Taking Your Au Pair on Holiday

Every family looks forward to their annual family holiday – but decisions as to whether to take your au pair with you, vary. Here we provide some advice for all occasions!

Should You Take Your Au Pair?

For most people, a holiday is a time to relax and re-charge the batteries, to enjoy quality family time together without the stresses of work and home.

For some families, this means precious time without the au pair – time when you can just be yourselves without playing host to a guest, when you can spend time with the kids yourself instead of needing someone else to look after them for you, and when you can have a break from giving instructions.

For others, an au pair on a family holiday, means time when you can go out for romantic dinners without the children, it means long, lazy mornings in bed while the children are in safe hands, and it means you can enjoy a little luxury while the children are being entertained by someone they know – having a good time as well.

Whichever sort of holiday you prefer, you will need to discuss it with your au pair and plan accordingly.

A Working Holiday

If you require your au pair to accompany you in order to work for the family whilst on holiday, you must decide whether her duties will be much the same or if they will be different during the time that you are away. If different, try to schedule what help you might need and prepare a revised time-table for the trip. If appropriate, also discuss any changes in pocket money whilst away.

If your au pair is to be on duty whilst away with you, you must treat her as normal and include him/her on any excursions you might make or else allow her the choice to explore the surroundings herself in her own free time.

Family Holiday

If you are taking a family holiday and do not mind your au pair joining you as a member of the family but do not require her to work during that time, then it would be common practise to give her one of 3 choices:

• To take her holiday with the family by coming with you – in which case you should not ask her to do any work over and above the normal contribution any family member would make.
• To give her the choice of taking her holiday while you are away and returning home for a while or going elsewhere.
• To ask her to remain at your home whilst you are away and carry out certain agreed duties for which she will receive her normal allowance. (This can sometimes be useful for families who want to leave pets at home which need looking after etc).

Who Pays For What?

If you invite your au pair on holiday with you, whether on a family holiday abroad, a short break in the UK, or perhaps during regular visits to a holiday home, it will be the responsibility of the host family to finance the trip of the au pair.

This means that the family should pay for their travel, accommodation, and food whilst away. They should also pay for any expenses incurred whilst on duty with the children or excursions when she is working.

Insurance, Medicines and Visas

If you are a family who travels regularly or extensively and wish your au pair to accompany your family, do make sure, before you appoint them, that they will be able to join you!

Checks you will need to make include making sure they’ve had relevant medical treatment for travelling, that they have adequate insurance cover and if they are from a non-EU country, that they will be legally able to visit the countries you wish, by possessing the correct visa.

Whatever trips you plan to make, as long as all parties clearly understand what is required of them and are happy, everyone should have a great time!