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Sometimes the normal 5 hours a day or 25 hours may not be
enough for a busy family with two working parents. Should this be
the case, for example in school holidays or even at other times,
you may wish to consider an AU PAIR PLUS. However
please note that an Au Pair Plus may not have sole charge of
children under the age of 2 years if both parents work outside
the home. Furthermore only limited sole charge
is permissable for children between the ages of 2 and 3 years.
If both parents go out to work, a Mothers Help or a Nanny is the
appropriate choice for younger children & babies. For
more details or to register for a Nanny or Mothers Help, please go
to www.millennium-nannies.co.uk or click on the blue Millennium
Nannies button on the bottom left hand side of this screen. This
age restriction does not apply to night time babysitting or to
mothers who are at home full time or are working part time from
home.
If you have older school age children but need a lot of help in the
house, we can also provide a LIVE IN HOUSEKEEPER
able to take care of your domestic needs and to supervise school
children out of school hours. For details or to register for a
housekeeper, please go to click on the blue Millennium Nannies
buttom on the bottom left hand side of the screen.
An Au Pair Plus is normally a single person, male or female, aged
17 years or more, who comes to the UK as part of a language and
cultural exchange programme. This means that they undertake to live
with a UK-based family for an agreed period of 3-24 months and to
help them with their children and light household chores for around
26-35 hours per week. While an Au Pair Plus can work more than a
normal au pair, the hours should be kept to maximum of 30-32 per
week during term time where possible, to enable the au pair plus to
attend language classes. A 35 hour week should ideally only be
expected where this is unavoidable or in school
holidays.
An Au Pair Plus working up to 30 hours a week must receive full
board and lodging, including their own room for their exclusive
use, and weekly pocket money of at least £80 a week outside London
(£90 per week if you live in London). An Au Pair Plus working up to
35 hours a week should receive at least £85-90 in weekly pocket
money (£90 to £100 if you live in London). Good quality vetted au
pairs are very sought after, so it is worth being generous and also
considering making a contribution towards the cost of language
classes or towards their air fare to the UK. Extra pocket money
should always be paid in school holidays if the hours occasionally
exceed 35 during those times.
An Au Pair Plus should have two days completely free from
daytime work, ideally the weekends. However if the host mother or
father have jobs which involve weekend work, it is possible for the
Au Pair's day or days off to be given during the week, subject to
prior agreement. In addition to daytime working hours, week night
babysitting on up to 2 nights per week is accepted at no
further cost to the hosts, provided advance warning is given. Any
extra babysitting should be paid extra. However weekend babysitting
should be paid extra and/or by prior agreement & not too
frequent as otherwise your Au Pair may soon feel that she is
missing out on weekend social events and activities among other au
pairs.
EU/UK Working Time Regulations also apply to all au pairs living
and working in the UK. We therefore recommend that Au
Pairs be given the statutory minimum holiday entitlement of 20 days
paid holiday per year (1.66 days per month) plus 8 paid bank
holidays on a pro rata basis. Bear in mind that if your au
pair is only staying 6 months the entitlement will be halved
and if she is only staying 3 months only a quarter of it will apply
etc If your au pair is not staying or has not stayed a full
year enter her start date and weekly hours worked
into the calculator on the following link to work out exactly
how many days' paid holiday are due:
The amount of pocket money the au pair will receive for
paid holidays will be the amount that they would normally be paid
for those weeks.
Regarding UK bank holidays, if you require the au pair to work
on a bank holiday because both parents have to go to work
themselves, another day's paid holiday must be given in lieu to
compensate for this.
If an au pair has not taken all her paid holiday entitlement
by her last day with your family, payment for this must be
added to an au pair's final pocket money. In other words, if an au
pair has been unable to take all her paid holiday entitlement the
correct amount of extra pocket money must be given in lieu of this
untaken holiday on her last day of work with your family.
As the host family you must inform your au pair of how much
paid holiday she will be entitled to and specify the
times that would be most convenient for her to take holiday and any
times when it will not be convenient for her to do so.
Holiday times must be mutually agreed in advance by the host
family and the au pair. However an au pair cannot be compelled to
take her paid holiday at the same time as the host family if for
some reason is it not possible or convenient for her to do so.
Pocket money must be paid in full should the family take a holiday
and not require the services of the au pair during that period. An
au pair cannot be obliged to go home at her own expense &/or
without pay or to take unpaid holiday while the host family is
away. If the au pair is left to mind the family home
additional money should also be made available for the purchase of
food.
If a host family wishes to take an au pair on holiday with
them, it must be decided in advance if it is a holiday for the au
pair as well or if she will be working eg looking after the
children, babysitting or doing housework in the holiday home.
Families are advised to keep a holiday sheet showing the dates
of any paid holiday taken and with the au pair's signature.
The size of the room provided for the Au Pair does not matter,
provided it is pleasantly decorated and large enough to accommodate
a single bed, wardrobe and adequate storage space (if need be one
can use space-saving furniture, such as drawers built in under the
bed etc). There should also be a few book shelves. A television is
optional but you should provide a radio & CD/cassette player.
If possible a small desk and chair are helpful.
It is important to remember that this is not an Employer-employee
relationship, but a cultural and language exchange based on mutual
goodwill and respect. Building a good relationship is not always as
straightforward as it sounds and the Agency is available to give
advice and support when needed. At the outset, there is a month's
trial period for the Au Pair Plus and the new host family to get
used to living together and we always ask that you use this trial
period fully. We are able to give advice and support during this
time as required. In the event of the relationship breaking down
completely, two weeks notice will be required by each party. This
will give the Agency time to find you a new Au Pair and to relocate
your Au Pair to a new host family.
Your Au Pair Plus will need to attend English as a Foreign Language
(EFL) classes for on average 2-4 hours per week. For details of
these please contact your local Education Department or ask at your
nearest library. Most adult education centres offer part time EFL
classes as do many local colleges and private language
institutions.
Normal Au Pair Plus duties include childcare, preparing light meals
for the children, tidying, washing and ironing, light housework
such as dusting, sweeping/mopping and vacuuming, cleaning the
kitchen or bathroom. Jobs which are not considered routine
light housework include wiping down skirting boards and paintwork,
polishing brass or silver etc If your Au Pair will be expected to
do more than 2 hours cleaning a day, then it is important that you
make this clear at the outset, to make sure that he or she is happy
to do the amount required. Traditionally the Au Pair's work is at
least 50% child related, so any variation on this needs to be
discussed and agreed in advance. If she will be the only person
doing most of the weekly housework, or if the job involves little
or no childcare, both the Agency and the Au Pair Plus should be
told this in advance. Au Pairs should not be asked to mow the lawn,
do gardening, clean cars either inside or out or to clean outside
windows, except by prior agreement. Some male Au Pairs may be
willing to undertake such tasks instead of doing indoor housework.
An Au Pair Plus must not be asked to clean any place of business or
any home other than the host family's.
Driving should only be
asked of an Au Pair if strictly necessary and should not be
commenced until at least the third week of the au pair’s stay to
allow time for her to settle in and adjust to her surroundings
beforehand. The process should never be rushed as girls can go to
pieces when pressured into driving too quickly. Also driving
standards vary a good deal between countries so plenty of practice
must be given in opposite side of the road driving and formal
driving lessons provided as required. There is always a shortage of
confident female au pair drivers over the age of 21. This is
because in
Eastern
Europe few girls in this age group drive regularly. Many western
European candidates are only 19 or 20 years old, though many have
their own cars and drive every day
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and many
others. However, people often do not see that there is so much more
to these points. More importantly, 
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