With summer fast approaching, now is a great time to review program rules around holidays and vacations. 

Holidays

• Host families are NOT REQUIRED to give au pairs any specific holidays off from work.
• Each host family will make different arrangements on holidays; some au pairs will be off and others will be required to work.
• An au pair should NOT make plans for holidays without checking with her host family FIRST.
• Vacation should not be scheduled in the first month after an au pair’s arrival, as this is a time for both parties to develop a relationship and get acclimated.

Vacation

• An au pair earns 2 weeks of paid vacation during the course of her year.
• The host family can pick a week and the au pair can pick a week, if an agreement is not reached.
• All vacation should be preplanned (at least 4 weeks in advance).
• All au pair’s friends and/or family visits/vacations should be pre-approved prior to purchasing any tickets.
• If an au pair travels with her host family to work, the host family is required to pay for her transportation, lodging, and meals.
• If an au pair travels with her host family for vacation only and is not required to work, the expectations for her participation in the family activities should be discussed in detail BEFORE the start of the trip.
• For more information about scheduling vacation time, see APIA’s Tips for Current Host Families: Vacations.

Important: If an au pair leaves the US during her year for vacation or travel, she MUST have her DS2019 signed PRIOR to her departure in order to return to the US. More information can be found by selecting the Au Pair Resources tab on the top of this page and looking under “Au Pair Travel Outside the US.”