Au Pair in China: salary, working hours, holidays, etc.

Each Au Pair country has its standards that Au Pairs and a Host Families need to meet. In this post, you will find the key information about the Au Pair program in China. 

Being an Au Pair in China is a bit different from being one in the Western countries. The main scope of the program in China is to help children to learn English or another foreign language. As a rule, participants are less involved in the housework and more focused on teaching and playing with kids. Read also about the common Au Pair responsibilities during the stay.

The main responsibility of a Host Family is to welcome their Au Pair into the family so he/she can really feel at home. The family needs to provide an accommodation for the Au Pair, regular meals and also give monthly pocket money so the participant can cover the daily personal costs. The Chinese Host Families also need to cover the costs of the insurance and the Mandarin language class, that will help the Au Pair to better connect with the children soon. In addition to it, the families will give some support with the flight tickets depending on the length of stay. 

 

We recommend discussing the question about the responsibilities of both parties and the schedule before the Au Pair’s arrival abroad. Don’t forget to mention all the important details in the contract. 

 

Sounds good so far?

Although the working hours might vary depending on the Host Family, Au Pairs in China work 30 hours a week as a rule. Babysitting also counts as the working hours, thus it is important to discuss these details before the stay begins. 

Don’t forget that the schedule should reserve some time to attend a Chinese language course as it’s one of the requirements of the program.
 

As a rule, Au Pairs receive a sum of pocket money on a monthly basis. The salary varies between 700 and 2000 yuan per month.

 

If the participant happens to work any extra hours, he/she needs to discuss with the family, whether they will prefer paying for the hours or adding them as the holidays/free time in the future. 

The participant will get 12 days vacation during a one year stay and he/she needs to inform the family at least one week in advance before taking it. Above official vacation, the participant will also get his/her day off on all public holidays. 

 

During the stay, the Host Family might also travel somewhere and might offer the Au Pair to join them. To avoid misunderstandings, we suggest to discuss if this time will be work or holidays. 

According to the official rules of the Au Pair program, the Host Family has to provide accommodation and full board to their Au Pair. During the whole stay, the participant is not supposed to spend or return any money for lodging or food, inclusively if she/he feels sick or during the holiday period. 
 

Mandarin is the most spoken mother tongue on Earth with a total of 1.1 billion speakers. A Chinese language course is one of the requirements of the program. Both the Au Pair and the Host family need to discuss the daily/weekly schedule of the activities, so the participant can plan out time to attend the language course. 

 

As a rule, the Host Family needs to cover all the fees in advance. If the Au Pair would like to change the course later, he/she might have to cover the additional expenses.