Au pair duties in the Netherlands: a practical task list
Agree on clear au pair duties with examples of light household help, a task-list template and a worked afternoon routine for your host family.
Written by Opairly Team
An au pair helps with the children and light household tasks. Examples include sharing breakfast, reading together, putting toys away or preparing a simple meal. Agree on the details before adding a duty: what happens, when does it finish and who takes over if help is needed?
“Help with the children” leaves too much unexplained. The examples and template below turn that expectation into a task list you can both understand.
What duties can an au pair do in the Netherlands?
Under the Dutch au pair residence permit, duties must be light and supportive. The limits are 8 hours a day, 30 hours a week and at least 2 days off each week. Special care requiring specific skills, such as nursing tasks, is excluded. See the IND residence permit conditions.
The IND au pair awareness declaration also requires a demonstrable alternative: for example, a parent or grandparent who is present or immediately available. Your au pair must not carry sole responsibility for the children or the whole household.
The examples below are prompts for your discussion, not an official list of approved duties. Their scale, circumstances and your agreements matter. Ask your agency about uncertain cases. For the broader conditions of hosting, read our guide to Dutch au pair rules.
Examples of clearly defined au pair duties
Choose what fits your family. A longer list is not necessarily better: each agreement needs enough time to be manageable.
| Part of the day | Specific agreement | Discuss beforehand |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Set out the children's breakfast and eat together | What is ready, what can the children do themselves and who helps if things run late? |
| After school | Offer a snack at home and play together | When does a parent take over and which activities fit? |
| Quiet time | Read together or help get homework materials ready | How long does this take and when does a parent help with a question? |
| After play | Put away the toys used, together with the children | Where do things belong and what do the children do themselves? |
| A meal | Prepare one agreed simple meal | Recipe, ingredients and time, without combining it with unrealistic childcare demands |
| After eating | Wipe the table used and put dishes in the dishwasher | Which small part of tidying belongs to this activity? |
| Children's clothes | Fold and put away an agreed small load | How much, when and who handles the rest of the laundry? |
Parents have preparation tasks too. If you want a meal ready at five, make sure the recipe is understandable and the ingredients are there. If tidying needs to happen in a particular order, demonstrate it together.
What should stay off the list?
Do not turn light help into a cleaning role. Deep-cleaning a bathroom, washing high windows, clearing building debris or running the entire household alone does not fit the supporting nature of the arrangement. Calling something a quick job does not make heavy or unsuitable work appropriate.
Tasks for a parent's business or babysitting for another family are not extensions of your own task list. The au pair permit does not allow work for a second host family or an employer. Additional payment does not change that restriction.
Avoid phrases such as “always available” or “everything to do with the children”. They do not say where a duty ends. Write down who takes responsibility outside the planned blocks instead.
Copy this task-list template
Fill it in together as preparation for your signed weekly schedule. A separate list of duties does not replace that schedule.
| Item | Your agreement |
|---|---|
| Task | … |
| Days, start time and end time | … |
| What exactly will happen? | … |
| When is the task finished? | … |
| What will the parents prepare? | … |
| What will we practise together first? | … |
| Who is present or immediately available as backup? | … |
| What happens if it takes longer or does not work? | … |
| When will we review the arrangement? | … |
Include your au pair's perspective. Are the instructions clear? Is there anything they have not done before? Can the combination of tasks fit into the time available? Questions and uncertainty are useful information for your planning.
A worked example: an afternoon at home
This fictional example shows how to describe one two-hour block. It is not a full weekly schedule.
Agreement: Tuesday, 15:00 to 17:00. A parent brings the children home and hands over. The au pair offers a prepared snack and chooses an activity with the children. Around 16:45, they put away what they have used together. The parent takes over again at 17:00.
Prepare beforehand: food, cups and two suitable activities. The parent explains anything unusual about that afternoon during the handover.
Backup: the parent is at home and immediately available. If an activity does not work or a child needs more support than expected, the au pair asks for help.
If plans run late: a conversation or something unexpected can occasionally delay when you can take over. Let your au pair know as soon as possible and check whether they can stay a little longer. With understanding and flexibility on both sides, you can handle an occasional delay together. If staying longer does not work, a parent or the agreed backup takes over. If late finishes become a recurring pattern, adjust the schedule or backup arrangements so your au pair can count on their agreed free time.
The whole block is planned childcare time. Do not count only the minutes spent actively playing. Occasional extra childcare time counts too and must stay within the daily and weekly limits. Read more about supervision and waiting time in which au pair hours count.
Turn a duty into a daily routine
A duty explains what needs to happen; a routine explains how your family does it. “Help with breakfast” might mean getting cups, setting out food, eating together and helping the children put their things away. Keep instructions short enough to check during the morning.
Practise the routine together first. If a step is unclear, update the same version your au pair uses. General agreements about phones, guests or the kitchen belong in your house rules, so you do not have to explain them again for every task.
Give your agreements a shared home
In Opairly, set up recurring tasks with a duration and chosen days. Add routines for the instructions and discuss whether your plans match the actual week. Try Opairly free for 30 days →
Frequently asked questions about au pair duties
Can an au pair clean?
Light household help can fit within the arrangement. Be specific about what you mean and limit its scale. Wiping a table after a meal is a different expectation from cleaning an entire floor of the house. Ask your agency if you are unsure.
Can we add a task during the week?
Discuss the change and the time it needs first. Decide what it replaces, who else could do it and whether the schedule still works. Your au pair agreeing to a change does not make a breach of the permit conditions acceptable.
Does the task list have to be in English?
Use a language you both understand and check that understanding with a practical example. You can keep Dutch and English versions of the instructions side by side. Our guide to light housework helps your au pair understand the boundaries.
The IND conditions and awareness declaration cited here were checked on 22 September 2026. Opairly created the template and example afternoon.
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