Working as an au-pair in UK and leaving the host family. Is it legal?

Au pair work is a specific international scheme, with, I think, age and citizenship restrictions, and is designed to allow young people to experience life in another country while at the same time improving childcare provision. It has never been taxable, and in any case, the wage would fall below the tax threshold for a single person.

fucc you, you are like one of these who have heads up their arses (my host family lol) I want to be an au pair only to improve my English. I don't work full time so I don't have to pay taxes, after a few months I'm going back to Poland, don't be afraid I am not about to stay in YOUR country. Geez get over it mkay. Polish were more of a fun and laid back people.


they wouldn't.

Thank you for your answers. Seems like I can just find a new host family and don't mess with papers. Sounds good to me.

yes, i did read it, honey, that's why i posted it...
i've never met an au-pair who paid tax...
don't blame me...hahaha

What a charming little ray of sunshine you sound.

Good luck anyway !

Let's also be clear here that there is a huge difference between a nanny and an au pair.

When I was an au pair in Italy in the early 90s, I got £35 a week "pocket money" It never went far in Milan LOL!!

regarding age - 17 -27


You answered that :)


You were a khunt to her without actually knowing what the full details were - btw - you can't blame families in this country for wanting au pairs, what's the option getting ripped off to the tune £1,500 a month for sending 2 kids to private nursery!

Edited - one of my friends was paying £1,200 another £1,500 per month

yes... nurseries and nannies are much more expensive then an au-pair... and being an au-pair might be a great adventure if you got a decent host family, you learn the language, travel and meet people...

A lot of people in the UK are as well Wyspy :)

Just a few idiots come onto the forum and talk about stuff they don't really know. I would imagine your payment doesn't even meet the amount you can earn before paying tax anyway.

You should just move to a better, happier family as I think you should be really enjoying your stay here in UK :)

You have to really get to know a country first. That means seeing different sides of it and meeting different kinds of people.

Well said, guys :)

All I was trying to say was that an au pair should be receiving enough of a wage to make it liable for tax (from a perspective of them not being ripped off, rather than providing tax revenue) and if they're not, then maybe they should consider something else.

And as far as the cost of an au pair vs the cost of private nurseries, maybe parents should think more about the real cost of having children before actually having them.

But they don't earn a wage - that's the whole point. They just get a little pocket money given that their food and accomodation is covered already.

[Edit - I can't spell today]

Mmmmmmmm, it sounds ideal for any employer who wants to try a little exploitation.

No, no, no.... you are missing the point of being an au pair. It is not a career move. It's an experience when you're young. I went to Italy for 3 months when I was 17 - I got to spend an entire Summer in Italy, eating great food (prepared by the grandmother of my "employers"), learning Italian and taking the kids to the park. It was a chance to travel and see a boit of the world, but with the stable base of a family.

Nobody tends to be an au pair for more than a year or two.

it is and it is fully supported by the governments policies and it is designed for middle to upper class people who are simply cheap and have a tendency to exploit others. Fact and there is little evidence but it is a slave drive program.

I appreciate that it's not a career move and I'm glad that it worked for you. I just believe in a fair day's pay for a fair day's work.


This is my concern and I would rather that the au pair's were employed, weren't little more than children themselves, paid decent money, paid tax and everyone knew where they stood.

Come on... you get accommodation, food, access to a washing machine and everything else - even a lift to and from the airport if you ask nicely. I've heard of some au pairs being taken on holiday - all paid for.

Till now the only English person who was always truly nice to me is my boyfriend. I'm here for over 4 months and all I get from them is either harsch answers, either laugh at my English.

You posted a link to the IRS where it states they are required to file & pay income tax. Just because they dont do it, doesn't mean they arent required to do so.

IRS = an American thing. Very different set of regulations in the UK.

Sorry to hear that - but you must be socializing with a small very narrow minded group of English people - or living in an isolated area where people are backward. Seriously you must get away and meet some decent British people and experience some of the great things here.

Quality, actually made me laugh

Cambridge isn't usually thought of as a cultural backwater. It is full of posh, drunk students going on pub crawls with their legs tied together, wearing colourful wigs and saying "ra" repeatedly until they collapse in the gutter.

So that says that Wyspi is either bad mouthing Brits or shes spending to much time around her posh "heads up their arses" host family. Or perhaps brits really are having enough of the Poles in terms of immigration its really not characteristic of us.

Hey, I agree with you...Don't worry about what other people think...I want to live in poland too...and I'm from England LOL...I think you will be fine...I had agency work before and I left jobs...(office jobs) even if I have to give 2 weeks notice sometimes you want to leave straight away...PM me if you want help with english as I want help with polish :D

that is too bad, kudos foe Joe though. I know that originally you wanted to go to the US to do that. Are you taking English classes since as far as I know, it should be part of the working arrangement.


I don't think she is bad mouthing anybody. She is describing her experience.= and it sounds like she is unlucky with the host family.

its also full of inbred fen land scum with inferiority complexes just itching to turn into violence

and lets not forget that the polish are the biggest windup merchants in europe

mea culpa!

^ laugh at my Latin if you want.

Made me laugh too. I don't think Wyspianska will have any problems ;-)

omg...don't blame me.... get the reality check...