In the globalized era in which we are living, many families need to move from one part of the world to another a couple of times a year in order to fit their business agenda with their families. These families will try to keep the same routine for their little ones, like making their education as easy as possible, which is why they will look for a child carer who knows the curriculum of their children and is happy to travel with them. The other type of families that would look for an international nanny or au pair are those who want to hire a foreign nanny to give their children a fuller experience of knowing the culture of a region without living there.
International Nannies are qualified and experienced childcarers who take professional care of children from countries outside the UK. They are also called overseas nannies and they provide valuable help for families who would like only the best for their children. International nannies are often bilingual or multilingual which is one of the main factors why they are a common preference. Most of our candidates speak French, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Japanese, Arabic, Dutch, Swedish, Tagalog and English – secondary or at a native level.
Hailed from the French word that means "to par" or "to equal," au pairs not only provide a household with additional assistance, but also a breath of new culture. The au pair program is also treated as a cultural exchange in some setups, where both the host family and the au pair are given a chance to observe and learn from the culture of the other.
Mostly under 30 years of age, au pairs are young spirited individuals you'll lean on, whether it's for chores, childcare, or other activities. Unlike other domestic personnel, au pairs are regarded as an extended member of the family. And they will treat your home as theirs, reciprocally, and make sure to present it with the same respect you offer to your space.
Some families won’t be sure which option is the best for their children, below you will find 5 things to keep in mind when making a decision which route to take.
The first thing you need to take in consideration is the hours that you need that nanny or au pair to work. Some families will only need a couple of hours per day, while others will need someone to help them from morning till evening. An Au Pair cannot work more than 30 hours per week, while the nanny can work more than 30 hours per week. International nannies can be available in a full-time or part-time, live-in or live-out, temporary or permanent position. They normally work 10 to 12 hours per day, 5 to 6 days per week. An international nanny on a Rota basis or a 24-hour shift may also be available given a higher salary.
Those families that are looking to hire an international nanny need someone who is flexible; most of the time, these families will have extremely busy agendas, so they need a nanny with whom they can trust their children and on whom they can rely while they are in business meetings or away from home. A nanny who is not fussy about starting work earlier or finishing work later than usual on the odd day will be important. International nannies will give more than 100% to the families for whom they are working; they know that they are working with families that need this aptitude from them. Most of them will be on call 24/7 for any emergency.
Most often, international nannies have extensive childcare qualifications and experience. These qualifications may be related to teaching or nursery background and medical or paediatric first aid training as well as OFSTED registration or Early Childhood Education. International nannies commonly have clean criminal records checks or well-known DBS check and UK/EU passport. These are consistently asked for by the parents to have a piece of mind that their children will be safe and take care of.
The first reason that families search for an international nanny or au pair is because of their native language; many families want their children to learn to speak a specific language from a native speaker, so the best way to do this is to hire an international nanny. Families around the world will hire nannies from the United States of America, United Kingdom or Australia if they want their children to learn English if they live in the middle east for example, or families will hire a nanny who speaks French or Spanish if the country that they are residing in has a different language.
Au pairs are childcare much more affordable than Nannies. An Au pair average salary is between £150 to £200 per week, while nannies can charge the family from £11 to £15 per hour if they are live-out and if they are live-in the average salary will be £300 to £600 per week depending on the experience and if you are looking to hire someone in United Kingdom, if you are looking to hire someone to work outside of the UK the salary average is between £700 to £1500 net per week depending in the experience and the family needs.
There’s a huge advantage when families get a nanny on a long-term basis. Since your children will spend most of their time with the nanny, a warm and familiar bond will develop, allowing your children to establish a friendship.
Parents will also benefit from long-term commitment. Getting used to someone means you’ll be capable of trusting them with your little ones as they attend to your children’s needs. When you keep changing nannies, there’s a chance that the children might not be at ease with every nanny that will come along, longing for the one that they once cherished. It might also be hard for them to be complacent knowing that one day, their nanny will be replaced.
Therefore, it is always promising to look for an international nanny who will be willing for a lifelong relationship. In this matter, an international nanny will be happy to complete a standard contract of 2 years but they will definitely stay as long as they are treated fairly and with respect.
An Au pair, on the other hand, will stay with the family for around 6 months to 1 year. Don’t forget that Au pairs are usually students or young ladies looking to have the experience of living abroad for a short period of time.
In the case that the international nanny works on a live-in role or if you are thinking to hire an au pair, the family will provide accommodation, either their own room in the family residence or a separate accommodation, as long as the nanny could enjoy privacy during their time off. The employers will be the one to arrange this including the nanny’s food and ideally their local cab expenses. This setup will allow a deeper relationship between the nanny and the family which will be an advantage for both parties.
Now that you have considered the advantages of hiring an international nanny or au pair, the only thing left to worry about is where and how you will find the best candidates. Manual searches will be challenging, especially since the nanny can come from different parts of the world. The easiest and most practical option will be to rely upon an established agency, who can assist you all the way during the employment process. Trusting an agency will save you from wasting too much time finding and interviewing candidates that you might think are perfect for the role, only to find that they are no longer available or out of your budget.
One of the leading international nanny agencies in the UK is Little Ones, which has been successfully running for more than 15 years. Little Ones offers premium childcare and housekeeping services, including international nannies throughout London, the UK, Europe, Russia, Middle East and Asian countries. The company is composed of expert recruitment consultants who devote their time to helping families at the highest standard.
Little Ones has an outstanding reputation for placing child-carers and domestic staff in full-time and part-time, live-in and live-out, temporary and permanent positions. The prominence is due to their thorough vetting and hiring procedure, which screens only the finest candidates. Their work also involves taking care of all the paperwork and complex processes to prevent the family from stressing over the employment. Everything is made easy for the families, which is why the company promises comfort and convenience during their nanny search.
The company’s policy of an extremely strict vetting procedure ensures that every family that we help will be employing trustworthy and qualified candidates, who will agree to your demands and offered salary. Aside from international nannies, Little Ones provides local nannies, housekeepers, nanny-housekeepers, au pairs and private staff, such as tutors, butlers, house managers, chef, handyman, domestic couples, executive assistants, and chauffeurs.
With Little Ones’ excellence and commitment, the team pride themselves on being able to delicately align prime, luxury services to those who put their trust in them. Would you like to talk with one of our expert consultants? You can call us on 02071830309 or send us an email at enquiries@littleoneslondon.co.uk
