Comments on: Poll: How long, exactly, is “two weeks vacation”?

By: Taking a Computer Lunch

Taking a Computer Lunch — Mon, 31 May 2010 02:36:38 +0000

In one of my Union meetings we discussed explicitly why Americans work more than most citizens of other developed countries, and the bottom line is that we fund college education, pension, medical care and retirement with our income. (I think the first time APs have to pay for a doctor’s visit they’re probably just as shocked as how few days off they have.)

At this point in my career I have plenty of vacation time. Unfortunately, there are so few people left at work (between retirement and attrition), that I’m now attached to two colleagues – one of us always has to be in the office! (You should see the scramble at Christmas – when no one wants to draw the short straw!) On the other hand, in this economy, I have a well-paying job that permits me to afford an AP, so I shouldn’t complain!

Like or Dislike: 0

By: HRHM

HRHM — Mon, 31 May 2010 02:05:58 +0000

She means they count as her vacation days and are subtracted from whatever days off she may still have coming

Like or Dislike: 0

By: Host Mommy Dearest

Host Mommy Dearest — Sun, 30 May 2010 20:08:22 +0000

I guess next time the deal will be – I’ll give you a check for your weekly stipend before you leave, and you will give me back cash in the amount of your stipend to cover the cost of some extra childcare I need to hire….if she didn’t like that deal she should have said something before she took the vacation. AP was slimey for doing that.

Like or Dislike: 0

By: DarthaStewart

DarthaStewart — Sun, 30 May 2010 18:55:40 +0000

What a lousy au-pair. Seriously. She had gotten extra time off, then demanded more? _wow_ I’m guessing that since she’s had so much time that she’s on her way out, but this will suck for future au-pairs… kwim?

Like or Dislike: 0

By: PA AP mom

PA AP mom — Sun, 30 May 2010 17:53:01 +0000

HRHM:

We tried the “week without pay” and our LCC and our agency got involved and said “under no circumstances are you allowed to withhold your AP’s stipend for any reason”. I was surprised. I guess if your AP doesn’t complain or tell anyone then you are ok. Ours was pissed off so she reported it to the LCC. She had already had 16 days of vacation (not including weekends, which she wasn’t scheduled for at all). She wanted another 4 work days (Tues-Friday) and we said “no” unless she would take it without pay. She said she would and she went but when she came back, she went to the LCC and the agency and demanded to be paid “under contract”. They said we had to pay or we were “out of the program” for violating the rules.

Like or Dislike: 0

By: HRHM

HRHM — Sun, 30 May 2010 10:27:53 +0000

We give our AP a total of 10 days, since she works full-time M-F. If she chooses to take this in 2 full week increments, she more than likely will also be able to take the associated weekends on either end as well, leaving her with 2 9-day vacation periods. In addition, we often give her federal holidays off since we are off (both military) and we also will try to come home early on a Friday when we know she is planning a weekend trip so that she can make an early train or flight to get out of town. I discourage the dribs & drabs vacation method because it’s inconvenient for us and makes book-keeping difficult. In our HF Handbook this year, I pointedly state that she MUST take her vacation while we are taking ours. I think it’s ridiculous to expect us to pay for 2 weeks of childcare so she can vacation on her own schedule and then give her 2 extra weeks off while we are on vacation. We don’t need her to work while we are on vacation (we actually can/do/enjoy taking care of our kids) and I also don’t really want the extra expense of another plane ticket/hotel room/bigger car rental/extra cruise cabin/you name it – to bring her along. Our curent AP insisted on taking time off when it wouldn’t work for us and the comprmise (because she KNEW the vacation rules before she took the job) was that she could but then when we are on vacation, she will be having that week without pay. I’m still mildly irritated about having to deal with juggling childcare that week, but que sera, sera.

Like or Dislike: 0

By: Az.

Az. — Sun, 30 May 2010 10:16:23 +0000

What do you mean by ‘charge her those days?’

Like or Dislike: 0

By: Deb Schwarz

Deb Schwarz — Sun, 30 May 2010 05:09:11 +0000

I HATE this question – yet it comes up all the time. It’s so up to interpretation and I’ve heard at least a dozen or so. It’s so much easier to interpret if the au pair takes the 2 weeks in week chunks…..so then it’s Monday to Sunday (or a full week). I always tell au pairs and host families that if the host family chooses a week (with plenty of notice), then the au pair gets to choose the 2nd week (again, with plenty of notice). Now – if the au pair’s two week vacation is taken in day increments, that’s when it gets sticky – is it 10 days or 14 days? I always tell my host family that it’s whatever they usually work in a typical week – which usually ends up being 5.5 days x 2 or 11 days. The last host family that asked me this question rounded to 12 days – which was nice of them.

I think the bigger issue is that in the U.S. we get much less vacation time than other countries in the world – and au pairs are surprised that we are such workaholics with meager vacation. I wish this was gone over in more detail with the au pairs prior to their arrival so there aren’t disappointed au pairs. Au pairs are also surprised that they do not necessarily get public holidays off – which I always mention in my two week orientations – geezzzzz, what a can of worms, but an important topic to discuss as we all know it’s all about expectations.

Deb

Like or Dislike: 0

By: Having a Computer Lunch

Having a Computer Lunch — Sun, 30 May 2010 03:00:44 +0000

We have let the AP choose her vacation time, some decided to take it in dribs and drabs, as they could find friends to camp on the beach, head to another city, or tootle around. When they take 5 weekdays off, then we generally let them have the 2 weekend days at either end as well (although sometimes we need to claim use of the “AP car” for some of that time, depending on the season.

We’re fairly generous with leave, depending on whether or not The Camel has been in hospital for an extended period of time and we’ve used up all our good will at work, or not. The year The Camel spend five-weeks in hospital, HD burst his appendix trying to work through the pain, and I got pneumonia, there were no “bonus” holidays.

In general, we try to give as many of the federal holidays as we can, because HD and I are both feds, and well, we like to spend time with our kids (I always tell pregnant friends that giving birth is the easy part, raising them to be decent human beings with whom you want to spend time is the hard part). We usually end up giving 8 or 9 of them, although we always encourage our APs to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with us.

When friends and family come to visit, when it is possible, we generally give bonus holidays, to permit our AP to show her family a part of the country she has come to enjoy, or to explore other parts.

If an AP chooses not to join us for a family holiday (for example, Passover, which is usually during our kids’ spring break, but never the AP’s college spring break) because of classes, sometimes I will charge her for a day or two, but never on the days she has class. If the AP choses not to join us for a holiday that includes an airplane flight, I will generally charge her the days of the flights, because flying with The Camel generally requires all hands on deck.

One thing we are very firm about is no holidays in the summer, unless they choose not to join us in the family vacation but not work. My son goes to day camps that require a chaffeur, and if I have to play that role, I might as well not bother going to work. The Camel has half-days of school in the summer. I’m happy to figure out the logistics of moving kids from place to place, but I’d rather spend my summer holidays with them. (When they take their holidays during the school year, HD and I can manage close to a full day at work.)

Like or Dislike: 0

By: M in NY

M in NY — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:20:00 +0000

Thank you Lori! I’m with Cultural Care and I was just wondering how much vacation I should have left. I took six vacation days (five weekdays and one weekend-day) when I went with my host family on their vacation and I was wondering how many days I should have left.
So thank you, I think this cleared it up for me! I have one week left, which will be anough for a weekend-trip to Florida and a couple of days in Washington! Yey!

Like or Dislike: 0