Au pair Pay

M

mrsg09

Registered User
Messages
56
In light of recent case in the papers I am concerned about our arrangement with our current au pair.

We pay her minimum wage for the hours she works. However she has a floor of our house to herself, very large double bedroom with seperate private bathroom we live in Dublin 18. At the time we talked about pay we agreed with the au pair (in writing) that 150 euro would be deduced per week for rent, utilities, food etc.

We are both happy with the arrangement but I am now worried having seen the coverage in papers saying 57euro a week is recommended deduction for room and board.

My question is does our agreement hold up or is the above figure a maximum allowed or merely a guidance?

Any help or advice is appreciated. Thank you
 
The recent Test Case ended in a Recommendation only. An Au-Pair who spent a few months with a family is better off by ten grand as a result of the recommendation. The monetary award for au-pairs could never remain as it did.

Whether the Au-Pair has a floor, a room, a shared room, a shower, access to the fridge, use of the car, to herself is incidental.

I reckon Mrsg09 is walking barefoot on glass while holding a concrete block.
 
How many hours does she work?? If she is working 30 hours per week at 9.15 per hour that works out at €274. So you take away €150. She is left with €124.
 
It was always my impression (maybe I am wrong) that au-pairs come to Ireland primarily to improve theiir english, and they financed the cost of this by living with a family amd give time looking after kids and carry out some light housework in exchange for bed, board and light renumeration. Obviously things have chamged. The changes are going to come as a big fimancial blow for many all ready struggling families.
 
On the one hand :- http://www.thejournal.ie/au-pair-employment-law-2648083-Mar2016/

and on the other :- http://www.independent.ie/irish-new...ld-destroy-industry-says-agency-34527421.html

It's gone time that some employers ceased treating au pairs like indentured slaves and paid them properly for their work. To me the bed & board charge is akin to my employer deducting fuel, tax and insurance from my wages because I drive his truck or charging me for my desk and the space it occupies as well as the light, heat and cleaning my office needs if I'm a desk-jockey.
 
Last edited:
I don't personally use au pairs but I know families who do. There will always be cases of au pairs that are over worked but I believe that it's a good arrangement for both au pair and the family when certain guidelines are adhered to. I don't believe it's fair to use an au pair as a full time childminder for children who are not in school, but for families with kids who are in school, it can be a lifesaver having someone to collect the kids, take them home and make sure homework etc is done. While the pay might not seem like much, I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who have less than 100-150 per week left after all bills / food / accommodation are paid for.

It's a big adjustment for families to have someone living in their home and integrating them into the family. Personally I wouldn't think it was worth it if you were required to pay minimum wages, you would be better to have someone live out.

An au pair I know does the following hours: 8am - 10am school run / laundry; 2pm - 6pm school run, homework, afterschool activities etc. So 30hrs per week. She has the use of the car for local travel, she gets phone credit, language classes paid for, flights home paid for. She gets paid extra for any additional babysitting, a laptop, room and full board. If she was paid minimum wage and had to live out she would be much worse off. You can't get a double room in Dublin city for less than 600 per month from what I can see! An au pair is a cultural exchange to allow a young person to improve their English and also impart some of their culture to the home. It shouldn't be treated as an employee / employer relationship and the hours, requirements should be laid out in advance from both sides so that everyone understands what they are getting into.
 
According to links I've seen on other sites, Citizens Information say the max you can deduct from a live in Au Pair for accomm/food/bills is €54 per week!!!
So 30 hour week at €9.15 per hour less €54 = €220 per week to the Au Pair. And thats not including registering as an Employer, PRSI etc etc.

