Going rate for au pairs?

sprinkleglitter

I am shortly to be out of work, and have been offered a position as au pair/live in help to a family I vaugely know. The allowance I have been offered seems low, but I think that is more because I am used to a salary and then paying bills etc. I live in a furnished flat so living in wouldn't mean storing furniture etc. I was just wondering what the current 'going rate' was, if anyone knows please? Thanx

Apricot

http://www.bestbear.co.uk/parents/info_aupair.htm

Is this any help? The rate on there seems extremely low but it seems to be about average from what I have searched.

the_rottweiler

My niece has just started (last week) as a live in au pair for 2 kids, she is gets the 2 kids up and organised for school and nursery, drops them off and does light housework till the youngest finishes nursery at about 11.
She then picks up the older child from school and is finished by 4.30pm.
this is Mon-Fri so she has weekends free to see her boyfriend and family.
For this she gets £110 per week, but the job is in a good part of London

sprinkleglitter

Thanks princessleah, thats okay then, been offered £60wk. Which I suppose is actually a fair bit of free money (ie no bills). But I am English working in England, does that matter??

cazziebo

the_rottweiler wrote: »

My niece has just started (last week) as a live in au pair for 2 kids, she is gets the 2 kids up and organised for school and nursery, drops them off and does light housework till the youngest finishes nursery at about 11.
She then picks up the older child from school and is finished by 4.30pm.
this is Mon-Fri so she has weekends free to see her boyfriend and family.
For this she gets £110 per week, but the job is in a good part of London

Au pairs are usually foreign nationals who "help out" rather than work and in return get bed, board and pocket money. There is a restriction on hours worked - I think it's about 25 hours. Pay is usually about half what is quoted here, but your niece is working more than 25 hours.

My daughter did it for a while (in France). The family also paid for her French lessons and she was paid extra for babysitting. They also gave her the use of a car which was very brave of them... :rolleyes:

sprinkleglitter

the_rottweiler wrote: »

My niece has just started (last week) as a live in au pair for 2 kids, she is gets the 2 kids up and organised for school and nursery, drops them off and does light housework till the youngest finishes nursery at about 11.
She then picks up the older child from school and is finished by 4.30pm.
this is Mon-Fri so she has weekends free to see her boyfriend and family.
For this she gets £110 per week, but the job is in a good part of London

This is 5 kids:eek: but mum is a home fulltime too, so mainly school run by sounds of it, and occasional babysitting. Weekends off too.

daska

An au-pair is a foreign national who lives as part of the family (i.e. not a servant/nanny etc) and gets bed, board and pocket-money.

It might be worth checking exactly what your status would be with HMRC as, if you're not a foreign national it might count as employment and be subject to minimum wage, tax, NI etc.

sprinkleglitter

Thanks I will check. Sure if I am happy to work for less it won't be a problem possibly will need to make voluntary NI contributions, but they aren't very high I don't think.

tigtag02

sprinkleglitter wrote: »

Thanks I will check. Sure if I am happy to work for less it won't be a problem possibly will need to make voluntary NI contributions, but they aren't very high I don't think.

I dont have any advice on your main query but £60 a week is not enough to attract tax and NI.

Hope this helps
tt

daska

tigtag02 wrote: »

I dont have any advice on your main query but £60 a week is not enough to attract tax and NI.

Hope this helps
tt

but still need to check employment status as not a foreign national so may be subject to minimum wage etc. also au-pairs are not eligible for benefits if the job ceases as they have to be self supporting etc...

sprinkleglitter

tigtag02 wrote: »

I dont have any advice on your main query but £60 a week is not enough to attract tax and NI.

Hope this helps
tt

Yes, but if I make voluntary contributions they should still count towards my (eventual) pension shouldn't they? Would they also make a difference if it came to having to claim other benefits too (which I have never done before, the thought petrifies me:eek:). Surely having had a certain job, or living a certain lifestyle if it can't officially count as a job, shouldn't mean that a UK citizen can't claim UK benefits if necessary Sorry, I have no experience of any of this:o