Au Pair

LITTLE PASTA

I'm Canadian and considering a position as an au pair in Ireland. I've never done this before and I don't know too much about it. We are now at the point of negotiating working conditions and rate of pay. I've been asked what I expect in regards to these issues.
I’m obviously interested in making as much money as possible. There are 4 children that I will be minding. Does anyone know what is reasonable in terms of pay? I don’t know the working conditions yet so that makes it tough to judge. But, I gather it will be a 40hr work week with accommodations provided.

Thanks.

lanny

hey I really dunno, is it 3 or 400? my neighbours had a french au pair last year for their 3 kids who lived with them for a couple of months so ill find out there, are you doing it through a company? they should have guidelines.

Bah

This site is a good resource for Au Pars hoping to work in Ireland, including expected wages, responsibilities etc.

LITTLE PASTA

Thanks so much
I'll check that out right now

MrPudding

We have had an Au Pair in our house for over 3 years now, not the same one I might add, so I have a bit of experience on this subject.

40 hours would be towards the high end of things. Bearing in mind that you will could be expected to babysit up to 2 nights a week in addition. If this is what is being asked of you you should push for the Mothers helper role to try to get more money. 40 hours is a lot.

Normally the job includes looking after the kids for the agreed period. This would include cooking for them where required and tidying up after them.

You would also be expected to do light house work. This would include generally keeping the place tidy, vacuuming once or twice a week, putting on the washing and possibly some ironing. This would be the most you would be expected to do. I have met a lot of Au Pairs over the last few years and some families seem to forget it is an Au Pair they have not a cleaner that also looks after kids.

It is very important that you agree up front exactly what you responsibilities are, it is too late to do this once you arrive.

For reference, we pay our Au Pair €90 per week. She gets all day Saturday & Sunday off, this may not be the case in all families. We have 2 children. One is 2 years old. He goes to a creche in the mornings Monday to Friday. The Au Pair picks him up at 1400Hrs and brings him home. Our 6 year old daughter gets home from school arrounf 1500Hrs. The Au Pair then looks after them until I return from work, nornally between 6 and 7. She is then free to do as she wishes. She will cook for the kids when required and carries out very light housework. She does not cook for us normally but occasionally she will treat us.

The best suggestion I could give you is to get you pleacement through an agency. She will sort out the terms for you to make sure you get the best deal possible. The link below is the agency we use, she is very very good. She does kind of work for the families but take the Au Pair's well being very seriously.

http://www.iapa.org/Docs/Organisations/Members/Mem_Info.php4?Id=959

The agency will really help you if you have any trouble with the family, sometimes a family is simply not a good fit.

Hope this helps.

MrP

LITTLE PASTA

Hi MrP,

It doesn't look as though my family was serious about an Au pair anyway. We have stopped communicating. Besides, I'm not sure it's a good idea. You see € 90 isn't enough. Is it possible for an Au pair to work part-time? I am an Irish citizen.

--C

MrPudding

LITTLE PASTA wrote:

Hi MrP,

It doesn't look as though my family was serious about an Au pair anyway. We have stopped communicating. Besides, I'm not sure it's a good idea. You see € 90 isn't enough. Is it possible for an Au pair to work part-time? I am an Irish citizen.

--C

This would really depend on your family. My gut feeling would have to be no, but it would depend on the job I suppose. For example, my daughter goes to the French school in Foxrock. The "dinner ladies" there are mostly Au Pairs of kids that attend the school. They make a few extra quid there, not a living wage though.

The difficulty is that when you are an Au Pair it is not really a job as such. What I mean by this is most of the girls, and the few boys, that become Au Pairs use it as a means to an end. Typically they want to learn English or experience another culture. For this kind of thing being an Au Pair is a good solution, for some people. They don't have to worry about accommodation or food and they get a few quid pocket money. That's the problem though, it is just pocket money. Also, it can be really hard work. We had one Au Pair that didn't actually like children, obviously that did not work out. She was looking for a paid holiday.

Back to the job thing. Your family would be concerned, rightly so I feel, that your job would become your primary concern. The Au Pair "bit" may then suffer as a result.

I don't mean to sound selfish but if we have an Au Pair we want to to be an Au Pair. We don't want her to be too tired to look after the kids properly because she is working during her time off. That can lead to conflict. Also, a part time "real" job could lead to a full time job.

I know this sounds really selfish but please let me explain. It can take up to 2 months to get an Au Pair organised, depending on the time of year. If we arrange for an Au Pair and she gets a job and leaves early we are in big big trouble. Both my girlfriend and myself work. To be more precise, both my girlfriend and myself *must* work. If we are without an Au Pair one of us must take time off work. This is, I am sure you will agree, is unacceptable.

I would think that most familes would have similar feelings. How about starting off as an Au Pair. You could get yourself a short placement, 3 to 6 months maybe. This would allow you to get over and get settled. You would not have a lot of money but at least you would not have to worry about food or accommodation. Towards the end of your placement you could start looking for a proper job and some accomodation. During your stay you will meet people, you should be able to sort out independent accommodation. There are quite a few Au Pairs that have done this.

Sorry to have killed your idea.

MrP

LITTLE PASTA

Thank you MrP. Yes, I see what you are saying and I understand the concerns of parents. But, in reality money is an issue for me. I can’t just be working for a place to stay. It is a “real” job and it is unfortunate that it doesn’t pay like one. My theory is that because childcare is gendered it is not taken very seriously.

Actually, I am just visiting Ireland for the summer. I’m looking for any type of work. It hasn’t been easy generating interest from potential employers. The Au pair idea was just one more avenue to try. Oh well:(:(

Thanks again. Appreciate it.
--C

MrPudding

Try http://www.nixer.com/

You might find a job there. Accomodation will be trickier though. www.daft.ie will give you an idea of what is available and what it will cost.

Let me know if you make it over.

MrP