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Au-Pair

What is an Au-Pair?
An Au-Pair is a young person between the ages of 18 and 30 who is interested in improving their foreign language skills while living in another country. The Au-Pair would live with a host family for a period of time, and in exchange for light domestic work and caring for children, would receive room and board as well as pocket money.

Are Au-Pairs legally recognized?
Au-Pair is a type of temporary work governed by the Council of Europe Agreement of November 24th, 1969, ratified by Belgium, Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland. Spain was incorporated on June 24th, 1988 (Official Government Bulletin, Number 214, 6th September, 1988). The Resolution of the Ministry of External Affairs of 15th June, 1989 in reference to the work of the Au-Pair was passed at a later date (Official Government Bulletin, Number 154, 27th June, 1989).

Requirements

  • Be between 18 and 30 years of age
  • Have a working level of Spanish
  • Previous experience and be responsible with children
  • Be in good health, and have good manners
  • Be a non-smoker, or at least not smoke in the family home or in the presence of host family members

Commitments

The Au-Pair program at INSTITUTO HEMINGWAY proposes a series of commitments for all parties concerned (Au-Pairs, host families, and INSTITUTO HEMINGWAY). The following guidelines form the basis of expectations to be fulfilled upon, which will benefit all involved.

The Au-Pair´s Obligations

  • Work five hours a day, five days a week
  • Work 7-8 hours, 5 days a week in the Au-pair Master program
  • Assist in the care of the children
  • Baby sit one or two nights a week should the parents wish to go out
  • Carry out simple household tasks
  • Be clean and responsible for personal expenses such as: telephone, classes, insurance, and transportation
  • Give two weeks notice in case of being unable to finish contract

The Host Family´s Obligations

  • Treat the Au-Pair like an elder sister of the family
  • Provide the Au-Pair with full-room and board, and a room of their own
  • Pay the Au-Pair 50 Euros per week
  • Allow the Au-Pair two days off per week
  • Allow the Au-Pair to attend classes or other cultural activities
  • Give two weeks notice in case of having to rescind the contract

INSTITUTO HEMINGWAY´S commitment

  • Carefully screen Au-Pairs, as well as the host families
  • Interview Au-Pairs and host families
  • Do follow up on the relationship between the Au-Pair and the host family for the duration of the contract
  • Provide support and orientation to the Au-Pair
  • Serve as a link between the Au-Pairs and the host family, and mediate possible conflicts
  • Provide the Au-Pair with a file on cultural, educational, health and other practical issues

We wish to stress that the selection of Au-Pair and of the host family is not imposed, but rather it is by mutual agreement that dictates the final placement.

In order to broaden their knowledge and use of Spanish and Spanish culture, we make our program of courses available to the Au-Pair. The combination of grammar and day-to-day living with a family allows our Au-Pairs to truly become fluent in the Spanish language.