Au-pairs
How we workPeek-a-boo always have very good au-pairs available. We select au-pairs based on their suitability for childcare, management of light household duties and flexibility to fit into family life in the selection. We take up references and ask candidates to provide a medical clearance.
Nature of the program
The au pair program is a cultural exchange program and not a contract or work. Au pairs must be welcomed as a member of the family.
Peek-a-boo are proud member of BAPAA and IAPA and are strictly following the guidelines of these two associations.
A typical au-pair is a female or male carer who is
between 18 - 27 who has got a genuine interest in children and has got a bit
of childcare experience. She/he will at least have finished compulsory education
and has a desire to go overseas to experience a new culture and learn a foreign
language and to experience a new culture. An au pair should be treated as
part of the family. The idea is for them to stay and work for you in exchange
for a pocket salary, room and board. They will in general stay for 3 - 12
months. For legal info on the UK au-pair programme please refer to: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename
=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1018721068281
We have girls from Sweden, Finland, Romania, Germany, France, Turkey, Poland
and Slovakia and various other EU countries.
The Procedure:
1. You will be sent information, registration form and terms and conditions
by email/post.
2. In order to proceed you will need to complete the registration form and
email/post or fax it back to us. You also need to pay us the £50+VAT
registration fee. That can be paid over the phone with a card, as a cheque
or via BACS. As soon as we have received the fee we will start our search
for suitable Aupairs for you.
3. Within a few days (usually a lot quicker) you will be sent, by email (preferably)
or by post, suitable files. Depending on availability and your requirements,
you will be sent up to 5 files. Sometimes a bit less and sometimes more.
4. After reading through the files, and providing you have been offered more
than one, you will be asked to indicate your first and second choice. You
may wish to discuss this and ask any advice before making your choice.
5. Your family details supplied in the Registration Form will then be emailed
to the Au Pair's Agency and you will be `introduced` to your prospective au
pair. We prefer it if you have also send us a letter for the aupair and some
family photos.
6. A phone call will be arranged to take place between you and the Au Pair
of your choice (probably the same day or the following day) and you will be
given clear instructions and when to call. See below for questions to ask.
7. After the phone call and providing all is ok the placement will be finalised.
At this stage you'll be issued an invoice and as soon as we have received
the payment from you, the Aupair will be taken off the market and he or she
can book her flight. You will probably want to keep in contact (either by
email, text or phone) with your new Au Pair to get to know him/her better
until the time of arrival.
8. You will sometimes be asked to complete some simple paperwork (with help
if required!)
9. We will make the necessary arrangements for your Au Pair's travel to the
UK, either by plane or by coach. Sometimes the au-pairs will do this themselves
but either way you'll be inform by us. You may be asked to book a coach from
London to your nearest coach station.
10. You will meet your Au Pair at your local coach station or nearest airport!
If you are unable to them you must book a taxi for the au-pair and inform
the agency and the au-pair of these arrangements
11. You will receive the confirmation papers from us and the au-pair will
get a welcome pack.
Choosing an au-pair
When choosing your au pair, please take into consideration that, realistically,
ALL your requirements may not be suitably met. It is much better, in our opinion,
to view the au pair file as a whole, rather than pick up on one or more negative
points.
Any issues of concern can be raised with us and when these issues have been
explored, a decision can be made as to whether the au pair would be suitable
for your family.
Au pairs frequently answer `No`...to questions such as..` Will you accept
a family of a different nationality? `Will you accept a single parent family?`
`Will you accept other locations other than London and surroundings?` ` Will
you accept a family who has a child with special needs?` ...but when family
details are shown to the Au Pairs...they usually tell their agent that if
the family is friendly and welcoming ...then the above issues are not so important
to them. Similarly, au pairs do not always tick ALL household chores. Au Pairs
are clearly told that they will be expected to do light housework...so if
some of the boxes are not ticked, the au pairs will probably need more guidance
and instruction on how to do these particular chores.
Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss any areas of concern you may
find when reading your au pair files. The file(s) which have been sent to
you, may have been sent to other families, not by us but potential other agencies
that the au-pair is register with. Therefore it is advisable to contact the
agency as soon as possible and reserve your au pair.
The interview
Whether the interview is over the phone or in person, the most important thing
is to get the knowledge that this au-pair is someone you can work with and
that she is someone that you will be able to trust with your children. We
have set out some guidelines of what to ask here.
We have set out some guidelines of what to ask here.
- Ask about the children and families they have worked with before and ask them to tell you about good and bad situations she has experienced.
- Is there a boyfriend?
- What are their hobbies and what do they do on their spare time?
- Ask her exactly how they see the job. Ask how important independence is to the au-pair.
- Will she/he expect to be left in sole charge of the children including putting them to bed?
- Ask about their education and what it involved and how they enjoyed it?
- What are their future plans?
- It is important that you and the au-pair have discussed your detailed requirements.
- What exactly will their duties be?
- Will there be any housework involved?
- What are the hours of work?
- Make sure you discuss pay.
- Will the au-pair be driving the family car?
- Will she/he want to have friends visiting?
- Tell the au-pair about the accommodation, the area you live in, language schools and things to do in and around the house.
Letter of invitation
Once we have found you a potential candidate, you need to provide them with
a letter of invitation. You can also just speak on the phone but we recommend
you write a letter so the candidates can take their time to get a better idea
of who you are. Describe your house, the au-pairs accommodation, your hobbies
and the area you live in. Make sure you outline duties, hours of work and
salary. Everything should be as clear as possible in order to avoid disputes
later on. This letter is probably the most important part of the hiring process
because most candidates make their final decisions after reading it. Therefore
it is important that you introduce your family in the nicest and most accurate
way possible. We appreciate if you can send us this letter along with the
registration form and a photograph.
