Au pair and babysitting: how often may an au pair look after the children in the evening?

Finally going out to a restaurant together again. Watching a film at the cinema. Meeting friends. Or simply going for an evening walk without anyone needing to stay home with the children.

For many host parents, this is exactly one of the lovely reliefs an au pair can bring:

The au pair can also babysit in the evening.

But how often may an au pair take on babysitting? Does babysitting count towards the 30 working hours? And is it even working time when the children have long been asleep and the au pair really only has to listen out for the baby monitor?

May an au pair babysit in the evening?

Yes. Babysitting can quite normally be one of an au pair's tasks.

The parents can, for example, go out to a restaurant or the cinema in the evening while the au pair stays home with the children.

What the care actually looks like naturally depends on the children's age.

Perhaps the au pair still plays with the children for a while first, helps with the bedtime routine, or reads a story.

Or perhaps the children are already long asleep by the time the parents leave the house.

In that case, the au pair's task may mainly consist of being present and attentive, and listening out for the baby monitor.

The children are asleep – is that still working time?

Yes.

Because the au pair cannot leave the house and use their time freely. During this time, they carry the agreed responsibility for supervision and must be able to respond if a child wakes up or needs help.

Of course, the au pair may sit on the sofa during this time, read, or watch a film on Netflix.

They don't have to sit next to the child's bed waiting for something to happen.

But they must be present, reachable and able to actually take over the care if needed.

A cosy film evening therefore doesn't automatically become free time just because the children are asleep.

Babysitting counts towards the 30 hours a week

This point is especially important:

Babysitting doesn't come on top of the regular working hours.

For an au pair in Germany, the basic rule is a maximum of six hours a day and 30 hours a week.

The Bundesagentur für Arbeit (German Federal Employment Agency) expressly includes supervising the children within this working time.

So if your au pair has already supported you for 28 hours during the week and is meant to babysit for four hours on Saturday evening, those hours can't simply be added on top of the week.

Babysitting needs to be factored into the weekly schedule from the outset.

Also keep the six-hour daily limit in mind

It's not just the weekly hours that matter.

The daily working time should also be taken into account when planning babysitting.

If, for example, the au pair has already helped for two hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon, the six hours for that day have been reached.

In that case, a further three-hour babysitting session can't simply be added on that same evening.

If you already know you'd like to go out on Friday evening, plan the Friday accordingly.

Perhaps the family doesn't need the au pair in the morning for that, or organises part of the afternoon care differently.

This is exactly what a good weekly schedule is for.

How many evenings a week must an au pair have free?

In Germany, au pairs must be given at least four free evenings a week.

That does not, conversely, automatically mean a host family should schedule babysitting on the remaining three evenings every week.

The four free evenings are a minimum requirement. How the time is actually divided should be guided by the family's needs, the agreed working hours, and a fair, jointly agreed weekly schedule.

In addition, an au pair is entitled to at least one and a half full rest days a week; at least one Sunday a month must be free.

Babysitting is best noted in the weekly schedule

"Oh by the way, we're going out for dinner tonight." (Translated)

For the au pair, such spontaneous news isn't particularly welcome if they've already planned something themselves.

That's why, at Besondere Sterne, we recommend adding planned babysitting to the weekly schedule as early as possible.

If you already know that a restaurant visit is planned for Friday or a birthday for Saturday, enter the babysitting time straight away and take it into account alongside the other working hours.

That way, the au pair knows:

This evening I'm needed – on the other evenings I can plan my own free time.

What happens if the parents come home later?

This, too, should be discussed in advance.

If you announce you'll be back at 10.30pm, 10.30pm shouldn't regularly turn into midnight.

Of course, an evening can occasionally run late. A short message is then enough.

But mutual respect matters here too.

The au pair may be planning a language course, an outing, or a get-together with friends the next morning.

Agreed finishing times should therefore be kept to as far as possible.

What does the au pair need to know for babysitting?

Before parents go out for the first time, a few things should be clarified.

Where do the children sleep? What usually happens if a child wakes up? Are they allowed something to drink or eat? Where is the baby monitor? How can the parents be reached? Who else can be contacted in an emergency?

Especially with younger children, or a child with particular needs, the parents should go through the evening routine together with the au pair beforehand.

The first babysitting session shouldn't be the moment the au pair finds out for the first time how the children's evening routine works.

Babysitting can bring back real couple time for parents

An au pair shouldn't live with a family mainly so the parents can go out every evening.

But occasional babysitting can be a wonderful relief for host parents.

Perhaps a dinner together as a couple has been hard to arrange for months. Perhaps the parents would like to go to the cinema, visit friends, or simply go for a peaceful walk.

The au pair is already a familiar person to the children and stays in their usual surroundings.

That's exactly why babysitting can be a lovely part of everyday au pair life.

Good planning makes babysitting relaxed for everyone

Babysitting is part of childcare – and therefore part of working time.

Even when the children are already asleep.

Whoever enters these hours into the weekly schedule from the start, keeps the 30 weekly hours and the maximum of six hours a day in mind, and leaves the au pair with their at least four free evenings a week, creates clear conditions.

That way, the parents can enjoy their evening.

And at the same time, the au pair knows exactly:

When am I responsible – and when does the evening belong to me?