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Terms and Conditions for Avon Au Pair Agency
- These terms and conditions are deemed to be accepted by the Client on completion and submission of the registration form. Completion of registration forms a contract of agreement between the Agency and the Client.
- These Terms and Conditions shall be incorporated into and govern the contract of agreement between the Agency and the Client at all times.
- 'Avon Au Pair Agency' shall hereafter be referred to, as The Agency and the person registering with the Agency shall be known as The Client. The Client refers to a person or persons or company who engage the services of The Agency to find and place a suitable Au Pair(s) for a pre-arranged fee. The Au Pair will henceforth be referred to as the Au Pair.
- The introduction of the Client to an Au Pair and all information pertaining to that Au Pair is strictly confidential. Any information about the Au Pair passed by the Client to a third party and resulting in the engagement of the Au Pair will render the Client or Third Party liable to payment of agency fees.
- The Agency will use all reasonable efforts to introduce potential Au Pairs to the Client. The Agency will introduce the Au Pair to the Client via a set of documentation they have gathered together, usually in the form of an electronic file. This forms the basis of the knowledge of the Au Pair. The Agency has not, in most instances, met or interviewed the au pair candidate in person. Following the choice of an Au Pair(s) by the Client, the Agency will attend to the administration to assist the Au Pairs' placement and provide such further assistance from time to time as the Agency deems necessary at its sole discretion to ensure as successful placement.
- The Agency will make reasonable endeavours to place a suitable Au Pair for every appointment. However, it is the responsibility of the Client to satisfy itself as to the suitability of the Au Pair before they arrive. The Client is therefore STRONGLY ADVISED to check all details - including references, medical history and general background of the Au Pair personally. It is the Client's responsibility to check and decide if the Au Pair's standard of English is at a suitable level for their needs and if it is in line with the Au Pair's classification on their application. This is a subjective evaluation (unless accompanied by internationally regognised language certificates) and an acceptance of an au pair will be deemed as acceptance of the language that they say they have.
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Save in relation to death or personal injury, the Agency expressly excludes all liability for any damage, loss, theft, expense or inconvenience - whether direct, indirect, consequential or by omission - resulting from the engagement of the Au Pair through the introduction made by the Agency to the Client.
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The character and suitability of an Au Pair may not be judged by creed, colour or nationality.
- The Client warrants and agrees that:
a. The information contained in the completed registration form is complete and correct.
b. He/she has read and will comply with all relevant legislation, regulations and guidelines. This includes providing full board and lodging to an au pair, comprising all meals and a separate, furnished, unshared room of their own. The Client guaruntees to pay the au pair ontime, each week unless agreed otherwise by mutual arrangement.
c. He/she will at all times behave in a reasonable and responsible way towards the Au Pair. At all times the au pair should be treated 'on a par with' or as a family member.
d. The Au Pair is entitled to a minimum of 14 days notice of termination, plus pay.
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The Agency cannot and shall not offer any warranty as to the medical fitness, character or suitability of the Au Pair. It is the responsibility of the Client to procure/check all legal paperwork in the engagement of the Au Pair including but not limited to work permits, visas, medical documents, references, training qualifications.
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The Client shall provide to the Agency copies of work permits, visas and medical documents for immigration and reference purposes, unless the Agency is already in receipt of them.
- If the Client requires the Au Pair to drive, it is the full responsibility of the Client to check the driving credentials and to insure the Au Pair for use of the car. The Agency cannot give any warranty over the Au Pair's ability to drive.
- Hours of work and pay as well as holiday entitlement and details of expected duties should be clearly set out in writing as far as is possible, before commencement of the Au Pair's placement begins.
