Au Pair's forum
Site by Resolution
- Au pairs with driving licences
- English classes for au pairs
- National Insurance & health
- Holidays
- Travel
- Other information
Family life with an au pair
An au pair should be treated as one of the family. Normally they
are students whose main aim is to improve their English. Their great
advantage to a family lies in their being educated, on the spot and flexible,
yet prepared to work for far less money than would be expected by professional
domestic help. For these reasons, they, in turn, need to be treated with
consideration and flexibility, and helped to pursue their aims.
They must, in any case, be provided with their own room and full board.
It will undoubtedly be appreciated if their room is regarded as private
(e.g. from intrusions by children), and is equipped with a desk or table
where they can work. If you do not already have one spare, a small second-hand
television set is an inexpensive luxury to provide in the room. It gives
the au pair the freedom to choose more understandable programmes than the
family might perhaps watch. Finding
time to talk, making efforts to introduce them to English people of their
own age, and taking them with you on family outings where possible (provided
that no cost to them is involved)all help the Au Pair to feel happy and settled.
1. Au pairs with driving licences
If it is essential that the au pair should drive your car, please
remember that they are unlikely to be experienced drivers. You are advised
to pay for some lessons with your local driving school, preferably in
your car, to ensure that she is fully acquainted with driving on the
left and with the British Highway Code. You must insure your car fully
for her use, and you cannot expect an au pair to pay for any damage done.
Petrol must be provided for use on duty, but the au pair might pay for
petrol for personal use whilst off duty. The admission on an application
form that the au pair has a driving licence does not guarantee her suitability
to drive in England.
Back to top
2. English classes for au pairs
One of the major reasons that au pairs
come to England is to learn English, and they usually wish to take
English Classes, often with the aim of taking the Cambridge First Certificate,
Advanced or Proficiency exams. It is helpful if you can make enquiries at your local Tech/FE College/University before your au pair arrives - this is particularly important if you live in or near London, where language classes tend to be oversubscribed.
Back to top
3. National Insurance & Health
National Insurance contributions are not
required for au pairs. Au pairs from EC countries should be eligible
for NHS health care. Non-EC citizens may also be eligible for NHS treatment,
but some GP surgeries now make a small charge so check first with
your local GP/Health Centre. If still in doubt, check with the relevant embassy
which will certainly know of the rights of its citizens in the UK.
ALL au pairs will be eligible for emergency hospital treatment should
the need arise. Please check, when your au pair arrives, what insurance,
if any, (s)he has. If the au pair becomes ill, the family will obviously
have to continue to provide accommodation and food until arrangements
concerning her/him have been made.
Back to top
4. Holidays
An au pair often appreciates the chance to return home for
one week at Christmas or New Year. If (s)he has been with you less
than 6 months this will be unpaid holiday. When an au pair has been with
you for 6 months or more, this week (or another) should be a paid holiday.
Back to top
5. Travel
Au pairs are responsible for arranging and paying for their
own travel as far as Central London or any port or airport nearer
to the host family. From that point on, both payments and arrangements are
the responsibility of the host family. This means that if you cannot meet
them or have them met in London or other point of arrival, you must send
them clear and full directions (including times of trains, and allowing for
late arrival of planes, etc.) before they set out, and reimburse them appropriately.
Please note that the family MUST pay for the travel of the Polish au pairs
from Poland. Cheap flights can be found on www.skyscanner.net and
in order to get the best deals it is good to book well
in advance.
Back to top
6. Other information
We believe that it is very important for au pairs to
be happy. They will settle in more quickly to the home and family life,
will be able to work more efficiently, and the experience will be much more
fulfilling for both the family and the au pair. We keep in close contact
with our families and au pairs and introduce new au pairs to existing ones
in their area, as this has helped stop them from feeling too home sick. We
also provide all of our au pairs with a welcome pack upon their arrival,
and upon the family’s agreement can offer a contact list of other au
pairs in their area. Although
many of our au pairs come from the new EU member Baltic states, and as such
have an excellent standard of english, some of au pairs also wish
to improve their standards of written and verbal english.
Back to top
