Au Pair and Nanny - Placements in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and around Australia
STANDARD AU PAIR AND NANNY CONDITIONS:
PLACEMENT PERIODS:
The placement period for au pairs and nannies usually ranges from 4 to 10 months, depending on the season.
The most common Au Pair placement is 6 to 9 months.
There are usually plenty of families all year round for au pairs and nannies wanting to come to Australia
WORKING HOURS:
As families and au pairs are dynamic they have varying situations and requirements. Au pair and nanny working hours should therefore be discussed and agreed between the family and the au pair at the outset of the relationship. You should be prepared for these to change throughout your stay as children's routines change due to age, activities or parents work arrangements. You will also commonly find that during school holidays you may be required to work more hours or potentially have time off if the family goes away. Sometimes you will be invited to join them on holidays and the expectations should be agreed before you leave to go on holidays.
The hours need to be flexible to accommodate changing requirements of the family but the hours should be discussed and agreed with you.
The following examples may assist you;
• Average hours worked per week: 30- 45hrs
• School aged children: May include split shift of 7-9.30 am getting children up, fed and ready/delivered to school
• Younger children: Work hours will depend on the individual family situation e.g. Parent working part-time or having exercise plans on set days or social get togethers, coffee or playdates) OR daycare being scheduled on set days. The hours required, will fit around these, some days may be long days of care for you (8-12hrs) or other days of short stints (7-10am and 2-7pm). As long as the total hours are as agreed approximately in your letter of offer or prior agreements
• Whatever the routine implemented it should be revisited to ensure all parties, including the children are coping after a few weeks of introducing the routine. It can also be adapted as the year unfolds and circumstances may change e.g. Playgroup changes to Pre-school, activities introduced like Sport or music or dance
• Babysitting: Should be negotiated and agreed to suit both the family, and au pair/ nanny. Friday or Saturday nights should be on a casual basis not consistently every week e.g. One night every second weekend if agreed is ok. We believe it is very important that the Au-Pair should have free time both on weekends and during the week day evenings. Two consecutive and complete days off per week need to be arranged and this should preferably be the weekend or at least one day of the weekend. This allows the au pair / nanny time to make new friends and experience the Australian social scene which is important for a mutually positive experience.
• As au pairs or nannies you should be encouraged to support existing hobbies or sports by seeking the opportunity to join a team or group with similar interests, this promotes a fantastic opportunity to meet friends who are local and can substantially enhance the Australian experience. This again needs to be worked into an agreed schedule.
As Au Pairs you should not be expected to be a qualified childcare worker and should not be placed in the position of primary carer for babies <12 months or unsupervised for extended periods of time on an ongoing basis or unless you are comfortable and have agreed. The longer you are with the family allows the maturity of the relationships and understanding and management of the children to grow substantially - you may find that expectations may be lifted and additional responsibilities possible as a result. This is normal in any job as you become better and more confident in the role.
PAY RATES
AU PAIR
$7 - $9 per hour – this is directly related to the number of children and level of responsibility. Au pairs cannot be placed with families who are unable to guarantee the minimum payment of $7/ hour and a minimum of 20 hours per week. The most common placements are 30 hours work per week approx $210- 270 or 35 hours approx $245- $315.
NANNY
The rates for a qualified live-in overseas nanny range between $10 - $12 per hour, depending on age and experience but this is also negotiable. Qualified nannies are often happy to work 40+ hours a week and can look after babies younger than 12mths for extended days.
AU PAIR PAYMENT SCHEDULE:
A regular day of the week should be set for your Au-Pair pay for the week to be paid, a Friday would be ideal but this is negotiable between the two parties. This can be cash or a direct deposit into your bank account.
Direct deposit is the ideal option as it is the most secure means for your savings.
Please budget your money well, it is not appropriate to ask for your pay in advance of the agreed pay day.
ACCOMMODATION:
You must be provided with your own bedroom and should be invited to share all common living areas of the house with the family. Sometimes families provide you with your own living areas e.g. self contained apartment, but you should still be invited into the home for meal provision and to be a part of your family. Amenities such as TV, stereo, DVD and computer access are sometimes provided to allow you your private space and entertainment after work but these are not a requirement.
