and here is the contract letter he sent to me.
Standard employment contract for au pair
The application must be filled in clearly and in full. Please use capital letters only
Between (hereinafter referred to as the host family: Dr .ALLEN.JOHN.NICHOLS
And (hereinafter referred to the au pair) :
Name of agency (if an agency in used) :
1- Duration of the employment period
The contract enters into force from the date on which the au pair’s work permit is issued by the police. The employment relationship is expected to last until/for. (Fill in the date or period of time. Note that a work permit as an au pair cannot be granted for more than two years in total):
2- Termination/Resignation
• the contract may be terminated by either party with at least one month’s notice. The period of notice is reckoned from the date on which the other party received notice. Notice of termination must be in writing. The host family cannot dismiss the au pair except on reasonable grounds. If the au pair so requests, the host family shall state the grounds for termination in writing. The au pair is not required to provide grounds for termination.
• Either party may terminate the contract with immediate effect if the other party is in serious breach of the contractual obligations, or is otherwise in material breach of this contract.
3- Pocket money/pay
The au pair is entitled to monthly pocket money/pay from the host family, in addition to free board and lodging.
Amount per week in GBP :450 POUNDS
Method of payment : WEEKLY
4- English language course
The host family shall pay for an English language course for the au pair : YES
5- Responsibilities
The au pair shall carry out light domestic work, mind and look after children, look after pet etc. The au pair’s working hours shall not normally exceed 5 hours per day, and a maximum of 40 hours per week. The au pair’s specific duties in the employment relationship must be specified below:
I would expect you to work 5 hours per day Mon-Friday, Take the kids to school and bring them back to the house. Take good care of them and look after the pet. There will be a car for you should in case you want to take the children out, that is if you can drive.
6- Time off
The au pair is entitled to at least 48 hours off ( free period) a week. The free period shall never be less than 24 hours uninterrupted time off. Every other week the free period shall include Sunday. Furthermore, every other public holiday shall be a day off and the au pair shall have at least one fixed afternoon off per week.
The au pair shall also be given an opportunity to attend English language tuition and participate in leisure activities.
7- Holidays
The au pair is entitled to 25 working days holiday per calendar year.
8- Illness
If the au pair becomes ill, the host family shall continue to provide board and lodging free of charge until another arrangement has been found for the au pair.
9- Status within the family
The au pair shall be treated as a member of the family and shall be given an opportunity to participate actively in family life.
10- The host family
The host family confirms that the family consist of :
Adults
Father’s Name: DR. A.J NICHOLS
The host father’s occupation is: CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS
If the host family consists of a single and a child or children, the host parent’ s percentage responsibility for daily cares and control of the child or children must be documented. Separate documentation of the percentage responsibility must be endorsed.
Children:
Name: DONI NICHOLS and FELIS NICHOLS
Which language(s) does the family speak on daily basis? English
Host Family’ address: 7 Moreton Street, Westminster, London, SW1 2PN
10- Dwelling
The host family confirms that its dwelling is a house/flat consisting of the following total number of rooms: 4 ROOMS
11- Rooms
The au pair will have he’s/her own room in the dwelling: YES
12- Additional information
The host family confirms the following additional information’s (For example, if the host family is to pay for the au pair travel to and /or from, this should be stated here):
I WILL BE PAYING FOR THE LANGUAGE COURSE.
IF THERE IS NEED FOR ME TO SHOULDER PART OF THE TRAVELING FEE THEN,I AM READY TO DO SO.
13- Disputes
If any disputes arise, they shall be dealt with in accordance with United Kingdom Law.
14- National insurance
The host family shall ensure that the au pair is registered in the England National insurance Scheme
15- The au pair are aware that
• A host family may only employ one au pair at a time or couple au pair
• The au pair may not commence work as an au pair until his or her permit has been granted
• The au pair ,ay not be related to any one in the host family ( sibling, cousin, brother-/sister-in-law
Or uncle/aunt).
•
An au pair permit can be granted or a total of two years.
• Other contracts than this standard contract is not permitted. The host family and au pair may not enter into additional contracts which are in breach of the principles of this contract
16 Signatures
The contract must be signed by both parties
Signature of the au pair and date _________________________________________
Signature of the host family and date ________________________________________SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010
Some of the information on this form will be stored in a computer register. A person who has provided information which may be registered has a right of access to the information, ct the Personal Data Act of 14 April 2000 no. 31, section 18. As a rule, right of access means that you are entitled to be told what information has been registered about you
The payment stage is with the travel agency, which will let you pay for documents and visa you need to travel to the United Kingdom. Their email adress is just a free mail provider adress - doesn't look too professional, does it? (Note: them having a professional adress certainly is NO guarantee you're dealing with a legitimate agency!) I also note some spelling errors and grammatical structures we see alot with mails coming from West Africa.