Travel arrangements
Au-pairs normally pay their own return fare to Britain and are asked to inform
the family about travelling arrangements. In some cases the family will pay
the return flight if the au-pair stays the full agreed time. Just make sure
this is made clear in advance. Wherever possible, we strongly recommend that
the family meet the au-pair at the airport or station. Whilst in most cases
arrangements will be made directly with the family, the Agency will be happy
to liaise to ensure no confusion.
After arrival
The initial settling-in period is a very important time both for the family
and the au-pair. Welcome the au-pair into your family and treat her/him as
part of the family to make the au-pair feel at home and comfortable on arrival.
In order to make a happy and safe environment for everyone in the family,
be straightforward about the house rules and give clear instructions about
what to do. Give the au-pair a little time to settle into his/her new way
of life and for the family to get used to having a stranger in their home.
A little patience and understanding is required by both the au-pair and the
family. It might be an idea to put everything down in writing although we
do not suggest a contract with the au-pair since she/he should be more looked
upon as a family member rather than an employee. Make sure that you outline
the duties and house rules, such as use of telephone, internet, and be clear
about friends staying with them during their stay.
The notice period if you wish to release your au-pair is 2 weeks unless otherwise
agreed. Should you wish to let the au-pair go without any notice you must
make sure the au-pair is safe and has somewhere to go plus pay her/him for
2 weeks.
We host 1 day au-pair courses for new and old au-pairs. It is a good
idea to send your au-pair off to this course. They are designed for
non native English speakers. They include: child health and safety, hygiene,
CPR, choking, drowning, bleeding, burns, meningitis, head injuries, poisoning,
999 emergency calls etc.
This link to English classes across the UK is excellent http://www.englishuk.com
At Peek-a-boo we believe that a happy au-pair makes a happy family
!!
We believe that friendship and patience help overcome homesickness. The last
thing a family with young children wants to do is to start worrying about
their au-pair’s social life – after all, the au-pair is coming
to help the family, not to create more work. Therefore Peek-a-boo invites
all au-pairs based in London for meetings in town on a regular basis. Here
they can meet other new arrivals and girls who have been here for a longer
period. They will be given advice about settling in and ask any questions
but mainly just have a relaxing and good time. These meetings have proved
very successful and we strongly recommend that families make arrangements
so that the new au-pair can attend. We also send out a welcome pack to the
au-pair with phone numbers to other au-pair in your area. Peek-a-boo childcare
is building up a stronger network of au-pairs around the UK and this has been
proved most helpful, particularly during the settling-in period.
Au-pair accommodation
All au-pairs must be provided with their own room and full board. It will
undoubtedly be appreciated if their room is regarded as private (e.g. from
intrusions by children), and is equipped with a desk or table where they can
work. If you do not already have one spare, a small second-hand television
set is an inexpensive luxury to provide in the room. It gives the au-pair
the freedom to choose more understandable programmes than the family might
perhaps watch.
Driving au-pairs
If it is essential that the au-pair should drive your car, please remember
that they are unlikely to be experienced drivers. You are advised to pay for
some lessons with your local driving school, preferably in your car, to ensure
that she/he is fully acquainted with driving on the left and with the British
Highway Code. You must insure your car fully for her use, and you cannot expect
an au-pair to pay for any damage done. Petrol must be provided for use on
duty, but the au-pair might pay for petrol for personal use whilst off duty.
The admission on an application form that the au-pair has a driving licence
does not guarantee her suitability to drive in England.
Studies
We specialize in Scandinavian au-pairs who will have a very good level of
English before they arrive, still a lot of au-pairs wish to take English Classes
to improve their language, many with the aim of taking the Cambridge First
Certificate, Advanced or Proficiency exams. Many families like to make a small
(or big) contribution towards the cost of classes (fees are normally payable
at the beginning of each term). It is helpful if you can make enquiries at
your local Tech/FE College/University before your au-pair arrives - this is
particularly important if you live in or near London, where language classes
tend to be oversubscribed. For more information about courses and fees of
language schools in your area, see Useful
links.
Holidays
For each 6 months stay with a family, the au-pair is entitled to 1 week paid
holiday. Most our families give them more time off than this.
If asked to go on a holiday with a family at any point of stay, and the au-pair
refuses, family doesn't have to pay an au-pair for the time being away. If
the au-pair goes with the family, the family has to pay.
If the family doesn't invite au-pair for a holiday, they have to pay her/him
(regardless if au-pair stays in the house or not, i.e takes a holiday her/himself)
Au-pairs often appreciate the chance to return home for one week at Christmas
or New Year. Au-pairs should also have all Public Holidays off unless otherwise
agreed and compensated.
Insurance, health and safety
Make sure to register the au-pair with the family’s doctor. Most au-pairs
are able to use the National Health Service in case of accident or illness.
Au-pairs from outside the EEC must ask their home country if separate medical
insurance is required before coming to the UK. Also, make sure that you give
your telephone numbers where you can be contacted in case of emergency. Make
sure that your au-pair knows how to contact police, fire and ambulance.
The family has the right to dismiss an au pair who behaves incorrectly. The
agency will provide support for both family and au-pair throughout the stay
and try and assist in case of any misunderstandings.
Agreement family/Au-pair
We suggest you draw up an au-pair agreement, this agreement will be provided
by us.
Tax and National Insurance
If you employ an au-pair in the UK and pay her/him more than £105 per
week (tax year 2007/2008), you are required by law to register straightaway
as an employer with the Inland Revenue and operate a PAYE scheme.
We are proud members of:
Feel free to Contact us
Telephone: 0207 600 9880