All utilities and meals are provided for you the au pair free of charge. Personal long distance phone calls are your responsibility, the exception being a quick call to your significant other should be offered on arrival. Guidelines on incoming calls on the family’s home phone should be agreed. A family does not want the phone tied up for hours of an evening with you talking on the phone. Skyping and emailing with your family is usually the option to stay in touch with your loved ones.Provision of your bedroom which has a door and space for time out is critical to ensure the au pair receives a break away from you work environment. You should be welcome to also join in time with the family or children when you are not working or paid. This should be seen as simply spending time with your family. In the beginning more time should be spent with the family to assist in speeding up the bonds and relationship development which will help you in the placement, as time goes on you may choose to decrease this a little when bonds are already matured.
Meal times are a good opportunity to share time and build relationships without much effort. You are a long way from home and to be included in on meals is proven to be a key success factor even it is not possible every night, 3-4 times a week would also be beneficial. It is not necessary for the family to cook for you on days off but provisions should be available for you to prepare your own food. Celebrations such as birthdays etc are also a good opportunity to share experiences. These are optional and will vary from family to family.
Sweets and special treats are not included in the “board” for the au pair. Additional treats should be purchased by you. It is often wise to communicate up front likes or dislikes or allergies for particular foods. You should also communicate what type of cereal for breakfast you likes, if you drink tea or coffee etc so some of these can be included in the grocery shopping. Remember to try the Australian alternatives for breakfast as we do have a different approach to meals than many European Countries for example. Try and keep an open mind.
SUPPORT SUMMARY:
• Pre-placement matching
• Support throughout the life of the placement
• Support and networking opportunities with foreign peers
• Agency contacts for duration of the placement
TRAVEL/AIRFARES
The cost of airfares to the host country is the responsibility of the Au-Pair.
MEDICAL INSURANCE
Medical insurance for the au pair is arranged by the au pair using their existing health insurer. Their European agency can guide them on how to do this. If you have any requests or queries on how to do this then you should contact your agency. This should always be arranged and be in place BEFORE you travel.
DRIVING
Your family may or may not provide formal driving lessons with an instructor when you arrive. You should ensure you have practice driving with one of the host parents at a minimum BEFORE you drive the children. You are responsible to make sure you arrange your driving licence which can be used here, e.g. An International drivers licence
Use of the car unless agreed otherwise with you, should be restricted to work related driving e.g. Pick up and drop of children to and from school, daycare, activities and sport OR running to shops for you or the post office etc.
You should never assume to use the family car for your use during time off nor should you ask the family to pick you up from places unless they happen to be going to the place at the time you needed a lift. Public transport is how you need to get around and this includes when you go out in the evenings or on weekends.
FREE TIME
Au pairs are free to do as they please during their time off work. So long as you are back to start work at the designated and agreed time tyou can do as you choose. If you are required to “stay locally” or be available then this is considered work conditions and you should be paid for these hours. All agreements need to be discussed and clearly understood.
It is reasonable to expect however that au pairs are home by a reasonable time the night before they have morning work hours. E.g. Sunday nights it is reasonable for you to expect them in by 10pm (approx) to ensure they are not tired for working with your children.
INTERNET
Be aware that internet usage is particularly cheap in Europe but this is not the case in Australia. The "plans" here are usage base and not flat fee regardless of the usage levels. This will therefore influence how you can use the internet. It is important to understand the plan your family are on and the usage restrictions. You should be accommodated in your plan to ensure you can use face book, email and search the internet “world” but remember that downloads such as movies and tv shows viewed on the internet are not ok with a usage based model – these two particular actions usually have a large impact on the family usage allowance. You really need to clarify your families plans and the impact this has on you as a user.
COMMUNICATION
As with all effective relationships, work environments and outcomes, the key to success in all of these is communication. It is critical to ensure regular open communication channels are set up from the start of the placement. – week 1.
“Coffee and a chat” – this is the most successful and effective tool you can utilise to ensure everyone is happy and working together well. If you set up 15mins a week where the host mother and au pair sit and have a coffee (tea, water, juice anything!) together at the same time where they cover such topics as
1. What is working well? - For you and for the parents or children?
2. What is proving to be difficult? For you, parents or children. Identifying solutions for this
3. What help do you think you need or that the host mum can offer to help you with a certain situation or routine?
4. Tips and tricks for managing certain situations can be exchanged
e.g. Children leaving the table before they finish their meals etc
5. What is not working well for you or for the parents or children? How can this be changed?
It is less confronting to meet regularly than have someone “ask to talk to you about something” – this immediately puts people on guard and something minor may get blown out of proportion. It is good for both the parents and the au pair to know they have a “forum” to raise things. This really does stop things building up into mountains before they are discussed.
