Nanny Salary questions

A friend of mine was offered a nanny position as a praktikum and she was only offered 500 chf per month bruto with housing for the first months and none afterwards. I wanted to post the name of the agency in this forum, as I have a copy of the email - and the agency depends on a lot of expat business. I sent a PM to Caviarchips but he has yet to respond to my questions about how to do this. Can you imagine? 500 chf per month for 42 hours per week!!! Slavery!

Thanks for your quick reply. Maybe i didnt research enough about Au Pair work before i came. It states on my contract 1850CHF a month 990CHF towards Naturallohn which is contribution to living with the family and 860CHF after this is reducted. I was quite happy with that because of the other benefits and i thought i would manage with this but because i am also Swiss i dont know if the rules are different and if i have to pay more Tax. All i know is i recieve 860CHF a month and have to pay 200CHF towards Tax. I agreed to the contract but it seems now i am being terribly under paid for my work. She didnt state to me before i came that i must pay my own Tax. They are so lovely the family and im finding it hard as i would like to contiue with them but with the money i earn it doesnt seem worth it. Why is she charging me for living with her is this not right but maybe its my own fault because i didnt understand the contract. Also my contract is in German so mybe my translation wasnt so good.

YOur tax seems WAY too high for what your earning.

Au Pairs dont pay food and board . . . .

Thought AP were not supposed to left alone with the children either? (You are there to assist the parents but not to act instead of the parents?)

OK so on the Au Pair contract there are stated:

- salary - which is the whole amount of money that the family writes it in gross, then it is written in nett , so this is after the family takes the money for rent and food (which is normal) and all the Au Pair have this .

I thought you may had an agreement about this position and you woke up one day having to pay for rent and food!

But on the contract there are stated the gross salary and the nett salary. So, in the end you receive 860chf which is fine as an Au Pair salary for 30hrs BUT you work 40hrs so in this situation you are underpaid.

About the tax- the family and the Au Pair should pay 50/50 and 400chf (in total) sound like a lot of money to pay per month just for taxes...soo I don't get it ..probably they are cheating somwhere and you are the only one that pays the tax.

Honestly , you should talk to them about all these things. Don't be afraid. Show them the contract , by the way, how many hours are in the contract and what are your reponsibilities ?

If they don't agree with you even after talking, tell them you leave because nobody deserves such treatment (I've heard and lived worse).

If they start threating you or offending you in any way tell them you will go to the police.

If you signed something that is different than the general Au Pair rules and you shot yourself in the foot, it is difficult because you signed to work 40hrs and do things for the parents also but still this doesn't mean you don't have to protect yourself. And, even if you sign for 40hrs , which is wrong, and you complain to someone or to the police, they would also be found in th wrong, because both parties should be aware of the rules and responsibilities of an Au Pair.

Again, if they threaten you , you should still go to the police.

Of course it is High as my gross salary is 1850CHF a month but i dont get to see half of it as it goes towards my Kost and Logis so technically my Tax is correct maybe the estimate is a little high per month but i will get a rebate at the end of the year if so. I have been researching as i am a little pissed off with my wage for the amount of work i do and evrybody seems to say the deal of being an Au Pair is you do not pay for food and rent it comes with the job. I am furious because i am paying such an amount. Im not sure how it works for a Swiss working as a Au Pair in Switzerland. I am Swiss by birth and sadly never learnt the langauge but am entitled to Citizenship. Could being Swiss have something to do with it?? Why is my Gross salary so High is this maybe just what she pays for me a month to live there?

Nanny position as a praktikum sounds wrong so she is doing something else. A Nanny already has experience. If she wants a Praktikum she could have one in a Kindergarden or Creche to gain experience in the Childcare field, not as a Nanny but as a Kleinkindzieherin or other positions likes this (so in a state or private institution).

500chf per month is wrong again for any kind of job, even for an Au Pair.

And 42hrs a week is again wrong for 500chf of course is not right especially without housing. But really, you must be really desperate to accept something like this.

So yes, something must be done.

I dont think threatening will happen. They are so kind!! I know i must speak to her. I agreed on a 40hours a week contract but didnt realise the rules and regulations for payment so i understand it is my fault. So technically you think i should be paid more because i am woking an extra 10 hours a week. My problem is im to nice and do far more than i should. She pays my AHV, ALV, NBU, BVG which everyone has to pay but i recieve tax on my Gross Pay off 1850.00CHF a month and i am estimated to pay 1890CHF for the whole year. I have to sit down and talk to her and get her to explain everything.

If you agreed on 40hrs per week then is again wrong. If you have an Au Pair contract, then I don't get it how the other bodies accepted this anyway. But you probably accepted 40hrs not on the contract? If you accepted on the contract or not, you have to talk to her about everything anyway.

