When it comes to hiring childcare, the first option that parents usually consider is to hire an Au pair. The reasons that most parents consider an au pair is the flexibility that comes with hiring one and the wage that they need to pay for this type of childcare, since they are the cheapest option on the market.
Making the decision to go for an Au pair instead of a Nanny or Nanny-Housekeeper will be one of the most important decisions the family will make regarding hiring private domestic staff. Choosing the right Au pair is choosing the person who will become part of your family and an important part of your children’s lives. Whether this is your first time reading about what an Au pair is or you have vast experience hiring them, you will find in the following sections what they are, what they do, the benefits of hiring one and how you can hire an Au pair.
Au pairs are women and men usually aged under 30 who will go to another country to learn the language and culture, for example an Au Pair will choose England to learn English and learn about the British culture. They will have different backgrounds and bring different levels of childcare experience. Most Au pairs will have zero experience in childcare, which is why their salary is one of the lowest in childcare. Families that usually look to hire an Au pair will have children of school age. They will become part of the family and be a supportive hand to the parents, but they won’t have sole charge of the children, since they are not allowed to work more than 30 hours per week. We don’t recommend hiring Au pairs for babies, since they require special care.
Something that is important to take in consideration is that if you are looking to hire an Au pair, you will need to have enough space in your home to welcome them, and when we say enough space, we mean a private bedroom for the Au pair that they won’t share with the children, so they can have their privacy when they are not helping the family.
When they are not working, they will spend their spare time studying an English course or some other course of their choosing. Don’t forget that they are coming to the country to learn about it, so they will be willing to explore the area. Most of them will be happy to do babysitting for the family and go on holiday with them to help with the children; we recommend talking about this during the interview and hiring process, so both parties will know what to expect in the future.
The main tasks of the Au Pair will be looking after their children, as the concept is that the individual will become part of the family and will be an extra hand to help with the children; the family cannot expect them to do housekeeping chores more than those related to looking after the children, like tyding the children’s bedroom, playing areas, and taking care of the children’s laundry and ironing. If the family is looking for someone who will help with the house chores and will look after the children, we recommend that they hire a Nanny-Housekeeper. It’s important to talk with the Au pair about this arrangement, so you are both happy with the tasks.
An Au pair is the perfect person to teach your children a second language, as their mother tongue is usual a different language to English, but this doesn’t mean that you won’t find au pair nationals from Australia, New Zealand, United States or other countries where the first language is English, as English-speaking Au pairs also look for the experience of living abroad. You can find Au pairs that will speak the language that you would like to teach your children, like Spanish, French, German, Danish, Mandarin, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian and more. Their English skills may be limited and they will use their time with you (usually up to a year) to develop these further.
If you have children of school age, they will help you to get them ready in the morning, pick them up from school and prepare them for bedtime.
Deciding to hire an au pair will bring multiple benefits for your family. Not only will you be hiring someone for childcare, you will be getting someone who will become part of your family and an important figure for your children. One of the benefits is that Au pairs will happily adjust their time to the parents’ and children’s time; they will be flexible with their schedule when needed. Another important point is that they won’t be late for work, as they will be living with the family, so you don’t need to worry when you need to leave for an important meeting or you arrive home a couple of minutes late one day.
As we have mentioned, Au Pairs are an affordable assistance. We understand how busy it can be for parents juggling work, home chores and their children, so when you most need help and don’t have a high budget, an Au Pair is the best childcare option. The family will need to provide food and lodging and a wage of £150 to £200 per week.
Bringing an Au Pair into your home will enrich your children’s life with a different cultural experience; they will talk to and teach your children about their country’s culture, traditions, arts, how people behave in different life situations and more. While they are doing this, they can be talking with your children in their mother tongue, so if your family is from France or Russia for example, and you hire an Au Pair from one of these countries, they will teach them about this that, so your children will feel more connected to their parents’ homeland.
From the moment that you start your search for the perfect Au Pair, thousands of questions will come to your mind, like: how can I find an Au pair, where can I find one, are they safe? How can I know what they are saying is true? How much of my time do I need to spend during the day to find an Au Pair as soon as possible? It’s because of these questions and more that many families choose to contact an Agency to do the search for them.
Before starting the search, you will need a shortlist of what the Au Pair needs to have. You will also need to decide when you would like to do the interviews, as well as needing to think about getting the references and contacting them, checking visas and working permissions and the police check or DBS check are crucial at the moment of hiring any private staff.
Au pairs generally come from overseas, which can raise issues over visas and the right to work in the UK. Other issues to consider include the hours you would like the au pair to work each week (the maximum is usually 35) and how they will integrate into your household. There is also the matter of pay and holiday. An au pair is a live-in role, so you will need to consider the living arrangements, which should include a private bedroom and bathroom.
Here are just a few questions you might like to ask a potential au pair:
When it comes to au pair recruitment, you can go it alone or use the services of a specialist agency, like Little Ones. While recruiting directly gives you an element of control over the process and also some flexibility, it can be a daunting task. An agency can take the stress out of the process and also give you peace of mind, as they will carry out screening and interviewing, including a full background check. There will also be consultants on hand to answer any questions and resolve any concerns. In addition, the agency will often provide training for the au pair, so they can carry out their role more effectively.
With the Little Ones commitment, the team pride themselves on being able to delicately align premium, luxury services to those who put their confidence in them. Would you like to talk to one of our expert consultants? You can call us on 02071830309 or send us an email to enquiries@littleoneslondon.co.uk