This is the number one step to achieving a harmonious placement in all my experiences.
The outcomes and benefits of these “coffee chats” have repeatedly proven to be key especially in the first few months. After this then the natural communications happen between you anyway and the scheduled coffee may or may not be moved to less frequent.
The host parents are the first level of support for you, all issues you have should be shared with them to help solve the problem.
They know the children more than anyone both good and bad traits, so they are best equipped to help you work through your problems.
QUESTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
Both you and the family can call us or email with us at any time. This may be just to get advice, clarify arrangements, confirm what is acceptable, discuss something that may be of concern or you are curious about. We speak to our host families often and particularly during the settling in of the au pair. Many of our families are on the 5 or 6 placements so they will be use to helping you settle in. Be sure to question or ask again if you do not understand the instruction or routine, it is better to ask than pretend you understood when really you did not.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
AU PAIR AND NANNY INTRODUCTION CONFIDENTIALITY
All au pairs and nannies are introduced to the family in confidentiality and their details should not be shared with any other contact or company.
Likewise the family information shared with you and the priviledge of living in someone's home should not be discussed, put on face book or shared without the family's agreement.
LIABILITY
El Viaje works with only reputable partners and ensures all available data on families is provided to the au pair or nanny. A base standard of information including credentials, personal details are provided and can be verified by au pairs or nannies. The Department of Immigration is responsible to ensure the suitability of au pairs and nannies for visa eligibility and all available data is provided hence El Viaje cannot take any responsibility beyond the provision of the data and candidates must receive the appropriate visa approval.
El Viaje accepts no liability for any damage, compensation, loss or any other claim resulting from the employment of the au pair or nanny introduced or placed by us.
PLACEMENT CONDITIONS
Please be advised there are no trial periods.
The Pre-placement communication process is the period to work out if the placement is conducive to you.
You have spent a lot of money to facilitate the placement such as flights, visas, application fees, licences, medical check ups, health care etc etc. You need to be confident that the family are happy to receive you and work hard with them to make the placement a success.
Remember you have signed a letter of offer, the family have welcomed you into the home and it is now your responsibility to adapt and work with the family for the agreed period. Keep an open mind and work hard to create a happy work and home place for yourself.
WHEN THINGS ARE NOT AS EXPECTED?
Both hosting and being hosted come with a set of expectations – these rarely are a match with reality. There is nearly always a period of adjustment and rebase-lining expectations once the au pair has arrived. Children for example don’t always behave as we might hope, they also need the period of adjustment, the au pair has arrived in a new family, new country and speaking a new primary language all on little or no sleep for 24hrs. These are all considerations which we can help you work through.
If issues arise - first point of call for both the au pair and the family – each other!
Talk through what is not working and how the issues may be resolved. Listen to the other perspective and then work out the possible solutions which accommodate all parties.
Secondly notify our agency, we can usually help mediate a situation and work through the issue to find a solution which works for all of the parties, au pair, family and the children. If an au pair or family contact our agency we will work with them and the other party (au pair or family) to open the communications up and provide experienced guidance.
99% of issues are normally resolved and the placement completes. So let us help you work through any teething or major issues – engage us early before!
WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END OF THE PLACEMENT?
You should agree the exact departure date with your family some months before you are due to leave, this allows the family to seek another au pair to replace you and have you handover to the next au pair before you leave. Don't assume a date and book flights etc to travel before you have agreed this date with the family.
FAMILY HOLIDAYS
Family holidays occur for most families each year. It is up to them how they manage these with you their au pair.
Some options they often do are –
1. They take the au pair with them and you work in return for the cost of the holiday and have adequate time off to enjoy the location
2. You go along and you are paid for the hours you work and you may go and enjoy the location in your time off
3. You stay at home – accommodation must be provided either in the home or alternative agreed accommodation and an allowance left for essential food purchases to allow you to prepare meals for yourself as normal
4. You agree to not go and choose to go travelling during this time at your own cost
The objective being that you and the family are happy with the arrangement and basic board terms and conditions are met. It can be a real bonus to go along to see a new place in exchange for allowing the parents some child free holiday time if they wish, knowing the children are in capable hands.
For any other information you would like to discuss please do not hesitate to contact us directly via email or phone.