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Fees, Refunds & Replacements
Scale of Fees
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Summer Au Pair(male or female au pair, typically stays up to aprox 3 months June/July/Aug/Sept)......................................................£120
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Summer Au Pair Couple(male/female or two friends who work together for the same family June/July/Aug/)................................................£200
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Temporary (non summer) Au Pair (male or female au pair who intends to stay up to 3 months.............................................................£150
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Mid-Term au pair (male or female au pair who intends to stay over 3 months and up to 5 months>.............................................................£250
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Long-term Au Pair 'bronze' standard (female au pair who intends to stay 6 months +)......................................................................£300
Bronze = typically a non-driver and/or only basic English and/or young age; 17/18
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Male Au Pair(6 months +)...............................................................£350
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Long-term Au Pair 'silver' standard (female au pair who intends to stay 6 months +)........................................................£400
Silver = typically denotes a driver and/or fair-good English and/or age 19+ and/or willing to go to a rural area
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Long-term Au Pair 'gold' standard (intends to stay 6 months + )......................................£500
Gold is the most sought after - and rare - kind of au pair and typically denotes a female au pair aged 21+ who is a confident driver with fair/good/fluent English, willing to go to a rural area, willing to work more than 35 hours per week if needed, happy to do flexible hours, intending to stay 6 months + and with some previous childcare experience.
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EU Mother's Help / Domestic Worker - aged 27+. Often an older candidate and with experience but not always with a gold standard au pair's command of English and/or a driver.
.....................................................................................£450
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Housekeeper
.....................................................................................£550
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Au Pair Couple .....................................................................................£450
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EU 'Nanny' - Has relevant impressive experience but not a British-qualified nanny and not registered as such in the UK.
.....................................................................................£600
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British-qualified professional nanny
.....................................................................................3 x gross weekly salary
Please Note that some agencies charge us a very high percentage and where this happens, such as with the Dr. Lietz agency in Germany, our prices ae subject to an extra surcharge of £50.
PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT WHILST WE ENDEAVOUR TO KEEP THIS WEBSITE UP TO DATE, YOU MUST ALWAYS CHECK WITH THE AGENCY DIRECTLY AS TO CURRENT FEES.
- The introduction fee the Client agrees to pay is for introduction to the Au Pair only.
The Client must be particularly aware that if the Agency is instructed by the Client to find a 'long-term' au pair (an Au Pair who intends to stay for 6 months+), we will charge a finder's fee accordingly. This is because the fee is for the work the Agency does prior to a placement, to find an au pair. Long-term candidates are in extremely short supply and there is far more work involved in procuring them for a Client. The fee does NOT denote and does NOT guarantee that the Au Pair will stay for the length of time they state, and there will be no refund for a long-term au pair who decides to leave earlier than expected, agreed or anticipated.
To re-iterate, the fee the Agent charges is for the administrative work that they do in gathering documentation of au pairs and in offering the client a selection of candidates BEFORE and au pair arrives. It is not to do with the length of time and au pair decides to stay. Consequently summer au pairs are costed at a lower figure is not because they intend to stay for a shorter period of time, but because there are many more applicants at this time of year and so the amount of work involved is less than for a non-summer placement. Similarly to find a 'gold' shandard long-term au pair who is a confident driver and speaks good English is very difficult, time consuming and extremely competitive where far larger percentages are charged by Au Pair Agencies - and thus the fee reflects this.
It is very important for the Client to understand that an au pair very RARELY stays for up to 12 months, and that 'long-term' most often means between 6 and 8 months.
- As soon as an employment agreement has been reached between Client and Au Pair, the Client must inform the Agency and the precise start date of employment provided. A copy of such agreement and the original Letter of Invitation must then be provided to the Agency by the Client, along with full payment of the requisite introduction fee. A placement cannot be confirmed and Letter of Invitation forwarded to the Au Pair until the Agency is in receipt of all monies owed. If fees are not paid at the required time, no replacement or refund will be offered.
- As soon as the Agency advises the Client of a prospective suitable match with an Au Pair and facilitates the introduction, the Client may not contact that Au Pair through another agency. If the Client interviews and employs the same Au Pair that this Agency has introduced to them, within six months of that introduction, the Client will be responsible for the full introduction fee to this Agency.
