Host an au pair

An au pair usually lives in your home as part of the family and helps with looking after the children and light housework. However informal the arrangement feels, an au pair who is not a member of your family is a worker you employ.

Pay at least the minimum wage

Before 1 April 2024, an au pair treated as one of the family could be paid pocket money below the minimum wage. From 1 April 2024 the exemption covers only workers who are members of your own family, so an au pair is entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for the hours they work.

If you provide your au pair's accommodation, the value of it has to be taken into account when you work out whether you are paying the minimum wage, and only up to a set daily limit. Keep records that show you pay at least the minimum wage.

Check they can work for you

You can host an au pair who:

• is a British or Irish citizen
• is from an EU country and has settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or is eligible to apply for it
• has a Youth Mobility Scheme visa

Anyone else needs a visa whose conditions allow the work, so check those conditions before they start. You must not take on an au pair who is in the UK on a visitor visa. Check their right to work, either online with their share code or from their original documents, and keep a copy. If you employ someone who is not allowed to work and have not done a correct check, you can face a civil penalty of up to £60,000.

Run payroll if you need to

Depending on what you pay, your au pair may owe Income Tax and National Insurance. If they do, register with HMRC as an employer and deduct them through payroll.

Agree the arrangement in writing

Agree with your au pair, before they arrive, the hours they will work, their pay, which duties they will do, their room, their time off and holidays, and how either of you can end the arrangement. Give them a written statement of these terms on or before their first day.