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| au pair rates of pay * working hours * aupairing conditions * au-pair * aupairing * money |
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Au pair conditions in France, Britain, Spain and Germany (and indeed, the rest of the European Union) are fairly similar. Indeed, many EU countries have signed the EUROPEAN AGREEMENT ON AU PAIR PLACEMENT which states that the au pair shall:
- Receive BOARD & LODGING from the receiving family and, where possible, shall OCCUPY A SEPARATE ROOM.
- Be given adequate TIME TO ATTEND LANGUAGE COURSES.
- Have at least ONE FULL FREE DAY PER WEEK, not less than one such free day in every month being a Sunday, and shall have full opportunity to take part in religious worship.
- Receive a certain sum of money, as POCKET MONEY, the amount of which and the intervals at which it is paid shall be determined by the agreement signed by the family & the au pair.
In exchange, the au pair is expected to:
- Work about 5 HOURS PER DAY, looking after the CHILDREN and doing LIGHT HOUSEWORK.
- BABY-SIT in the evening ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK.
'Pocket money' rates are around £65 per week in the UK, and between 50 to 75 euros a week in eurozone countries (amounts vary per country and per hours worked).
In general the posts are only open to young girls, aged between 17 to 30 years old (for non-European citizens, the age range is often 17-25yrs). Some families will accept males as au pairs, particularly if their children are all boys, but there tend to be less available positions.
Most au pair placements tend to be for a minimum of 6 months, although some au pair agencies do offer shorter placements during the summer months.
VISAS
Britain, France, Spain and Germany accept au pairs from all EU (European Union) states, plus a range of other European countries, WITHOUT A VISA. If you are not from the EU, check with your au pair agency first, as you might need to apply for a special visa BEFORE leaving your country.
PLEASE NOTE: Britain only accepts au pairs from a limited range of countries:
EU/EEA: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic,Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Faroes, The Netherlands.
Also: Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan under the 'Youth Mobility Scheme Tier 5' programme.
However, NATIONALS OF COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES can come to the UK as NANNIES OR MOTHER'S HELPS. These posts involve longer hours, more responsibilities and childcare experience / training. If you are interested in these type of posts, DON'T use our on-line application forms, but apply to agencies directly.
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When contacting an agency, you should tell them:
- Your name
- Address
- Nationality
- Age
- Sex
- Language level of your chosen country (eg. fluent, good, average, poor).
- Details of your experience with children (have you done baby-sitting, do you have younger brothers and sisters, etc)
- Area in which you would like to live
- When you want to start your au pair work
- How long you intend to stay (most families want someone for a full academic year)
If contacting agencies by post, you should also supply an INTERNATIONAL REPLY PAID COUPON (available from the post office) so that they can send you full details and an application form.
Alternatively, you can complete our on-line registration form, which will be sent to a range of au pair agencies. They will then contact you if they can be of help.
Au Pair Centre Home
Europa Pages: Language and Travel Home
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