Many host families, their children and the au pair end up building lifelong relationships so we will try to give you all the information you need to enjoy this experience.

What is an au pair?

   An au pair is a single person with no dependants aged between 18 and 27 years, coming from one of the European countries.They will come to the UK to improve their English language skills by living as part of an English speaking family and would be expected to stay with the family for any period between 3 months (summer au pair) and 2 years, even more if the placement is successful.

What do you need to do?

   As a host family, you would have to provide free and sole use of a bedroom, board and weekly pocket money, you will be expected to treat them with respect and especially during the first few weeks you should encourage them and give them time to adjust to their new life with your family.
   It will be an enjoyable experience for both of you if communication is very good so we recommend that you talk to each other as much as possible and let them know from the beginning what your expectations are.
   Au pairs should also be allowed to attend to English classes if they wish to do so, they will be expected to pay for that themselves but if you are happy to contribute towards the costs it will be much appreciated by them.

   The pocket money allowances are as follows:

• Au pair (25h/week + 2 evenings of babysitting) – £60 to £75 per week
• Au pair+ (35h/week + 2 evenings of babysitting) - £85 - £120 per week

  Any additional hours worked should be paid at a rate of £3.50 per hour

What can you expect?

   In exchange for the pocket money, the au pair will be required to work for 25 hours, be available for 2 evenings of babysitting and have 2 full days off every week. They will help with childcare and light housework such as dusting, vacuuming, ironing, tidying up and cleaning, but should be considered part of the family, like an older sister or brother to your children with family responsibilities.
   If you would like to have an au pair that drives we will check their licenses but we would recommend that on their arrival you arrange for their driving abilities to be assessed by an instructor and if necessary pay for a few driving lessons so that they get used to driving on the left side of the road, especially if you would like them to drive your children to and from school. You would also be responsible for the car insurance in their name.

Who pays for the travel expenses?

   The au pair is responsible to pay for their travel expenses and they have to inform both the family and the agency of their expected arrival time to enable either one of us to collect them from the airport or station.

Holidays for au pairs

   We recommend giving the au pair 1 week paid holiday after every 6 months stay with the family. Please check with them in good time if they would like to go home for the holiday.

What to do next and what is the placement process?

   If you decided that you would like to have an au pair please take the time to fill in the free registration form for families which will automatically enter your details in our database and depending on the information you submit we will then forward to you different au pair profiles including photos, so you can choose the ones that you are most interested in.

   Please feel free to contact us through the tools provided if you have any questions at this point.

   When you are happy with the details of an au pair please let us know and we will send you written details of their checked references, police and health records. This will enable you to decide whether you are happy to go on and contact the au pair yourself by telephone or email, you can see how good their English language is and check if you are both in agreement with what is expected during their stay from both parties.

   Once you are fully happy with the au pair and would like them to join your family you will be required to send us an invitation letter for the au pair and upon their acceptance we would expect you to pay the applicable fee. Once we receive the payment we will let you know and go ahead with their travel arrangements. As soon as the travel details are confirmed we will inform you of the expected arrival date and if you are unable to collect them from the airport we can do that for you, depending on where you live we will provide a personalised quotation. Please let us know within reasonable time if you would like to use this service.

What if I have any problems?

   We advise that at the end of the first week you sit down with your new au pair and talk to them, ask if they are happy and let them know if you are happy too. If there are things which you are not comfortable with please tell them in a polite manner and try to understand if they are homesick, they need all your support.
   We will always be available to mediate any issues that may arise between your family and the au pair, please contact us if you need our help.

Legal requirements

   Au pairs from Europe do not need a visa to come to the UK or any other documents other than their passport or ID card. The Romanian and Bulgarian au pairs have to apply for an Accession Worker Card and we will assist them with the application to make sure it is successful.

Final note

   We will work with and for you to get a satisfying result at the end of the search; we will keep in touch and contact you on a regular basis to check if you are happy with your current au pair.

We are looking forward to finding the best au pair to join your family!