The Au Pair Contract
Once you've found an au pair or host family and you're both ready to move forward, you'll want to sign a contract. It's the single most helpful step you can take to make sure that both parties set expectations about what the au pair will be doing, and what they will be provided with. For some countries the contract is required as part of the au pair program or to obtain a visa. For others it's optional, but we highly recommend signing one anyway.The contract specifies lots of things, including the au pair and the family's duties, what hours the au pair will be working, the set up of the family home, the au pair's sleeping arrangements, pocket money and so on.
It's really important to make sure that you are both happy with the contract when you sign it. In our experience most au pair experiences are wonderful, but those that aren't are generally because one party did not clearly state what they expected before they started.
Some countries have an official contract which needs to be used. For others, we use the Council of Europe’s model contract for Au Pairs. Choose your destination country below, and we'll tell you which you need.