How much should I pay an au pair Post Reply

[Herculesmum]

Hoping for some advice from those with experience.

We are looking to take on an au pair next year. We've found a lovely girl from Australia, agreed responsibilities and now just looking to understand what she should be paid.

As its first time for her and us We don't have any idea

Is there a formula I can use? Ie number of hours x hourly rate - room & board cost?

And how do I value room & board? Is it market rate? Obviously being in a rather expensive area this would mean her in the pocket pay would be a lot lower than if she had boarded somewhere cheaper?

Any guidance would be very much appreciated.

[topmama]

I think the general recommendation is an au pair works up to 25 hours and get £80-£100 per week and au pair plus works up to 35 hours and get £100-£120 per week. The generally they should not have sole charge of children under 2 years and only do light house work....they are not a nanny or a cleaner. They get 2 days off a week and get at least 4 weeks holiday.

Petal is right and if anything in London you may give them a bit more due to the cost of stuff. We gave our au pair extra funds for travel and for her phone. Also some extra for food if they want to buy specific foods.

Good luck, when an au pair and family work well together it is really brilliant!

[shaneleone]

Most families I know in the area pay £90-100 for 25-30 hours + one night babysitting. The terms for Au Pairs are quite specific - they're not supposed to work more than 30 hours per week, they are supposed to have two full days off per week, they are supposed to be here for cultural exchange and are provided with room and board. Depending on pocket money, some families might pay for their phone, flights, travel cards, etc. We're about to have our second AuPair and I've always tried to err on the generous side as you want them to be happy, and I agree with previous posters that London is expensive.

[Herculesmum]

Thanks. We want to err on generous side as want her to be happy with us but if it became too expensive it just wouldn't be viable as we intend to keep little one in full time nursery.

We don't expect any cleaning beyond tidying up after herself and little one when they are together and we will still be getting weekly cleaner.

Her role is basically big sister to our daughter and the girl in question is doing it because she really wants to live in Europe and travel.

I'm a little concerned now if it's £400 a month. I didn't realise it would be so much.

[shaneleone]

how many hours are you expecting her to work?

[twoundertwo]

£400 a month gives her approx £14 a day to live off- travel, phone, toiletries etc. Not that much really is it?!

[Herculesmum]

I was going to cover travel card, phone, toiletries.

It would be 20 hours a week give or take.

Just pick up from nursery until I get home from work. We are looking to put into l'ecole du parc and they have shorter hours.

[Herculesmum]

I actually think £400 a month is very generous considering that will be pure spending money. All other essential costs will be taken care of. Perhaps it's been too long since we've all been "poor" (I assume some never have), but I wasn't always as fortunate as I am now and I remember how far £400 can stretch.

I also completely disagree with the view that the "extras" we provide shouldn't be recognised. How many people would kill to live in a lovely house in this area and have all of their incidentals covered?

Compare it to what our cleaners get paid. £10 an hour and they then need to pay their own travel, accommodation, food etc etc.

My gut feel is if I have to pay her £400 then unfortunately it's just not viable. Which is disappointing as it would be lovely for our daughter but equally this girl really wants to come. She currently works in a supermarket and this was an opportunity for her to travel, get some life experience and add a skill that could be valuable on her cv. Because we aren't meant to recognise the value of the extras then she misses out on this experience as much as we miss out on a big sister for my daughter.

That just doesn't seem right to me.

[shaneleone]

It wasn't that the incidentals shouldn't be/aren't recognized, it's just that they aren't used to calculate the pocket money for Au Pairs. The idea is that the pocket money will cover their expenses while living in London - so they don't save any money, but aren't out of pocket either. And £100 per week in London just doesn't go that far in 2015 - a night out, a meal or two out, gym membership, language classes, the odd coffee... I've heard of families paying as little as £80, but not in London. That said, Au Pair World and the UK govt website recommend £70-85.

If you and the girl are both happy with whatever financial arrangement you come up with, then it might work out great. But she will probably meet other Au Pairs in the area - and most that I know make around £90-100 per week for 20-30 hours. Which is still the cheapest childcare you would ever get.

[shaneleone]

https://www.gov.uk/au-pairs-employment-law/au-pairs

[tooposhtopush]

Some great advice on here

@HM, I know it can seem like a lot but I do think there is great advice in these posts.

You don't want her to come over and feel resentment that she's the poorest au pair in the room. One of my neighbours had their au pair poached by another neighbour for an extra thirty quid a week and that caused quite a bit of tension on the street

Try not to look at it as "four hundred quid" but more an extra "one or two hundred quid" over and above what you were planning to pay, I think most of us in Nappy Valley can find that money.

A great au pair is wonderful but it is, as someone has already alluded to, a bit of a mindset and if you're really keen to keep costs down and that's an over-riding priority then it may be that an au pair isn't the right choice for you.

I'm not saying that I believe that is the case, just if you really feel that the extra hundred pounds a month makes it non-viable then it may not be the right choice.

Good luck in whatever you choose, you've obviously given it a lot of thought which is important

[Herculesmum]

Thanks tooposhtopush. I agree I'd rather not do it than undercut her as I've never wanted to be exploitative which I think I made clear in my first or second post.

She was actually willing to do it for £100 a month (what she suggested after I asked her to do research on what is excited in Australia) which was obviously way too low and so I was coming on here to understand what was more standard.

My husband and I spoke about it and felt we would value the experience for our daughter and helping this girl out, but we would need to recognise that we are changing the dynamic of the house. And it wouldn't really be worth our while if we had a live in border and ended up paying more than we do now for full time nursery.

If I had to pay her £400 a month then I would be more out of pocket than I am now and so it just doesn't work. C'est la vie. I agree it wouldn't make sense to bring her over on the cheap because it wouldn't work longer for her to be paid less than others.

Petal, I'm not sure if you realise how your posts come across but I think you may benefit from rereading what you write before you hit send. I'll assume you have some sort of Internet Tourette's and didn't mean to call me "tight" with a "bad attitude" just because I expressed an opinion that is different to yours.

[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?

[Herculesmum]

@shaneleone that link was very interesting.

£75-85 per week for 30 hours work so I don't think I was being unreasonable in thinking about £70ish for 20 hours.

But as was very rightly pointed out by others, In nappy alley the au pairs are onto a great deal so even though I'd be meeting the suggested legal requirements it probably wouldn't work when she compared herself to others.

[shaneleone]

I don't believe any of the local families paying £90-100 feel their Au Pairs "are onto a great deal" - but instead we are paying what we feel is fair.

If you break it down - if one family is paying £100 per week for 30 hours, and you are offering £70 per week for 20 hours - you will actually be paying more per hour. It's just that in my limited experience with Au Pairs, they would prefer to work a few more hours for a little extra cash. But if you and the girl are both happy - that is what matters. And covering extras like travel, phone and toiletries goes a long way with a limited budget.