Something is going to give on this
 
I do personally use an au pair. I pay her €120/week for 30 hours work spread over 4 days. I have 3 kids, she brings 2 of them to school in the morning along with the baby, she returns home, looks after the baby who then goes down for a nap for 2 hours and my au pair then does whatever she likes. She picks the 2 older ones up at 1.30, and looks after them for 3 hours as well as the baby. The only housework I ask her to do is make sure the dishwasher isn't completely full when I get home and that it's not a complete mess but if she's out and about and it doesn't get done, that's ok too. I pay for her language classes, would pay for exercise classes or whatever for her if she'd take them but she has no interest. She has her own area of the house with bathroom and shower and own entrance, has friends over all the time and generally seems to be having a whale of a time. She gets all her food paid for and is very fond of the kids and they her. In fact she's so happy, she's going to stay another year.
I pay her extra for any babysitting, €8 an hour, which usually just involves sitting watching tv as the kids would be asleep. Even an hour where I've to run to the shops or am delayed coming home, she gets extra, we never take advantage.
To rent a room in my area of Dublin would be an absolute minimum €600 for her set-up and she'd have to cover all the bills too on top of that, probably another 100 a month.
I pay her for her holidays and sick leave and also for our holidays if she's supposed to be working. And I don't expect her to mind 3 kids all by herself fulltime during holidays, my husband and I will try and cover that with a few camps and grandparents thrown in for good measure.
Her English has improved vastly since she came here and she really loves our country.
Sorry for the detail but I'm trying to give you a feeling of exactly what the situation is like. There's nothing cruel or unusual about it.
If I were to pay for a live-out child-minder, to do what she does, it would cost me probably 1200 a month and I'd have to rent out the room to someone else. Plus, I'd probably get a lot more housework done as I'd make use of every ounce of downtime. So financially, I wouldn't be much better or worse off. But I like having my au-pair around, it's good to have an extra pair of hands if needs be and I like to see her enjoying herself and improving herself and she's a lovely girl having the time of her life...albeit with a bit of the hard work that is child-minding thrown in. And I don't underestimate it, child-minding is VERY HARD.
There are lots of like minded people like my husband and I out there, just trying to manage.
What I'm wondering is how exactly does this ruling affect me if I do nothing and she does nothing?
 
Delboy said:
According to links I've seen on other sites, Citizens Information say the max you can deduct from a live in Au Pair for accomm/food/bills is €54 per week!!!
So 30 hour week at €9.15 per hour less €54 = €220 per week to the Au Pair. And thats not including registering as an Employer, PRSI etc etc.

Something is going to give on this
Click to expand...

You're right! What's to stop me hiring my au pair legitimately as a child minder, paying her 9.15 and hour and then separetely signing an agreement with her where I charge her €600/month rent plus €50 for her share of the bills? And then if I've to register as an employer, are there not all sorts of implications on expenses I can claim back, etc. (sorry never been self-employed but know there are some perks involved in paying the super high PRSI they have to pay)?
 
mathepac said:
On the one hand :- http://www.thejournal.ie/au-pair-employment-law-2648083-Mar2016/

and on the other :- http://www.independent.ie/irish-new...ld-destroy-industry-says-agency-34527421.html

It's gone time that some employers apparently treated au pairs like indentured slaves and paid them properly for their work. To me the bed & board charge is akin to my employer deducting fuel, tax and insurance from my wages because I drive his truck or charging me for my desk and the space it occupies as well as the list, heat and cleaning my office needs if I'm a desk-jockey.
Click to expand...

I agree that many au-pairs are paied very badly and treated appallingly and that is unacceptable.

However, I disagree with your second statement. Lodging and food is part of the overall package. you can't equate it with tools of the trade that you cant do the job without.

My au-pair, once her work hours are over, ( 18 hours a week) is free to come and go as she pleases, and treat our home as her home. In what way is that an endentured slave ? She has no obligation to be in the house, its just easier for both of us.
 
mrsg09 said:
Any help or advice is appreciated. Thank you
Click to expand...

Send the au pair home and let out the spare floor of your home under the rent a room scheme, depending on where you are living, it may well cover the necessary childminding cost for you.
 
Canysant1

If you employ someone in your home to mind you children for a fixed rate an hour

You pay a fixed rate per hour
Plus 4 weeks paid holiday off per year
Plus pay all bank holidays
You need a contract
Do their tax returns
And yes pay the employers PRSI too
And no - there are no expenses you can claim off In tax
 
Babby said:
Canysant1

If you employ someone in your home to mind you children for a fixed rate an hour

You pay a fixed rate per hour
Plus 4 weeks paid holiday off per year
Plus pay all bank holidays
You need a contract
Do their tax returns
And yes pay the employers PRSI too
And no - there are no expenses you can claim off In tax
Click to expand...

Thank you Babby, good to know. I do pay 4 weeks holidays a year plus bank holidays. So that would mean that it would cost me more to pay the au pair the same amount as the government would take a further cut of money I've already paid full PRSI on. And tax returns, dear God!
I really think they should leave the system the way it is but they do need to provide some recourse for au pairs who are mistreated...and in fairness, there's definitely a fairly substantial portion who are. It's terrible to think of someone treating somebody else's child so badly - can they not put themselves in their shoes?
 
