Fi Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 I hope this is he right forum for this...I have three children (8,6 & 5) and we live in the Vosges. My husband works away a lot and we are thinking of getting an au pair to act as an extra pair of hands with the children and some adult (ish) company for me.My only experience of au pair-ing was being one back in the 80's which was not the most positive experience of my life (how's that for diplomatic language?). At the time I was paid 200 francs a week - the job (aka endurance challenge) was found via my village's twin town association. Many red faces when I departed long before the end of the contract! A friend in The Hague pays her au pair 70 euros/week pocket money - would that seem to be around the going rate? Should my first port of call be The Lady, or can anyone recommend a good agency/website? I am aware of the need to double and triple check references, set the ground rules from the start, and be very clear about what is expected of the au-pair and what he/she expects from us. I would prefer an English speaker - I would be more than happpy to pay for Fench language classes if needed/wanted.If anyone has any experience of au pairs, and can offer any practical advice I would be eternally grateful (sorry, just been watching Toy Story!).Many thanks.Fi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odile Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Fench oui lessons fi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odile Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Sorry fi - only joking. Employing an au Pair needs lots of give and take! And it does change the chemistry of the family significantly. Very difficult to have a good argument - no more walking around in the buff, or having a quick fumble, etc. but it does give flexibility and companionship if spouse often away. would you prefer a girl or a boy? We had 3 Au Pairs when I was doing my Degree, started to teach- when 2 young children.I would say the most important thing is to make her role clear to the childrena) she is not a skivvy (eg not her job to pick up your dirty underpants, etcb) when she is in charge, what she says goes = no playing one against the otherc) I would say be fair - if she asks for the evening off to go to a party - don't ask her to stay at the last minute because YOU have been invited at short noticed) do you live in an isolated place? that might be a probleme) do make sure to introduce her to neighbours of the same age group f) with all 3, we had a mid-stay crisis - where we started to seriously get on each other's t...ts! Got on splendidly at the start, and splendidly again after crisi.We are still in regular contact with 2 of the girls who have remained excelllent friends. Bonne chance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegwini Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Our 18 yr old decided to have a 'gap year/travel year' and worked as an au pair in France, Jersey, & Majorca. Many web sites around - just google 'au pair' - the ones she used are below. 70 euros pw is a bit low - she earned betw. 90 euros- £150 pw, but she did have some child care training. These days homes using au pairs also have cleaners - the average mother struggles to get through the day with small children, and a teenager cannot be expected to do any better! An au pair is only supposed to work up to 30 hours including baby sitting, and only do light housework. Many cannot iron, cook or have much cleaning experience. It's not cheap option- it might seem so compared with the minimum wage rate, but remember that the au pair must be fed, and travel costs are often paid for by the family - eg the cost of getting to the family's home plus other costs, for example costs of taking her on holiday, bus fares etc. Most families have large homes - the au pair does need her own bedroom, and ideally a bathroom. Our daughter seemed to enjoy some of it, she travelled a bit, but is back home now - it's no longer as peaceful as when she was away! RegardsTegwinihttp://www.aupair-world.net/http://www.aupair.uk.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackyfrance Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Have a read of this. It's (of course) not as simple to employ an aupair in France. There are cotisations to be paid, you have to affiliate the aupair to URSSAF and pay for healthcare, etc, Seems there is also a salary scale you need to adhere to.http://www.urssaf.fr/profil/particuliers/employe_au_pair/vos_salaries_-_vos_cotisations/infos_pratiques_01.htmlWe had aupairs for years in the UK. Had one French one who was dreadful and many Czech and Slovakian ones who were fantastic.It does shift the whole balance of the household and it's not something I'd recommend if you live somewhere very isolated, you don't have self contained accommodation and pretty much everything else that has already been mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giantpanda Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Hi!Here more on the regulation side:http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F1692.xhtmlYours,giantpanda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegwini Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 It's often done 'on the black' - not legal I know, but not uncommon either. Saves on the social costs.Tegwini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richardbk Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 these regulations explicity exclude au pairs. the correct one is http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F15813.xhtml - the formalities are much less than described above.regsRichard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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