The term "au pair" comes from the French and is called as much as "on mutuality". The au pair idea became generally accepted in the last decades ever more. It offers the possibility to young humans of living for a certain time abroad in a host family around the country to become acquainted with the culture and language. In return the au pair helps with the care of children as well as with the daily resulting housework. To bring i.e. both sides use is thus considered to the basic idea of the au pair idea. Friendships do not develop rarely between the host family and the au pair.
In the following you receive first information to the topic au pair. For further information you can order our information brochure which is in German.
Which conditions do I have to fulfill?
You should ...
be between 18 and 24 years old
be single and childless
be physical and psychologically healthy
possess basic knowledge of the German language
have the firm will and real interest to learn about the German culture and improve the German language
have experience in the care of children
possess love for children
be ready to help with the daily resulting housework
Furthermore it would be of advantage if you are a nonsmoker since smokers are to be placed only with difficulty. You should be ready however in any case to do without smoking in the family.
The tasks of an au pair
Care of children
e.g. bathing children, swatheing babys, feeding children, going for a walk, dressing and taking off, supervising them, playing with them, taking them to kindergarten, to school and to meetings and picking them up again, arranging with them the spare time.
Assistance in the household
e.g. preparing breakfast and simple meals, setting and clearing the table, doing the laundry, ironing, rinsing or serving the dishwasher, tidying up, making purchases, cleaning the dwelling.
The time of employment
the weekly time of employment amounts to 30 hours on 6 days, whereby a daily work time of 5 - 6 hours results. It should be co-ordinated according to the needs of the family and agree upon with the family members
o in 2 - 3 evenings per week babysitting
The rights of an au pair
an own room
free food supply
pocket money 205, 00 € per month
days off per week
at least one day off per week that once in a month should be on Sunday
should you have the desire to visit the Sundays service it will be possible for you each week
you will have the possibility to visit the language school as well as cultural meetings
Vacation
There is no claim to vacation. Often families grant a vacation of 4 weeks with a stay from over 6 months while pocket money is further paid.
Notice and placement into another family
Should it not be possible to maintain the employment despite insurmountable conflicts, a placement into another family is possible on adherence to of a period of 2 weeks and consultation with the agency.
Length of stay
An au pair stay should take at least 6 months. The best placing chances exist, however, with stays of 10 - 12 months.
