Weekly stipend?

[Anonymous]

Are families in NoVa, DC, MoCo still paying $200 per week? I had heard that the stipend was more flexible now (can be increased) and we are just looking to be fair to our next AP. We are hosting again after a break. Thank you for any perspective.

[Anonymous]

We still pay $200 per week but only use 20-25 hours. We paid extra on that week with school delay for COVID testing and snow because she worked more than usual.

[Anonymous]

Many, many families are paying more, but many are not. It’s been much harder to attract an AP during the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

We’ve been paying $250 since March 2020 (now our 2nd Au pair with the increased rate). She typically only works ~25 hours a week, but that can change in an instant if the school moves to quarantine/ virtual learning, etc. She also has been extremely safe during the pandemic, and we appreciate that (and feel like Au pairs should make a bit more to work through these crazy times).

I think it is hard for families who only offer $200. My Au pairs friends who are looking to extend with another family all are getting paid $200. My Au pair and her friends who have extended in to year 2 with the same family are all getting paid somewhere between $225-$275 a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been paying $250 since March 2020 (now our 2nd Au pair with the increased rate). She typically only works ~25 hours a week, but that can change in an instant if the school moves to quarantine/ virtual learning, etc. She also has been extremely safe during the pandemic, and we appreciate that (and feel like Au pairs should make a bit more to work through these crazy times).

I think it is hard for families who only offer $200. My Au pairs friends who are looking to extend with another family all are getting paid $200. My Au pair and her friends who have extended in to year 2 with the same family are all getting paid somewhere between $225-$275 a week.

I don't think families are paying $275 for 25 hrs. Also this post is written by an AP. First: "We have been paying $250 since March 2020" Second: "My Au pairs friends who are looking to extend?" And then "My Au pair and her friends who have extend?". I'm %100 You are not a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been paying $250 since March 2020 (now our 2nd Au pair with the increased rate). She typically only works ~25 hours a week, but that can change in an instant if the school moves to quarantine/ virtual learning, etc. She also has been extremely safe during the pandemic, and we appreciate that (and feel like Au pairs should make a bit more to work through these crazy times).

I think it is hard for families who only offer $200. My Au pairs friends who are looking to extend with another family all are getting paid $200. My Au pair and her friends who have extended in to year 2 with the same family are all getting paid somewhere between $225-$275 a week.

I don't think families are paying $275 for 25 hrs. Also this post is written by an AP. First: "We have been paying $250 since March 2020" Second: "My Au pairs friends who are looking to extend?" And then "My Au pair and her friends who have extend?". I'm %100 You are not a parent.

I don’t even know a family who pays more than $200/week when hosting.

[Anonymous]

We pay $200 for about 25h/week. When the schedule ends up closer to 40h/week, we pay $300.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been paying $250 since March 2020 (now our 2nd Au pair with the increased rate). She typically only works ~25 hours a week, but that can change in an instant if the school moves to quarantine/ virtual learning, etc. She also has been extremely safe during the pandemic, and we appreciate that (and feel like Au pairs should make a bit more to work through these crazy times).

I think it is hard for families who only offer $200. My Au pairs friends who are looking to extend with another family all are getting paid $200. My Au pair and her friends who have extended in to year 2 with the same family are all getting paid somewhere between $225-$275 a week.

I don't think families are paying $275 for 25 hrs. Also this post is written by an AP. First: "We have been paying $250 since March 2020" Second: "My Au pairs friends who are looking to extend?" And then "My Au pair and her friends who have extend?". I'm %100 You are not a parent.

I am the PP who wrote about how we increased our pay at the start of the pandemic.

I am not an AP - just a busy mom, responding via phone while multi-tasking.

I live in MoCo, and have been hosting for almost 6 years. Whether you believe it or not, all Au Pairs compare pay, perks, schedules, and more. Most of the AP’s that I was told was not extending with their current family are getting paid $200. The AP’s who have chosen to extend are getting a bit more than the baseline. No need to debate it, ask around and you’ll see that a lot of the AP’s who are leaving, are looking for a ‘better package’. This does not make them any more entitled than our peers who are sharing job packages / pay on Glassdoor and searching for roles / positions on LinkedIn based on additional perks / packages.

Paying a bit more than the baseline and keeping our awesome AP is definitely worth it to my family rather than starting over with a new AP - trying to build relationships, teaching them the schedules, parenting rules, etc.

[Anonymous]

As someone said, it depends on the total package. We always pay the stipend (250 for extraordinaire or 200 for non-extraordinaire), but we also provide a dedicated car, gym membership, all gas, cell phone service, one kid in school, no evenings/weekends. Never had any complaints and we have always had long-term au pairs. I always tell potential au pairs if they can find a rich family in Hawaii they should take it, but I do not bargain. I pay a huge bonus at the end of their term that I do not disclose when matching, and I will fly them home if they extend. If I were not providing a car, I might consider paying more than the stipend - but owning/maintaining/insuring a second car for a 25 year old from a foreign country is very expensive.

[Anonymous]

If it doesn't come up during matching, then you put the minimum stipend as what you promise to pay in the contract. No one cares if you decide to give bonuses or regular pay more after that. But I would not put an increased amount from the beginning in the contract without observing performance and end up bitter than you pay $225 for an AP that does less with your 2 kids than another AP with 4 kids and only $200. Even our LCC advises not to pay more in the beginning and save it as gifts/bonuses.

[Anonymous]

Bumping this, is it common to pay more in year 2?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bumping this, is it common to pay more in year 2?

We only paid a higher stipend in year two because we had a rockstar of an AP and I was pregnant with another baby. I don't know any families who pay more than $200-225/week for an aupair stipend. Hosting is expensive and the stipend is not a salary but supposed to be discretionary income.

[Anonymous]

A lot of people paid more during the height of the pandemic and school shutdowns, but I haven’t heard of au pairs requesting more recently. This is based on hosting au pairs for years and interviewing candidates recently.

[Anonymous]

We paid $10 an hr. So $250ish during the school year $3-400ish during the summer. We have 4 kids though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We paid $10 an hr. So $250ish during the school year $3-400ish during the summer. We have 4 kids though.

We also pay $10/hr but with a $250 floor. 3 kids including an infant so we need infant qualified APs which are harder to find.