Money · Au pairs and families
Paid holidays for au pairs: how much time off by country
How much paid holiday an au pair gets, how days off work each week, and how to plan holidays around the family.
4 min read · Updated September 2026
Typical allowances
Rules change and some depend on stay length — always confirm with the official programme.
- Germany: 4 weeks per year (2 days per month on shorter stays)
- France, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway: around 1 week per 6 months, or 2 days per month
- USA: 2 weeks per year on the J-1 programme
- UK and Ireland: statutory worker holiday entitlement applies
- Australia and New Zealand: set by the agreement on a working holiday visa
Weekly time off
Most programmes require at least one and a half to two free days a week, with at least one full weekend a month. Evenings off should be predictable, not decided at the last minute.
Planning it fairly
Families often ask au pairs to take some holiday when the family is away. That's reasonable if agreed upfront — but the au pair should also choose some dates of their own. Public holidays are normally days off too.
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