Terms and Conditions

•  Families must complete our Registration Form and accept the Terms & Conditions before they are accepted as clients. If registering online, filling the online Registration Form constitutes confirmation of acceptance of the agency’s Terms & Conditions.

The placement fee is a single charge and is payable before the Au Pair is in residence.

•  Placement fees are payable after selection of an Au Pair and must be received by the agency when the family offers to engage the Au Pair and such offer is accepted by the Au Pair.

Light Housework 

Is an au pair required to help with housework?

The family can expect light housework from the au pair. If the au pair shall be responsible for the laundry, this should be restricted to hanging out the clothes to dry, folding and ironing. The sorting of dirty underwear is not the task of the au pair and neither is the cleaning of the toilets unless the au pair is the only person who uses this toilet. 
Many au pairs do not know how to cook. If this will be necessary in your household, you should clear this out in advance.

You can ask your Aupair to ‘sweep’ the house in the evening, 15 minutes before she goes off duty.  Make sure the toys and games are picked up and put away.  Playroom can pass an inspection.  Tables are cleared.  The kitchen counter top has been wiped down.  Sink is empty. 

1. Child related chores 
• Children’s laundry 
• Maintaining children’s rooms, vacuuming kids’ rooms, ie. Supervising kids putting  their toys away, or Au Pair puts toys away depending on age of kids 
• Making kid’s beds or supervising them doing so 
• Preparing children’s meals and snacks 
• Children’s playroom

2. Chores Around the Common Areas of The House 
Concerning asking your Au Pair  to help with cleaning the common areas of the home, which are areas where she spends time during the day and the evening too.  An Aupair can do her fair share of chores.  It’s team work.  I urge you to make sure that the Aupair sees you or your husband doing the very same chores off and on.  That way she doesn’t feel like she is the only one ever doing a particular chore.  That can quickly translate in her feeling that she is being abused. 

Following light housekeeping chores are acceptable, use your own discretion please: 
• Kitchen countertop, sink, dishes, dishwasher, stove, occasional sweeping 
• Breakfast nook / dining area, sweeping of floor, 
• Family room, occasional vacuuming, straightening up 
• Occasional dusting, occasionally buying groceries 
• Cooking a meal from her home country every 2 – 4 weeks

Excluded are:  parents bedroom, bathroom, because the Aupair wouldn’t normally spend any time there.  
Up to 45 minutes/day.  Do not over burden them.

Her Private Bedroom 
Privacy.  Children should be taught not to enter the Aupair’s room without permission.  
Aupair has to keep her own bedroom and bathroom clean.  Give her specific guidelines in writing about what all has to be cleaned, including closets.  Set cleaning schedule, ie. Weekly, if desired. Is she allowed to hang pictures? 

•  Monitoring of the Placement

-After placement the family will maintain regular contact and communication with The Agency in order to monitor the appropriateness of the placement and the fulfilment of the program requirements. The family must notify any issue that happens between them and the au pair so that Aussie Au pair may try to find solutions at the right time.
-Important Note: Some Au Pair applicants may be formally trained in the care of babies and infant toddlers, however unless specifically stated it is not advisable to make sole charge care of babies and infants the responsibility of untrained carers.

REPLACEMENT WARRANTY

We offer a warranty if the au pair leaves on all of our placements, limited to 1 replacement . This is on the condition that: 
1-The invoice is paid on time. This will only apply if our account has been paid/ received by the due date If the invoice is not paid within 5 days the warranty becomes void. 
2- The family provides in written a justified reason for requesting a replacement. 
3-The replacement au pair must work under the same conditions as the first au pair, and have similar experience, the family can not add extra requirements to be satisfied by the replacement au pair (baby experience, driving capabilities, age, nationality, not stated in their original application). 
– no replacement au pair will be provided if the circumstances of the family change ( more kids to care or newborn baby arriving)

The agency will offer a free replacement when written notification is received if:

•  If the Au pair leaves within 30 days

Upon expiry of the guarantee period it is agreed that the engagement is satisfactory and that The Agency’s obligations have been fulfilled. If the candidate leaves after the guarantee period, agency fees apply for further placements. Replacements are subject to punctual payment of full Fee.

REPLACEMENTS when and how

Our Approach: If there is an issue between you and the au pair, we provide support to the family by assisting to find solutions, we’ll first try to assist to find a solution between the two parties. We can mediate and often an open and frank discussion results in a positive outcome. 

At all times we ask both parties to remain courteous. 
The hosting contract states 4 weeks notice, if the family is willing to terminate her contract, giving au pair and host family a chance to make alternative arrangements.

Replacement entitlement:

If the au pair leaves within the guarantee period and the family provides in written a justified reason for requesting a replacement

The Agency cannot warranty that a suitable candidate is available for immediate replacement but existing Clients are always given priority. Replacements are subject to punctual payment of full Fee. No refunds are payable where the client rejects to have a replacement.

•  Unreasonable rejection of replacement candidates may result in delays and will not entitle customer to a refund.

•  All candidates are entitled to four week’s notice of termination of employment. Failure to comply with this condition results in automatic loss of right to replacement. However, in the event of serious misconduct by the Au-pair or The Client, either party shall be entitled to terminate the engagement immediately. If the Au-pair’s departure is as a result of misconduct on the part of The Client, The Agency has no obligation to replace the Au-pair, or offer any refund of fees.

•  In the case that the Au Pair leaves for refusing to accept his/her duties in relation to a reason which was not known and/or expressly written in your Family’s application, (is: looking after mentally challenged children, working outside of agreed times etc…), the agency has no obligation to replace the Au pair, or offer any refund of fees.

•  In all cases if a substitute is offered by the agency and refused by the Client no refund or credit is due.

•  The agency reserves the right of discretion to offer a replacement au pair should the au pair leave the position , for no valid reason as determined by The agency, provided that the placement fee has been paid in full . The agency will offer a replacement au pair to the family, entirely at its discretion, dependant on the circumstances. Initial replacement au pair will be free of any additional charges. No refund of placement fee is applicable once the placement has commenced. Should The agency exercise its discretion to offer a replacement au pair and the family refuses this option or if the family should find their own replacement, a refund of the placement fee is still not applicable.