Last edited:
hi all, sorry I am only back online now. to answer a few questions, our lady gets 4 week paid holiday per year.


We pay between 150 – 200 cash per week depending on the hours worked, usually she does approx. 30-32 hours a week. We both work office type jobs so she has every weekend, every bank holiday off. We pay for 4 weeks holidays per year and regularly pay for small items such as phone credit, buy toiletries (toothpaste etc) for her. We include her in our cooking during the week but she also has a list she puts together of things I don’t buy for the family which I pick up for her.


This arrangements works for the 2 of us and im sure if it didn’t she is well able to leave she is a fully grown adult.


I am just concerned that I am now leaving our family wide-open to future litigation should we have some falling out or should she decide in 6 months time – I could be in for a windfall here. I know there are thousands of other families in this predicament but I am finding this situation very stressful.


I think its ridiculous to compare living in our house with us to having tools for your job. A live out childminder would arrive to our house in the morning and leave when finished and doesn’t require food / light / gas / heat / accommodation to do her job.

When I come in the door from work our au pair is off the clock.

I am very worried.
 
Canysant1 said:
I do personally use an au pair. I pay her €120/week for 30 hours work spread over 4 days. I have 3 kids, she brings 2 of them to school in the morning along with the baby, she returns home, looks after the baby who then goes down for a nap for 2 hours and my au pair then does whatever she likes. She picks the 2 older ones up at 1.30, and looks after them for 3 hours as well as the baby. The only housework I ask her to do is make sure the dishwasher isn't completely full when I get home and that it's not a complete mess but if she's out and about and it doesn't get done, that's ok too. I pay for her language classes, would pay for exercise classes or whatever for her if she'd take them but she has no interest. She has her own area of the house with bathroom and shower and own entrance, has friends over all the time and generally seems to be having a whale of a time. She gets all her food paid for and is very fond of the kids and they her. In fact she's so happy, she's going to stay another year.
I pay her extra for any babysitting, €8 an hour, which usually just involves sitting watching tv as the kids would be asleep. Even an hour where I've to run to the shops or am delayed coming home, she gets extra, we never take advantage.
To rent a room in my area of Dublin would be an absolute minimum €600 for her set-up and she'd have to cover all the bills too on top of that, probably another 100 a month.
I pay her for her holidays and sick leave and also for our holidays if she's supposed to be working. And I don't expect her to mind 3 kids all by herself fulltime during holidays, my husband and I will try and cover that with a few camps and grandparents thrown in for good measure.
Her English has improved vastly since she came here and she really loves our country.
Sorry for the detail but I'm trying to give you a feeling of exactly what the situation is like. There's nothing cruel or unusual about it.
If I were to pay for a live-out child-minder, to do what she does, it would cost me probably 1200 a month and I'd have to rent out the room to someone else. Plus, I'd probably get a lot more housework done as I'd make use of every ounce of downtime. So financially, I wouldn't be much better or worse off. But I like having my au-pair around, it's good to have an extra pair of hands if needs be and I like to see her enjoying herself and improving herself and she's a lovely girl having the time of her life...albeit with a bit of the hard work that is child-minding thrown in. And I don't underestimate it, child-minding is VERY HARD.
There are lots of like minded people like my husband and I out there, just trying to manage.
What I'm wondering is how exactly does this ruling affect me if I do nothing and she does nothing?
Click to expand...

When does she go to language classes?
 
Bronte said:
When does she go to language classes?
Click to expand...

Up the road from us, it's around 100 a month. We're in Dublin so there's lots around.

@mrsg09 I think you have to trust that if you think she's a nice lady, she probably won't do that to you down the line. I don't think we have a choice. I know that's not great financial "Askaboutmoney" advice but that's how I feel. Everything is a risk when we've kids so I'm going to gamble that if my au pair seems happy, she'll treat this as a lovely experience. My girl comes from a lovely family, I've met her parents and her sister who works here also, they care about her and wanted to meet us as well which tells me a lot. Do your due diligence and go with your gut then
 
Canysant1

If you employ someone in your home to mind you children for a fixed rate an hour

You pay a fixed rate per hour
Plus 4 weeks paid holiday off per year
Plus pay all bank holidays
You need a contract
Do their tax returns
And yes pay the employers PRSI too
And no - there are no expenses you can claim off In tax
 
Ok I have a very quick question. Does the room and board limit of 54 euro only apply to staff on the minimum wAge? So if the au pair/ nanny lives in your home and earns say 15 euro an hour does the 54 euro limit apply?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top