Au Pair are single, female or male, with no dependents and between the ages of 17 to 27.

Au Pair come to the UK to learn our language and about our culture and to help with light housework. In return for these duties they receive pocket money, full boarding and lodging. Au Pairs should have their own room and should live as part of your family as an older son or daughter with appropriate responsibilities for 3 months up to 2 years.

In the UK, in co-operation with our associate agencies abroad, we place Au Pair applicants from the following countries:

 

Au Pairs are also permitted to come to the UK under Tier 5, the Youth Mobility Visa. Under this visa we can accept candidates from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan.

 

Standard Au Pair Services

Standard Au Pairs (25 hours per week) - work 5 hours per day (5 days per week) and babysit for up to 2 evenings per week. They have at least 2 free days per week and usually weekends and must receive a minimum of £65 per week pocket money.

 

Au Pair Plus Services

Au Pair plus (26 to 35 hours per week, from EU countries only) - carry out the same duties and have the same free time as our Au Pair, but work for up to 35 hours per week. They should receive a minimum of £75 to £90 per week pocket money. Government guidelines state that any additional hours that the Au Pair plus assists should be paid at £3.50 per hour. We are happy to advise you on this matter further.

 

Mother's Help Services

Sunflower Au Pair Agency also supplies Mother’s help services.

Where the mother is at home with the children and she wants another pair of hands to help with the childcare and housework. Although less experience is required to work under supervision as a Mother's help it is important to like children and to be flexible about duties.

Typical duties expected of a Mother's help are:

• Assisting the mother with the daily routine from the time the children get up until they are in bed.
• Sorting and putting laundry in the washing machine and tumble dryer, then putting away clean clothes.
• Going with the family to the country for weekends and holidays.
• Time off is at least one and half to two days and evenings per week.
• Some families may require a Mother's help to have sole charge of the children and do housework unsupervised.
• Mother’s helps are not expected to take sole charge of a newborn or very young baby.
• Mother's helps can be live-in or live out.
• Mother's helps can expect to be paid £100 to £200 per week.
• Assisting with shopping and cooking, cleaning children's rooms and play areas (housework).
• Playing with and entertaining children creatively, taking them to nursery school or approved play schemes, babysitting once or twice a week. Driving may be required.

All Au Pairs must be allowed time off to attend English language classes either during the day or the evening.

Au Pairs appreciate having their weekends free when possible. Whilst the length of stay is flexible, most come for between 6 to12 months. Some Au Pairs come for the summer period only, in between studying, for 2 to 3 months.

 

Holidays

Please ensure that you find out whether your Au Pair wants to return to his/her home country e.g. for Christmas or any other reason during her stay.

Our Au Pairs and Mother’s Helps

Our Au Pairs come from all over Europe and particularly France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Northern and Eastern Europe, Martinique and Guadeloupe. They are well educated, mature and have proven childcare experience.

Our Au Pairs differ from others in that they are chosen principally for their love of children and their desire to become part of a family in the UK.

Our Service

For you and your family:

• All ourAu Pairs are rigorously screened and selected by Sunflower Au Pair Agency.
• We discuss your needs with you as part of the matching process.
• We send you a full information pack on your Au Pair, complete with childcare references, medical certificate and photographs of your Au Pair.
• We offer a replacement guarantee whereby should your Au Pair prove to be unsuitable during their stay, we will replace her with another of your choice up to 2 months from the Au Pair start date. See our terms and conditions of business on the registration page.
• We offer a follow up service to identify and resolve problems or concerns that you or your Au Pair may have during the preliminary stages of the stay. In our experience the follow up service has been very successful in ensuring that the relationship between our Au Pair and families remains compatible. This involves a follow up call to discuss how you and your Au Pair are getting on in the first ten days.
• We provide on-going customer care throughout your Au Pair's stay. We can help to resolve any problems or queries which you may have.
• Our Au Pair services are available throughout the UK.
• We are available by phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on +44 (0)20 8245 4789.