Costs

Who pays for what?

by cv harquail September 7, 2009

Sometimes the concept of treating an au pair like a ‘member of the family’ doesn’t give you enough guidance. This seems especially true when it comes to figuring out ‘who pays for what, when’. We got a request (using the Skribit feature) for a post that would heolp to establish some guidelines for this. I’ve […]

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Can you dock her pay if she owes you money? Poll

by cv harquail August 14, 2009

Are there any situations when it’s fair for you to withhold or ‘dock’ your au pair’s pocket money? We skirted around this issue in a previous conversation about when your au pair refuses to work, but never answered it directly. Now, we’ve got a topic request (on Skribit) with a very specific situation: You AP […]

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Auto Insurance: Is your AP on your policy?

by cv harquail July 17, 2009

Here’s a quick question from the suggestion box: Do you put your au pair on your auto insurance policy? For me, this one is a no-brainer. If your au pair drives your car(s), she should be on your policy. It’s not just the law, it’s a good idea. h As younger and less experienced drivers, […]

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Medical Care for your Au Pair: Your responsibility?

by cv harquail July 16, 2009

What happens when your Au Pair gets sick and needs some medical care? We already know that as good host parents we need to provide them with reasonable ‘sick time’ off and not dock their pay (although I think it’s fine to reschedule their hours in the same week). But what about the cost of […]

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Our AP’s appetite is so big, we can’t afford to feed her!

by cv harquail July 7, 2009

Looks can be deceiving. Many of us have been surprised to discover that the petite young woman who is our Au Pair is actually a bottomless pit or a fledgling linebacker, in terms of how much she can eat. Obviously, no one wants to starve her au pair– part of what we provide for our […]

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Groceries: How much ‘extra’ can your Au Pair ask you to buy?

by cv harquail July 3, 2009

As part of our conversations about grocery shopping, food, costs, and being ‘part of the family’, many of us have mentioned that we invite or allow our au pairs to add items to the family grocery list, which we then pay for out of our family budget. Usually, we do this to accommodate our au […]

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Would you give your Au Pair a credit card?

by cv harquail June 25, 2009

An anonymous reader of the post “Feeding my kids too much fast food” mentioned having had a problem with her au pair and credit cards: DO NOT EVER give your AP a credit card or debit card to use. We learned the hard way with our first AP. She was getting cash back with all […]

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Extending– without the Agency. Yes or no?

by cv harquail June 17, 2009

We are in month 8 with our first au pair (she’s frmo Thailand), who has been great. We would like to extend, and she would like to stay for at least six months more, but she would like to do so outside of the agency. Apparently a friend of hers, at the end of her […]

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Working out isn’t working, is it?

by cv harquail June 11, 2009

What really counts as "work" and when are we willing to bend the rules? This mom’s getting a workout– and not the kind that makes your heart healthy. … "We are family members at our local gym, which provides childcare while parents are working out. We added our au pair to our membership (didn’t change […]

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Don’t take your Au Pair on vacation during her first 3 months!

by cv harquail February 8, 2009

Okay host moms- I’m coming out with a pretty specific "Don’t": Don’t, I say DON’T, take your au pair on a vacation the first 3 months she is with you. Why? Because: 1. It sets up inaccurate expectations about how she will be treated (e.g., as a guest and tourist vs. as a ‘working’ member […]

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