ANYWAY, if you search more you will find a lot of info about pay, taxes etc etc . available in English and German from official sources.

Here is an useful link in English.

http://aupair-visa-switzerland.greataupair.com/

You will receive room and board with a host family in exchange for approximately 30 hours of weekly work (light housework, baby-sitting, etc.).

The monthly salary varies among cantons but the normal range is 700-800 Swiss francs per month depending on age, experience, and hours of work. This amount is after all compulsory deductions for tax and health insurance have been made. Note from me: I know in Canton zürich are some Au Pair paid with 900chf or 1000chf for 30hrs. But no more than 1000chf. That is the top for an Au Pair.

Your employer is also required to enroll you in a language school within 4 weeks of entering the country, and will cover 50% of these expenses (around 250-500 Swiss francs for six months). You must begin taking a language course (at least 120 classes) within 4 weeks of arriving to work. Confirmation issued by the language school must be sent to the AWA.

Aupairs must be insured by the employer for the consequences of sickness and accident in conformity with the law on obligatory accident insurance. Tax at source, employee's contributions to the OAP/II/EO/UI, half of the premiums for health insurance and the total premium for non-occupational accidents may be deducted from the aupair's pay. The aupair is obligated to pay taxes on income in the year the 19th birthday is attained.

This link is also useful but the important Info is in German (last links on the page):

http://www.awa.zh.ch/internet/volksw...gestellte.html

I did accept 40hours on the contract. It is written in Black and White 40 hour a week which i happily accepted. I dont understand how she wasnt aware of this. I am furious so i have been underpaid and am paying far to much tax. Argggg!!! I dont understand why she hasnt explained this. But Bruttolohn means monthly gross pay so again the tax is right according to law. I should be taxed on my total earnings and if it is true an Au Pair living in has to pay for her rent and food then everything is correct. I should be taxed on my Gross Pay not just what i am left with after i pay rent. The 990CHF is far to much a month for an Au Pair living in that is almost 700pounds in Britain. There are people in the centre of Züricjh who pay only 1000 a month for a whole falt to do as ever they please.

if they aren't paying you what they owe you, they are not kind

So, something doesn't add up.

You have Swiss citizenship but you are Au Pair. Have you lived in another area of Switzerland until now and decided to be an Au Pair in another Canton?

And if these people are not correct...then they are not kind either...I was blessed to work for a family as Au Pair for 2 yrs and those people were always correct to me until the last rappen. Also about hours worked and responsibilities.

can I report her to someone? I would like to mention the name of the agency, but I am not sure about the guidelines about this.

No i havnt lived in Switzerland before. I am born to Awiss Parents so by birth i am entiltled to Citizenship. I hold both a Britsih and Swiss passport. I was born and brought up in Scotland and decided to take advantage of my Swiss Citizenship and come a work and live here to finaly learn the Langauage. My family is registered in the Canton Bouchs NW which i also have a Heimatschein for. This is my first time living here in Switzerland and i choose Au Pair work as i had experience and thought it would be a good way to start off in Switzerland with the perks of the job and having somewhere to live.

Stevesim:

I honestly don't know what to say.

I would say report it but to who? To the Police? Maybe but I am not sure they would do something about it. Though they could forward the case to other bodies like Cantonal Work Office.

But why doesn't this girl leaves that house?

And are you sure that she is doing a Praktikum as a Nanny? This doesn't sound right as I explained above so not sure what is about in fact. Is it a contract involved?

And I don't know if you can write the name of the agency here on the open forum...you have to check the Forum rules.

I think it is normal that the tax is calculated on cash you receive+ money paid for lodging/boarding. As you are not paying this, it is like additional cash.

Wonder whether health insurace contribution is not taxed also? It is for other employees.

In any case, I would focus on additional cash for the extra 10hrs versus complaining about room and board as seems fair to me. You are "paying" for the room, the food and using the flat's ameneties so it does not sound like too mch.

I have hardly seen flats for 1000 chf all included in Zurich, and for sure not the food etc.

K

And to answer your question...

I really dont think it makes a difference because you have a swiss passport!

Thanks for your comment and helping me understand my situation. I thought everything seems normal. I dont understand "As you are not paying this, it is like additonal cash". What do you mean that i am not paying my Tax because i am.

I think you should talk to the family... Do they realise how much you are left with at the end of each month?

From a compensation standpoint, it is normal to pay tax on benefits. So my employer pays my bus pass and my health insurance, I pay tax on the amount the employer spends on this. Because it is as if it was cash.

So if you get room and board quantified at x amount, you pay that on this x amount as the employer is "paying" you that by providing the room and board.

Hope clearer

So technically everything is correct and the tax i am paying for the 1850CHF is correct? So i only earn 660 after Tax. Why did i even take the job.