An au pair is in charge of taking care of children and minor household duties for a family. In exchange, the family usually provides the au pair with room and board, and often times with a daily stipend for spending money. Expats frequently find work as au pairs, and thus get to experience their new destination with a local family, making for an unforgettable stay in their new country.
Au Pair in Nicosia
There are definitely au pair opportunities in Nicosia for foreigners who speak English. Even though Greek and Turkish are the two main languages, the majority of Cypriots speaks English from a young age and can thus communicate easily with other English speakers. Most au pairs are placed through programs and agencies, rather than requested by individual families. However, be advised that many programs will only work with EU citizens, so if you are not an EU resident it can be harder to find job opportunities.
What the Au Pair Must Know
In order to be considered for most placement programs, au pairs must meet the below requirements:
- Have previous childcare experience
- Minimum age 18 years
- Be citizen of one of the EU member countries
- Be a secondary school graduate (high school) or equivalent
- Speak and understand English well
- Have no criminal record
- Be in good health
- Be able to commit to a 12-month position
Most au pairs will work approximately 8 hours per day, 5 days a week according to the schedule proposed by the host family, as well as 1 or 2 nights of babysitting a week. Au pairs in Cyprus are usually also given additional spending money of 360 € per month.
Beyond that, each family may have specific requests for a potential au pair in order to find a candidate that will best fit into their home environment. Examples include requests for non-smokers, non-drinkers, au pairs with a driver's license, and au pairs of a specified gender (usually female).
What the Family Has to Do
The family has to provide a certain standard of living conditions for the au pair, including basic room and board and a minimum monthly stipend both parties will agree to before the au pair stars work. Families must adhere to the following:
- The au pair will be treated more as a guest rather than an employee.
- The au pair will work approximately 40 hours a week with two days off.
- The au pair cannot be used as a substitute for an in-house servant, and thus will only do light housework as agreed upon before the start of the au pair's contract.
- The au pair must have his or her own private bedroom and area.
Au Pair Agencies in Cyprus
There are a few well-regarded au pair placement agencies in Cyprus.
Update 18/03/2017
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