She is an extra pair of hands for a busy household and should be treated as part of the family.

The majority of our au pairs already have good English skills and many can drive. They can help with busy morning schedules, school-runs, play dates, after school activities, meal times, homework, some occasional shopping and light housework. They can supervise the children in a responsible manner in the absence of the parents according to the instructions given.

Hours on duty: Au Pairs can be on duty up to 35 hours per week to include any evening babysitting that is required.

Wages and Additional Incentives: Salary should be according to age, experience and the number of working hours required.

Salary must be in line with National Minimum Wage rates https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates

There is an amount which can be deducted weekly for accommodation: https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-accommodation

We strongly recommend that all salaries are agreed on a gross basis. It is the host family’s responsibility to ensure that tax and N.I. contributions are paid where applicable.
We will be pleased to recommend you to our payroll specialist for guidance.

Holidays: According to Working Time Regulations BAPAA recommends the the UK basic holiday allowance of 28 days per annum should apply or 1.66 days per month pro-rata if the placement is shorter than one year.
This can include public and bank holidays. If the family requires their candidate to go on holiday with them this must be discussed and agreed prior to employment commencement. All travels expenses, food and weekly wage will need to be covered.

Babysitting: Additional wages should be paid for any additional evenings. Au Pairs should not be asked to babysit on either of their two free days. Babysitting hours are evening time only when the parents are out.
An Au Pair cannot perform regular night duties. BAPAA does not recommend that an Au Pair regularly babysits or is solely responsible for a child or children overnight. Parents cannot leave the Au Pair regularly in charge overnight, whilst they are away on business/holiday or working night shifts. Furthermore, the Au Pair cannot be given responsibility for looking after a child or children at night (given baby monitor etc) whilst parents are also in the home. If the Au Pair is ever required to do this, a responsibility payment should be given.

Leisure time: He/She shall receive two free days each week which should include one weekend totally free per month.

Holidays: The Au Pair should be encouraged to take holiday at a time that is convenient to the family. Holidays should ideally be mutually agreed between host family and Au Pair at the start of the placement.

Childcare: An Au Pair should not have any sole charge of children under the age of two. An au pair is not a qualified childcare provider and BAPAA recommends some daily formal childcare arrangements for pre-school children.

House Rules: House rules have to be clear at the beginning of the placement. Families must take time, when the Au Pair arrives, to explain and set out the family expectations when on and off duty.

Room and board: The Au Pair receives full room and board from the family throughout the stay. The Au Pair must have her own private room with a window and not be required to share with children. Families are required to send photos of the au pair’s bedroom and general accommodation.

Internet Access: Au Pairs should be allowed internet access without limits during their free time

Travel and Travelling Costs: The Au Pair is required to pay their own travelling cost to and from the UK, unless the family chooses to fund this. The family should, wherever possible, collect the Au Pair from the airport. If this is not possible, they must pay for collection by taxi or organise reasonable onward travel and the family must be at home in time for their arrival. Long tube journeys with a year’s worth of luggage are not acceptable.

Insurance:

All candidates will travel to the UK with appropriate medical and travel insurance.

Biometric Residence Permit
Under visas regulations candidates travelling under the youth mobility visas must obtain the biometric residence permit (BRP), which confirm identity, the right to study or work in the UK and the right to any public services or benefits to which the holder is entitled to.
Full information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits

Signed Placement invitation: covering, minimum rostered hours per week, holidays, description of home and au pair’s bedroom and what help will be expected, etc.

Notice Period: The host family can terminate the arrangement by giving two weeks notice to the candidate. Under exceptional circumstances, should the host family require the candidate to leave before the end of the notice period then money must be given in lieu of notice AND a contribution towards either alternative accommodation or a flight home. Sufficient time must be given to the candidate to make other arrangements or organise travel home.

Please remember, this is a cultural exchange programme, giving a young person the opportunity to learn about British culture through interaction with children. The Au Pair is there to help the family and is not in charge of the house.

Light Housework: An Au Pair’s primary role is childcare; light housework should be a lesser part of duties and BAPAA recommends that up to 20% of the au pair’s hours is spent on household duties. It is recommended that extra domestic help should be arranged for any additional cleaning.
Acceptable standards of cleanliness must be maintained by the Au Pair and host family. A list of suggested light housework tasks can be found below.

List of housework tasks accepted as light housework:

Washing dishes, including loading and unloading dishwasher
Preparing simple meals for children
Keeping kitchen tidy and clean including sweeping and mopping floors.
Loading and unloading children’s laundry into washing machine.
Ironing for children.
Putting washed clothes away
Vacuuming
Dusting
Making and changing children’s beds.
Cleaning children’s bathroom
Everything to do with keeping their own room/bathroom clean and tidy.
Walking and feeding pets
Emptying bins

List of tasks considered unsuitable for an Au Pair:

Gardening
Window cleaning
Spring cleaning
Cleaning the oven, other than simple wiping out
Washing carpets
Washing the car
Weekly shopping
Pet training
Clearing up after untrained pets
Making parents’ bed
Ironing for parents
Polishing silver and brassware
Cooking the family meal, unless the Au Pair enjoys cooking and has chosen to do this for the family

N.B. Au Pairs should not be required to do housework such as ironing, when looking after children of primary school age or toddlers, due to safety reasons.

Prior to January 2021, in co-operation with our associate agencies abroad, we placed Au Pair applicants from the following countries: Austria, Greece, Portugal, Belgium, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Iceland, Slovakia, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Latvia, Spain, Denmark, Lithuania, Sweden, Estonia, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Finland, Malta, The Netherlands, France, Norway, Germany and Poland
We remain hopeful the British Government will include these countries and others under the Youth Mobility Visas Scheme
Under the Youth Mobility Visa Scheme, we can currently accept candidates from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan.