How much should I pay an au pair Post Reply

[pinkpeony]

I paid mine £110 for 25 hours p/w and she usually didn't end up doing all those hours. I paid her 52 weeks of the year and so paid whilst she and we were on holiday too. You really can't pay £100 per month.. that is slave labour! I think the area is irrelevant, Au Pairs are a cheaper form of childcare and you shouldn't take into account how much they would be paying to rent here.

Some give a food allowance but I just told mine to help herself. Asking around friends paid similar.

A good Au Pair is worth it's weight in gold and the amount of money you save on babysitting alone makes them excellent value.

[Herculesmum]

I DID NOT suggest I would pay her £100 per month. I very clearly stated that I felt that was too low when she suggested it.

I was wanting feedback as I had no idea what was expected. I very much appreciate the helpful feedback I got.

I don't however appreciate the insults and strongly worded opinions on my character based upon my opinions as to the value of £400.

It feels like bullying and considering we are all mums responsible for raising the next generation we should all know better than to behave this way.

[windmill26]

Slightly off topic but I'm going to try living for the month on £400 to see how far it gets me

It has been a long time since I've really given myself a budget and I curious to see how I go.

Anyone else care to join me?

What are you including in your budget?Our monthly food budget for a family of 3 is less than £400 .

[sophieb]

Hi Herculesmum

I pay my au pair £95 a week for just under 30 hours. I then pay her £7 an hour for any additional hours she does for me (which is really handy during nursery holidays, work emergencies etc). She also earns extra by babysitting other children. I think this is a pretty reasonable rate, considering most things are within walking distance, and we make sure we include her in planning weekly meals / activities etc so that she feels included and free to ask for things that make her feel as at home as possible. I also disagree with the view that 'extras' aren't included, although not necessarily on a monetary basis. Instead, it's the extras that make sure your au pair is getting as much from the experience as they can. The purpose of an au pair agreement is of mutual benefit - the au pair gets time to explore a new culture / country in a safe and friendly environment and you get extra help you need. If the arrangement was based solely on money, that just wouldn't work. Your au pair needs to feel welcomed into your home and part of the family. That's what makes it a happy arrangement for both sides!

I would suggest agreeing a rate with her and then scheduling to sit down and discuss it a couple of months in, to be sure that it's working for you both. However, if she's coming all the way from Australia, that's probably not very practical, so you're right to do your research now. It would be heartbreaking for her to have to fly home so soon and you may end up feeling very guilty for putting her in that situation. Could you therefore agree a basic rate with her, and an agreed rate for any additional hours worked? That means that after a couple of months, if you are getting on well but she is struggling on the basic rate, you could throw her a few extra hours here and there to keep her happy? And perhaps pass her details onto your friends who might need a good babysitter so that she can supplement her pocket money that way?

I hope you figure something out that works for you - we've found hosting an au pair so rewarding and I'd like to think that our au pair was happy too (at least that's what she tells me!). Good luck.

[Herculesmum]

Thanks Sophieb. What you explain is pretty much what we had in mind to do.

Start her off with a base amount and basic responsibilities and then agree what we would pay her if we asked her to work beyond that - about £7-8 an hour was what I was thinking. Also we expected others may ask her to babysit and of course that would be fine also if she wanted to do that.

I'm very conscious that I don't want her coming all this way for her or us to feel put out financially as it's the quickest way to sour the relationship. I'm also,conscious I have no idea how much I'd end up utilising her and it may well turn into a lot more than 20 hours down the line.

Thanks so much for your post.

[sophieb]

No problem. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions / worries and I'll help if I can!

[Herculesmum]

Petal thank you very much for your contribution. It has been taken on board.

Kind regards

[windmill26]

If you do a quick search on Google.com.au regarding what is the average rate weekly for an Au Pair in Australia you will find that 200-250 AUD for 30 hours/week is the norm. I think a childminder would be more suitable to your requirement for the after school pick up.

[Herculesmum]

Slightly off topic but I'm going to try living for the month on £400 to see how far it gets me

It has been a long time since I've really given myself a budget and I curious to see how I go.

Anyone else care to join me?

What are you including in your budget?Our monthly food budget for a family of 3 is less than £400 .

Hi windmill, I was referring to discretionary spending as I was wanting to see if I could live on the £400 a month that the au pair receives as pocket money.
So I wouldn't include anything that I would provide the au pair. So food, groceries, toiletries etc that came in the weekly shop would be excluded as I'd be covering that cost as host. Same with travel on oyster zone 1&2.

