au pair leave out advice

cargen

We are in the middle of employing an au pair. It is the first time we do it and we are not sure what do.
She is Brazilian and she will leave out.
She will do c. 20 hours a week, collecting two kids from school, preparing lunch only for them and ensure they do home work.
Can you advice the following:
- what should be the hourly rate?
- do we need to sign a contract?
- should we pay for her bus ticket?
- should we ask for any documentation to ensure she is entitled to stay in the country?

Any other information is welcome

salmocab

What’s leave out?

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salmocab wrote: »

What’s leave out?

I assume its "live out"

salmocab

Isaiah Agreeable Malaria wrote: »

I assume its "live out"

Cheers it was the thread title that got me

cargen

salmocab wrote: »

Cheers it was the thread title that got me

Yes it is live out.
(Autocorrection on the phone).

bushcraft90

You very much need to find out what her legal status is in the country as you will be her employer subject to fines up to 250,000 and/or imprisonment if she is living here illegally. You should be looking for a permission stamp in her passport or residency permit and depending on which type of permission she has she may require a work permit. The Irish national immigration service has a list of the types of permission stamps and the conditions attached to them. You also need to be aware of when she has permission to reside and when that expires as once it expires she is no longer allowed live in the state. She also may be a dual European national if so ignore above but you definitely need to check either way

Cork Lass

Once you’ve verified her work status I’d imagine you should at least pay minimum wage but would see no reason to pay her bus fare.

PopTarts

The bus fare would be a nice perk.

It’s only €27.50 a week with a leap card.

irelandrover

Is she not just a childminder since she doesnt live with you.

Therefore entitled to at least minimum wage but since its in your home you also need to pay employer PRSI.

cargen

bushcraft90 wrote: »

You very much need to find out what her legal status is in the country as you will be her employer subject to fines up to 250,000 and/or imprisonment if she is living here illegally. You should be looking for a permission stamp in her passport or residency permit and depending on which type of permission she has she may require a work permit. The Irish national immigration service has a list of the types of permission stamps and the conditions attached to them. You also need to be aware of when she has permission to reside and when that expires as once it expires she is no longer allowed live in the state. She also may be a dual European national if so ignore above but you definitely need to check either way

Thanks.
She has an appointment with the embassy to get a study visa.
She will attend English school in the morning and mind the kids from 3.5 hours in the afternoon.
I will be paying her 10/11 euro per hour.
I will ask for a copy of her passport to check the stamp.

cargen

irelandrover wrote: »

Is she not just a childminder since she doesnt live with you.

Therefore entitled to at least minimum wage but since its in your home you also need to pay employer PRSI.

Not sure about that.
Any further information is welcome

irelandrover

cargen wrote: »

Not sure about that.
Any further information is welcome

I honestly don't see how you wouldnt be responsible for minimum wage/ tax.

https://www.schooldays.ie/thread/how-much-to-pay-childminder-to-have-kids-minded-in-their-own-home-1606202151

lazygal

There's no such thing as a 'live out' au pair, you're looking to employ someone as a child minder in your home.
We do this currently, she's paid a weekly rate and we're her employers. We registered with revenue and take care of her tax arrangements and provide payslips. Sick pay, annual leave and other issues were all discussed before she started.

farmchoice

cargen wrote: »

We are in the middle of employing an au pair. It is the first time we do it and we are not sure what do.
She is Brazilian and she will leave out.
She will do c. 20 hours a week, collecting two kids from school, preparing lunch only for them and ensure they do home work.
Can you advice the following:
- what should be the hourly rate?
- do we need to sign a contract?
- should we pay for her bus ticket?
- should we ask for any documentation to ensure she is entitled to stay in the country?

Any other information is welcome

she is not an au pair, an au pair is someone who lives with you, who you feed and drive around and pick up and bring to her friends and drop to the airport and listen to and correct her grammar while she bitches and complains about the other au pairs who live locally.

she is an integral part of your family, she leanrs english and you learn how to cope with having a teenage girl under your roof 10 years before your own daughter becomes one.


you worry about the fact that she will only eat potato waffles, whilst you reval in the fact that she thinks you are so much cooler and nicer then her own mother who she complains about and cries about missing in equal measure.
you provide her with all her meals and general transport needs and internet etc ect and pay her pocket money of usually around 150 to 180 euro a week, this she will either save every penny of( quickly becoming a good deal wealthier than you), or else spend every penny of on drink, depending on the person you get. there is no in between.



what you have is a childminder who you employ for 20 hours a week. i suggest you pay her what you would pay any other local childminder and stop calling her an au pair, it gives the impression you are engaging in some attempt at getting childcare on the cheap. I'm sure that not your intention but it is an important distinction.

farmchoice

cargen wrote: »

Thanks.
She has an appointment with the embassy to get a study visa.
She will attend English school in the morning and mind the kids from 3.5 hours in the afternoon.
I will be paying her 10/11 euro per hour.
I will ask for a copy of her passport to check the stamp.

i was being fairly flippent with my previous post, to take your questions a bit more seriously.


you have 2 choices here, you can go through the whole registering as her employer, prsi, holiday pay, tax etc etc, or you can pay her cash in hand to mind the kids.


what you are paying 10/11 euro an hour is on a cash in hand basis pretty fair, probably on the high side of fair, although this might depend on where you live.



the reality is that a huge percentage of people use childminders who they pay cash to.
in this situation you would have to be happy that you know who you are dealing with as you are vulnerable to being accused of exploitation.

lazygal

There is no issue whatsoever paying cash to a child minder who is working in his or her home. It is up to them to sort out their tax affairs and working conditions.
There is an issue when you employ someone in your home to do childminding, once you pay more than €40 a week you are then classed as an employer and all the rights and responsibilities kick in, whether you call them a nanny, an au pair or anything else.

Teyla Emmagan

LOL Farmchoice :-)

cargen

Thanks all for your replies.
It looks like it is more difficult than I thought.

Can anyone give me an idea of additional costs I will incur if I decide to employee the "au pair" as childminder/nanny for the 20 hours per week.

farmchoice

cargen wrote: »

Thanks all for your replies.
It looks like it is more difficult than I thought.

Can anyone give me an idea of additional costs I will incur if I decide to employee the "au pair" as childminder/nanny for the 20 hours per week.

the reality is she will probably be much happier if you pair her cash in hand of 200- 210 euro a week, then if you register her for tax, prsi, etc. she will probably end up with more in her hand then if you pay her the 10 per hour through the books, plus it will mean she might be able to get a few hours work elsewhere without it interfering with that.


it will be a lot easier and straight forward for you too, and probably a good bit cheaper.
so everyone's a winner right?


2 problems as far as i can see. firstly the tax man might come after you, this is pretty unlikely but still you never know.
secondly she could turn around in a month or six months or 2 years and report you for taking advantage of her and not paying her properly etc, etc, and she would be right and she would win her case.


there have been a good few cases of this and by and large it is when an employer has truly treated one of these girls very badly.


generally speaking if you treat people in a situation well then they will treat you well.
the problem is you have no idea who you are dealing with, or what kind of advise she might get later on.


a live in au pair is not a defined employment situation either, it is in reality as incorrect as what you are doing but it is much more understood, it is a lifestyle choice of the girls who do it, they learn english they immerse themselves in another family and culture and in my experience that is the main motivation, they become a real part of the family, they are in no sense an employee.



this is different to what you are doing you are falling between two stools here.