互惠生定义

The French term Au Pair means “equal to”, which implies that the Au Pair and the Host Family are considered on the same level, a relationship which is different from the one between employer and employee.

An Au Pair is generally a young person that provides flexible childcare and helps out with light housework, such as cleaning after the kids, tidying up their rooms, helping out with the children’s laundry.

Nannies do not take part in the Au Pair program. Instead they have to be employed under the labour law of the Host Country and have to be paid a minimum wage salary. Find out more about the differences between a Nanny and an Au Pair here.

As part of the Au Pair program, an Au pair has the right to get three meals per day provided by the Host Family and her/his own room.

One of the perks of becoming an Au Pair is to live with a Host Family without paying any rent. The Au Pair also needs to have her/his own room. There can be other agreements between the Au Pair and the Host Family, but it is important that the Au Pair has the opportunity to participate in the Host Family’s daily life and must not pay rent in any way.

The main purpose of taking part in the Au Pair program is the opportunity for the Au Pair to get in close touch with another culture by living with a Host Family and for the family to host somebody from a foreign country to get to know their culture. Read more about how to integrate the two cultures in the Host Family here. Read more about how to integrate different cultures in the Host family here.

Cleaning the house and cooking for everyone in the family are NOT part of the Au Pair’s duties. Read more about the Au Pair’s responsibilities here.

Find out the specific age requirements for each country here.

Here you can read more about all the requirements in order to become an Au Pair.

You can read more about the requirements to become a Host Family here.

Signing the Au Pair contract is crucial for the relationship between Host family and Au pair, as it is a guarantee to avoid misunderstandings in the future. You can find more information about the Au Pair contract here.

The Au Pair is allowed and encouraged to join the Host Family during mealtime.

The Au Pair can work up to a certain amount of hours each week, depending on the Host Country, but it is generally considered a part-time job, which should also be planned weeks in advance. Read here to find out the maximum amount of hours allowed for each country.

The Au Pair is entitled to have the time to attend a language course as part of the Au Pair experience. This should be discussed with the Host Family and stated in the contract.

Looking after other people’s children cannot be considered one of the Au Pair’s duties.

Au Pairs do not earn a lot of money, so when they get ill they should still be entitled to receive their full pocket money. Make sure you state these conditions in the Au Pair contract.

Babysitting can be one of the tasks performed by the Au Pair, but it is considered an extra task and should therefore be paid extra. Make sure you state in the contract how much the Au Pair should get paid for overtime.

Taking part in the Au Pair program means, in many cases, becoming part of the Host Family by taking part in their activities and spending time with them.