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Safety

Important for Au Pairs and Families

Aupair World is the worldwide leading online agency for au pairs and host families. We offer a plattform, which enables families and au pairs find each other.
 

What you can do for own safety:

1. Reply to applications only if you find the relative profile in our database.
   Insert the name of the person on the "Search Aupair World" field on the left top of our website.
2. If you receive applications from persons, whose profile cannot be found on Aupair World, please forward the application to support@aupair-world.net. They will be help you find out the scammers and remove them form our database.
3. Be cautious of
   - unrealistic attractive offers or promises, i.e. extarordinary pocket money.
   - advance payment requirements, i.e. travel expenses, alleged  fees for agencies or assurences.
   - Supernannys, who seem to be overqualified in all means.

Before taking your decision, we recommend you to have a few phone conversations with each other. Even if you need to have someone urgently, give yourself enough time and trust your gut feeling.
 

 

For You as an Au Pair

You can do a lot in advance for your own safety. Enquire as much as possible the expectations of the host family. Inform them about your wishes. Hold your agreements in a written form. Talking to the family on phone will also give you an impression of them. Send a letter to the home address to find out whether the address is correct. Ask the family if the had previous au pairs. If so, require names and phone numbers so that you ask these au pairs about their experience with the family.

Talk to an experienced person whom you trust. We deliberately don't mention your parents,  young people usuall do not seek advice from their parents. Give that person a specific time to call him and inform him about your safe arrival. Never give your passport to anyone. Your passport is your personal property. The family my have a copy of it.

If there are occurrences within the family which do not seem normal to you at all, talk to the person you trust. You do not need to tolerate everything. If the family does not abide by agreements. discuss that with your confidant and ask for advice.

Please also note: The family takes a risk, too. They don't know either who they are letting into their home.

What should you also take into consideration:
 
Having at least basic knowledge of the host country's language is a must. You need to be able to cope with the daily situations by yourself:
 
 

• if the child gets hurt, you should be able to call a doctor and the parents
• you should be able to ask for the way
• you should be able to go shopping alone

If you are interested in a country of which you do not yet speak the language, you should attend one or two language courses before you go there. Language courses can be attended at
 
 

• colleges of further education
• language schools
• universities
• evening schools

For You as a Host Family

Most people are mature and experienced enough to estimate if a person is "safe". If you are not sure about an au pair, you should ask him/her for references.

If you have an au pair living with you and you have checked his/her references, there will still be a risk, even if you go through an agency which "checks" the au pairs.
 
We recommend to call the au pairs and to communicate with them by email more than once. This gives you an impression of the au pairs' language skills and you will be able to judge how well they fit in your family . Just trust your gut feelings. If you don't have a good impression or do not feel comfortable, you should not invite the au pair. You could also talk to the au pair's parents to gain an idea about the family.

If the au pair comes from a neighbouring country - and he/she does not live too far away - you can arrange a meeting before the au pair comes to your family. You can visit him/her in the home country or you can invite him/her to be a guest in your house. One week should be sufficient to get to know each other. However, this period should not be considered as a probation.
 
Please inform the au pair about his/her future tasks before the au pair starts the job to prevent that the person gets a wrong idea about the job in your family. It might be very helpful to draw up a detailed schedule. It should contain working hours, tasks and spare time. You should also consider the evenings into this schedule if you have fixed appointments and when you need the au pair to babysit.
 
The first weeks you should familiarize the au pair with your household so she or he gets an impression on how things are structured in your family. If her language skills are not good enough to understand your explainations, you can write them down in simple words, draw a sketch or take e.g. the vacuum cleaner and show how to operate it. Particularly with electrical equipment there can be some big operating differences from country to country.
 
During the first weeks it may be better not to leave the au pair alone with your children. You should observe how the au pair and your children interact. If you feel comfortable with the situation, you can leave the house for short periods and then you can extend the periods of absence.
 
Leave a telephone number for the au pair where you can be reached. Keep this telephone number and emergency number near to the telephone and make sure to show them to the au pair. Many au pairs are timid of having a telephone conversation in a foreign language. You can train them on telephone conversations. Just call the au pair sometimes when you are away to ask her if everything is all right. However, the au pair should not feel checked by your calls or get the impression that you think that she cannot manage it alone. During the first time, you should not be sparing of praise, but you should also say openly what you like to have improved.
 
If  you think that the au pair is not suitable or that problems will occur,  you should help the au pair to find a new host family.
 

In case of serious problems, always seek help by contacting the police.