on duty time

Scheduling Your Au Pair: When does “On Duty” start and stop?

by cv harquail March 28, 2014
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When does an au pair actually ‘start’ or ‘stop’ being on duty? When we’re counting up the hours in the week that we need childcare, it’s tempting to imagine that we can start and stop ‘on duty’ time right on the precise minute. How else are we to cover an entire week? I look back […]

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Au Pair Scheduling: How to count time around Drop-Offs and Pick-ups

by cv harquail June 10, 2013
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When does an au pair actually ‘stop’ being on the clock?   Is it when the kids are off with someone else, or when the au pair is back at ‘home base’? Before we even address this substance of the question, I need to point out  => If you have to count minutes down to […]

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Au Pair Asks: How can I get my Host Mom to give me a schedule?

by cv harquail May 23, 2010
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Dear Au Pair Mom, I just find out this site, and I think it’s really helpful. You have a lot of useful information for all of us, and I would like some advice from host parents. I’m an Au Pair, and I just started the program. I’m here for two months and everything is incredible! […]

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Au Pair Management Tip: Schedule Transition Time

by cv harquail March 29, 2010
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Here is a tip for both host parent and au pairs alike: Schedule transition time, with explicit overlap between when the au pair and the parent (or other caregiver) switch who’s ‘on duty’. Back when I worked as a manufacturing manager I always had to be there for “shift overlap”, when the outgoing shift would […]

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Scheduling your Au Pair to be on duty when you are at home…

by cv harquail April 16, 2009
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I got a bit of a chuckle when I saw this topic suggestion on the Skribit form: “Should you make your au pair work on weekends if both parents are at home doing nothing?” The topic suggestion was anonymous, but if I had to guess I’d say it was from an au pair. Why? Because […]

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