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Vacation with Au Pair

Going on vacation with the au pair

You want to go on vacation, but you aren’t sure if you should take the au pair with you or not.
Find out everything you need to know about your vacation with or without the au pair.

INFORMATION AT A GLANCE:

  • If you take the au pair on vacation with you, you have to pay for the au pair’s travel expenses
  • It is not considered vacation if the au pair has to work
  • If the au pair’s presence is not mandatory, it is considered a vacation
  • If you leave your au pair at home, it is also considered vacation
  • Many au pairs like to travel on their own when the host family goes on vacation

The host family wants to go on vacation

You want to go on vacation with your family.

Now, you are wondering if you should take the au pair with you or not. Both options have their advantages.

Especially if both parents work, it might be a good idea to go on vacation without the au pair.

This will give you and your children more quality time together.

Use the time between two au pairs to go on vacation with family

If one au pair is leaving your family and you are expecting the next one, we recommend taking some time off in between departure  and arrival  of the au pairs and going on vacation with your family. This gives your children some time to process the departure of the au pair and at the same time they get to spend some quality time with their parents.

After returning from your trip, the entire family will be more relaxed and balanced and ready to welcome the new au pair.

Going on vacation with the au pair

Another option is to take the au pair with you on vacation. In this case, the host family has to pay for the au pair’s travel expenses and in return the au pair helps you with your children and other little chores during your vacation.

If your au pair comes with you to take care of the children during your vacation— it counts as work .

If your au pair comes on vacation with you, but doesn’t have to be with your children— in other words, if the au pair’s presence is not mandatory, it counts as vacation time for the au pair as well. The au pair is entitled to a certain number of vacation days,  so this time will be subtracted from that. You can only count it as vacation time if your au pair doesn’t have to do any big tasks for you.

You go on vacation and the au pair stays at home

Many host families leave their au pair at home when they go on vacation. During this period, the au pair is not allowed to work for other families, neighbors or friends. Usually, during their time off, the au pair goes back home or travels.

Talk to the au pair about your travel plans as soon as possible

You should talk to your  au pair about your vacation  plans as soon as possible.

Please refrain from going on vacation during the first three months after the au pair has arrived. This usually only messes up the phase where you all get used to each other and it makes it hard to establish a routine with the au pair.

What about holidays?

Besides vacation, you should figure out what you want to do on holidays. Make an agreement  with the au pair. Tell the au pair on which holidays you need help with the children , and on which ones you don’t. Many au pairs use the holidays to go on short trips with other au pairs.

Is there a holiday that you want to spend together with the au pair, like Christmas?  Make sure the au pair knows when to stay at home.