- The Agency reserves the right to charge interest on any fees unpaid under Section 69 of the County Court Act 1984.
- If the Au Pair leaves the Client before the agreed term of employment has been completed, the Client should inform the Agency who will make his/her replacement a priority and make all reasonable effort to submit details to the Client as soon as possible.
- In the event of the Client cancelling the booking of an Au Pair, which the Au Pair has already accepted, but before travel tickets and visas have been procured, half the arrangement fee will be refunded by the Agency to the Client. If the Au Pair has already bought travel tickets in good faith of the offer made by the Client, then no refund will be made by the Agency to the Client.
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Save in the circumstances set out in clauses 22 and 23 below, in the event of:
a) the Au pair cancelling a placement with a Client;
b) the Client cencelling a placement prior to the arrival of the Au Pair;
c) the Au Pair failing to arrive on the due date,
then the Agency will make every reasonalble effort to find a suitable replacement free of charge. If this is not possible, then the Client will be refunded their fee, less £50.00 to cover Agency administration costs.
If the Au Pair leaves or is asked to leave within two (2) weeks of arrival, a refund of 50% will be made to the Client or a replacement au pair will be found for a nominal £50 administration charge.
If the Au Pair leaves or is asked to leave within four (4) weeks of arrival through not perceived fault of the Client, a refund of 25% will be made to the Client or a replacement au apir will be found for a nominal extra £50 administration charge.
If the Au Pair leaves or is asked to leave within four (4) weeks of arrival, no refund is given.
21. If the placement is cancelled by the Client after four (4) weeks from the date of arrival of the Au Pair, or the Au Pair decides to leave the family, no refund will be made.
22. If during the first 4 weeks of the Au Pair's stay with the Client a material inaccuracy is shown on the Client's application form which results in the Au Pair terminating his/her employment then the Client will not be entitled to a refund or replacement from the Agency. (This may include such issues as the au pair not being provided with their own room or not being able to share the family food or extra resources to provide separate food).
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- If during the first 4 weeks of the Au Pair's employment with the Client a material inaccuracy is shown on the Client's application (registration) form which results in the Au Pair terminating his/her employment then the Client will not be entitled to a refund or replacement from the Agency.
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If the Client asks the Au Pair to leave without 14 days notice being given then the Client will not be entitled to a refund or replacement from the Agency.
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Where a temporary Au Pair has been placed, a further, charge will be made in line with our scale of fees, if the Client wishes to extend that temporary Au Pair's stay.
- If the Client engages or re-engages an Au Pair introduced by the Agency whether directly or indirectly in any capacity including babysitting, the Client is responsible for advising the Agency immediately. The Agency's fees applicable at the time of the engagement or re-engagement of the Au Pair shall be payable by the Client.
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The Agency is not the employer of the Au Pair and shall not be liable or responsible for any breach of conduct or their terms of engagement with the Client by the Au Pair.
- The Agency reserves the right to advise the Au Pair to terminate their employment with the Client at any time if these Terms & Conditions have been breached, false information given or applicable employment legislation and/or regulations including but not limited to those issued from time to time by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, have been knowingly disregarded by the Client. In these circumstances no monies will be refunded.
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Should any one or more of these terms be found to be or become invalid illegal or unenforceable in any respect under any law the enforceability and validity of the remaining terms shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
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No waiver by the Agency of any breach of the terms by the Client shall be considered as a waiver of any past or subsequent breaches of the same or any other provision.
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The Contract is and shall be deemed to have been made in England and shall in all respects be governed by English Law and shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the English Courts.
Please Note: If you wish to send your application by post, then you will also need to send a signed copy of this T&C page.
I have read, understood and agree to these Terms & Conditions:
Signature: …………………………………………………………..
Date: ………………………………….
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