How do you keep track of hours?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All hours are in google calendar which is shared with AP. Her schedule is usually the same from week to week but I also put kids activities in there so she is expected to look at the calendar daily for start/end times, addresses of where to drive the kids to, etc. I set it up on the au pair phone. No more paper for us for the last 4APs.

+1
Set schedule and google calendar.
Plus sticky notes on the door for major deviations (for everybody to remember, including mom and dad).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Um, Cultural Care gives the "Au Pair Communication booklet". Each page is a weekly day by day calendar, and you write the Au Pair's schedule/hours each day in there. and any activities and special notes. She looks at it every weekend to see her schedule for the upcoming week.

Every host family I know uses this.

Don't the other agencies have the same thing?

That's what we do, too. We also use it to enter certain events for us, and our AP does the same for her events that are scheduled far in advance. Then, every Sunday, we set the schedule for next week. Even if it's copy/paste from last week. This way, everyone is on the same page.

[Anonymous]

I thought we were required to track and write down the number of hours we use every week, even if we're under the limit, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought we were required to track and write down the number of hours we use every week, even if we're under the limit, no?

There is no "requirement" but it is prudent and helpful all around ...

(1) everyone is on the same page about start and end times - no misunderstanding or ambiguity about when AP is expected to work, when it counts as work, and when it counts as "being a family member" (not part of the 45 hours; AP not responsible for the kids but may socialize if she wants to)

(2) allows AP to make plans for her personal time and be able to depend on it

(3) "paper" trail to defend any allegations by AP that HF made her work over 45 hours a week

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Um, Cultural Care gives the "Au Pair Communication booklet". Each page is a weekly day by day calendar, and you write the Au Pair's schedule/hours each day in there. and any activities and special notes. She looks at it every weekend to see her schedule for the upcoming week.

Every host family I know uses this.

Don't the other agencies have the same thing?

APIA also gives us a book called "Kids in Care" or something like it. I use it for her working schedule, kids activities, holidays, camps, early release, vacation, etc.

[Anonymous]

I'm confused about Tuesday - Monday work week. Is that what a lot of people do? I'm a soon to be FT host mom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused about Tuesday - Monday work week. Is that what a lot of people do? I'm a soon to be FT host mom.

and for those using this schedule what day to you pay your OP, Monday?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused about Tuesday - Monday work week. Is that what a lot of people do? I'm a soon to be FT host mom.

and for those using this schedule what day to you pay your OP, Monday?

we use the calendar (we sometimes schedule hours on Sat), but we pay on Friday. APs like to have money before the weekend

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused about Tuesday - Monday work week. Is that what a lot of people do? I'm a soon to be FT host mom.

and for those using this schedule what day to you pay your OP, Monday?

AP arrives on Thursday night from orientation and I pay her every Friday starting the following week. But I plan my weeks Monday- Sunday. Then again we are not with CC, so we don't have this 'pay full week' rule that makes people strategize their start day. If AP were to leave mid week, we would prorate the $40 something per day we owe her. That's how my agency calculates what's owed if AP is short or above her 51 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused about Tuesday - Monday work week. Is that what a lot of people do? I'm a soon to be FT host mom.

and for those using this schedule what day to you pay your OP, Monday?

AP arrives on Thursday night from orientation and I pay her every Friday starting the following week. But I plan my weeks Monday- Sunday. Then again we are not with CC, so we don't have this 'pay full week' rule that makes people strategize their start day. If AP were to leave mid week, we would prorate the $40 something per day we owe her. That's how my agency calculates what's owed if AP is short or above her 51 weeks.

We did this, then CCAP told us we had to pay our exiting AP another stipend for any hours after 5pm Friday. So we now go Tue (first work day after training) to Mon, and pay the last stolen on her last work day. I find the CCAP to be so inflexible that I have added a lot CYA measures to my normal laid-back approach.
I've also had an AP who was working 40-45 hours tell her LCC she was working too much, so I second meticulous written records.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused about Tuesday - Monday work week. Is that what a lot of people do? I'm a soon to be FT host mom.

and for those using this schedule what day to you pay your OP, Monday?

AP arrives on Thursday night from orientation and I pay her every Friday starting the following week. But I plan my weeks Monday- Sunday. Then again we are not with CC, so we don't have this 'pay full week' rule that makes people strategize their start day. If AP were to leave mid week, we would prorate the $40 something per day we owe her. That's how my agency calculates what's owed if AP is short or above her 51 weeks.

We did this, then CCAP told us we had to pay our exiting AP another stipend for any hours after 5pm Friday. So we now go Tue (first work day after training) to Mon, and pay the last stolen on her last work day. I find the CCAP to be so inflexible that I have added a lot CYA measures to my normal laid-back approach.
I've also had an AP who was working 40-45 hours tell her LCC she was working too much, so I second meticulous written records.

With a Tue to Mon, what day do you pay the stipend?

[Anonymous]

on Friday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:on Friday.

So the week is Tues to Mon and you pay the AP early (the Friday before that Monday) except the last week (51) which you pay on the last day, a Monday, instead of the previous Friday?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:on Friday.

So the week is Tues to Mon and you pay the AP early (the Friday before that Monday) except the last week (51) which you pay on the last day, a Monday, instead of the previous Friday?

With CCAP, you owe the whole stipend for even an hour of work in a week, so it doesn't really matter, even though it seems strange. One AP totaled the car on a Monday and we still had to pay her for the week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:on Friday.

So the week is Tues to Mon and you pay the AP early (the Friday before that Monday) except the last week (51) which you pay on the last day, a Monday, instead of the previous Friday?

With CCAP, you owe the whole stipend for even an hour of work in a week, so it doesn't really matter, even though it seems strange. One AP totaled the car on a Monday and we still had to pay her for the week.

This is absolutely true. Our LCC could not come over the weekend to do the transition, so she came on Monday at 8am. Because the AP had stayed home with DS while I drove DD to school, (even though not interacting with him), she was still considered "on" and I owed the entire week's stipend. I made a fuss about it, and CC did end up crediting me a week of the agency's fees, but I had to pay the AP the full stipend for about 15 minutes of non-work.