So, it would be spending on meals/coffees out, Internet shopping (I'll probably blow it all on Amazon in the first week), clothes, make up, charitable donations, holiday travel etcetera. There's probably a lot of stuff I've not even thought of.

If you're keen to try it let me know and we can set up a different thread and outline what exactly is excluded because that would be an easier list than included.

[Herculesmum]

Thanks windmill. I have no idea where she got her number from but I almost fell off my chair when she told me!

[windmill26]

Slightly off topic but I'm going to try living for the month on £400 to see how far it gets me

It has been a long time since I've really given myself a budget and I curious to see how I go.

Anyone else care to join me?

What are you including in your budget?Our monthly food budget for a family of 3 is less than £400 .

Hi windmill, I was referring to discretionary spending as I was wanting to see if I could live on the £400 a month that the au pair receives as pocket money.
So I wouldn't include anything that I would provide the au pair. So food, groceries, toiletries etc that came in the weekly shop would be excluded as I'd be covering that cost as host. Same with travel on oyster zone 1&2.

So, it would be spending on meals/coffees out, Internet shopping (I'll probably blow it all on Amazon in the first week), clothes, make up, charitable donations, holiday travel etcetera. There's probably a lot of stuff I've not even thought of.

If you're keen to try it let me know and we can set up a different thread and outline what exactly is excluded because that would be an easier list than included.

I can't remember the time I had that amount of money to spend on myself! I am keen for the different thread just out of curiosity!

[shaneleone]

I honestly think £400 is not a lot for a young girl trying to experience London - most of them take language classes (the point of being an Au Pair is a cultural exchange), many of them join a gym, then there is sightseeing (again, the point of them working and living in London), a few nights out, a few meals out, the odd coffee, and maybe a day trip to Brighton and I think you'd have easily spent over £400.

[Pentneyprincess]

I rarely comment, but as someone who has actually been an au pair, £90 is nothing. I think if you want a good relationship with your au pair, you pay her fairly and well. I would be more leaning to pay £100-£150 a week, although she sounds like she is doing fewer hours than most. I worked 1-6pm every weekday, and was paid £120 a week ( 4 years ago). I was taken out every weekend (yes I wasn't in London), also I went through a few awful weeks of hospital trips with the father when the mother was away and as a thank you was given £100 extra that week. My phone etc was never paid for, I had to sort that out myself ( I am a Brit and was working for a British family in Portugal).

Anyway, it worked so well that I became the children's godmother and play a big part in their life.

Pay people well and you do get a better relationship, no one likes stingy bosses. I

[gail0810]

I think £400 for 20 hours a week child care (albeit live in) is an absolute bargain! If you wanted some sort of comparison, I have a live out nanny for 30 hours a week and pay £1750 a month (including all taxes) plus a very generous annual bonus and extra hours/babysitting at £10 an hour. Unfortunately child care in this area of London is extremely expensive and aside from nannies, childminders and nurseries can cost anything from £70-90/100 a day (for 10 hours for youngest age children). If £400 a month is too expensive, you could look into an after school nanny share or a childminder -as already suggested, or some nurseries do wrap around care also. That may be cheaper.

[Seriously?]

I have had au pairs doing similar roles, I.e., nursery pick up and 1 or 2 nights baby sitting. Regardless of what other people have said, this is a very cushy deal for an au pair, and it really is just a bit of helping out with logistics. Nothing at all like the responsibilities a Nanny would be employed for, so you can't really compare. Not to mention that an au pair will be like an extra child in your house, not an employee. So Nanny salary comparisons are not very helpful in this context.

80 is probably a little on the light side as although the role will not involve as much as a typical au pair doing school pick ups, you can't really expect to pay less because you don't really have enough hours. 90 would be better but don't underestimate the cost of travel. Maybe pay 100 and exclude travel? It will be cheaper than 80 + travel. Australians sometimes command a bit more though, as they have English and come from a country with very high minimum wage!

When you think of the cost, don't underestimate having the au pair there when you child is sick and can't go to nursery. We have always agreed with our that although they usually do very few hours, we would like them to be flexible and help our more on occasions when, for example, child could not go to nursery. All have been happy to have this arrangement. I didn't pay extra - it all evens out.

Good luck!