Your responsibilities
as a hosting family
When you employ an au pair, you also have
duties and responsibilities as a hosting family to make
your au pair’s stay as pleasant and enjoyable as possible.
As a family you can do this by:
- Welcome your au pair as a member of
your family.
- Give the au pair background information
about your family and children – what you like and
what you dislike etc.
- Spend some time with your new au pair
and show him/her how you want things done and tell her
what is important to you.
- List the au pair’s duties and
responsibilities (you can even prioritize it) and tell
her what you expect from her. This can also be part of
your agreement or contract with the au pair.
- Provide the au pair with the training,
where necessary, to perform certain tasks.
- Help your au pair to settle in - don't
just leave her to get on with it.
- For live-in au pairs, please provide
a comfortable, private room and meals.
- Treat your au pair with respect and
let them feel part of the family.
- Establish a daily routine and create
a schedule, especially when the au pair needs to drive
around and take the children to extramural activities.
- Facilitate your au pair to attend language
classes and/or courses in which he or she is interested
in.
- Agree on the au pair’s free time
and days off and stick to it! Your au pair should be given
at least one or two days per week, plus allow her some
free time during the day and some evenings to socialize
with friends.
- Encourage your au pair to make friends
as soon as possible, because it might be very lonely for
him/her in a foreign country at first.
- Allow the au pair her 15 days paid
holiday leave per year.
- Value your au pair’s opinion
and her advice.
- Talk to your au pair. Communication
is the key to any successful relationship!
- Let your au pair be creative and let
he or she use his/her own initiative in certain tasks.
- Please remember that your au pair might
not be a qualified or trained nanny, child-minder or domestic
worker. Therefore you should provide her with complete
instructions before leaving her in charge of the household
or with the children.
- Let her be! Your au pair is also a
human been, with feelings and emotions, and if she has
a bad day – let her be!
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