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Terms of Business

 Fees

Short Term/Summer Au Pair placement (max 3 month stay) = £150.00

Medium to Long Term Au Pair placement = £300.00

For returning host families, we offer a 15% reduction.

Terms of Business 

  1. Spoonsful of Sugar is an Introduction Agency only and cannot therefore be held responsible for the suitability of an applicant, the personal and medical information they provide, or the accuracy of references they submit. Spoonsful of Sugar endeavours to match the most suitable applicants with families however, it is the clients ultimate decision as to who they offer the position to. Spoonsful of Sugar is therefore excluded from all liability whatsoever directly or indirectly arising from the placement of an applicant.
  2. Spoonsful of Sugar shall not be liable under any circumstances for any loss, damage, expense, injury, death or inconvenience incurred to any persons or property arising from the client offering or providing employment to the applicant.
  3. Spoonsful of Sugar shall not be liable for any accidents incurred by the applicant.
  4. Spoonsful of Sugar shall not be responsible for the breach of any agreed terms by the applicant.
  5. The applicant is not directly or indirectly employed by Spoonsful of Sugar.
  6. When the client has chosen the applicant, Spoonsful of Sugar ask the client to write a letter of invitation. The letter should be written personally to the applicant and should contain the date the au pair is expected to arrive and length of stay, details of the family, hours of work, expected duties, pocket money, free time and language schools in the area. If the applicant is coming from a non-EU country, this letter will need to be presented at immigration to obtain a visa for entry into this country.
  7. After the client has spoken to the applicant on the telephone and the client has accepted the applicant, Spoonsful of Sugar will reserve the applicant for 4 working days. Within 4 days, the client should provide Spoonsful of Sugar with the Letter of Invitation and our fee, for which we will send an invoice.
  8. If these are not received within 4 days, Spoonsful of Sugar will reserve the right to offer the applicant to other clients.
  9. A minimum of 7 days notice period must be given by the client to the applicant if they intend to terminate the engagement. The client should ensure that the au pair has somewhere to stay.
  10. All introductions between Spoonsful of Sugar and a client are confidential. Should a client directly or indirectly introduce the au pair to another family, the original family will be liable for the full placement fee should an engagement take place.

Replacement Policy

The client shall inform Spoonsful of Sugar of the agreed start date of the applicant. Spoonsful of Sugar can not guarantee that the applicant will commence their engagement with the client or that they will stay for the required length of engagement. In these circumstances, the following conditions apply:

  1. If the client has not honoured the terms and conditions and the applicant has left due to unreasonable circumstances, then the client will not be entitled to a refund or a replacement.

  2. If Spoonsful of Sugar is unable to place the selected applicant with the client, through no fault of the client, Spoonsful of Sugar will either find a replacement or will give a full refund.

  3. If the client cancels the engagement after it has been confirmed and before the scheduled arrival of the applicant, Spoonsful of Sugar will charge a standard fee of £50 to the client and the client shall return all documents to Spoonsful of Sugar.

  4. If the applicant introduced by Spoonsful of Sugar and engaged by the client leaves within the first 4 weeks, Spoonsful of Sugar will endeavour to replace the applicant for the client. Spoonsful of Sugar will be given 4 weeks from date of termination, to find a replacement. If during this period, the client makes alternative arrangements or requests that a replacement not be found, a refund will not be due to the client. If a replacement cannot be found within the 4 week period, Spoonsful of Sugar will refund a percentage of the placement fee paid by the client. If the applicant leaves within the first 2 weeks, the refund will be 50% and if the applicant leaves within the first 3 or 4 weeks, the refund will be 30%.

  5. No refund will be due to the client if the replacement au pairs engagement is terminated.

  6. If the applicant stays with the client for longer than 4 weeks from the agreed start date of the engagement, the engagement shall be regarded as satisfactory and Spoonsfull of Sugar shall have fulfilled its obligations.

  7. Clients who terminate the engagement of an applicant without notice or without informing Spoonsful of Sugar, shall forfeit the right to a refund or a replacement applicant and will be liable for any expenses incurred by Spoonsful of Sugar and/or the applicant.