I Need Your Insight On This Situation (Long And Urgent)
Lounge By Peachshortcake Updated 21 Mar 2007 , 10:21pm by LanaC
So as most of you don't know I am work in France as an Au Pair. This is my second family. The first family didnt work out due to (for lack of better term) personallity conflicts. This new family is great, i have been with them for four months already and am going home in three months.
Just yesterday they told me that I could not drive anymore. When I asked why they told me that they have JUST found out that they do NOT have the PROPER INSURANCE on the car. Keep in mind that i have been driving their car for four months, believing that I have been fully insured. They are looking into how much it is going to cost to alter the insurance so that I can drive it. If it is expensive they have hinted to me that they may not change it. So basically I will be car-less for 3 months.
We live in a village at the top of a 3km hill. There are no buses that come up here and it is a 5 km walk to the nearest bus stop. Those buses only come once every 2 hours or so. My friends all live quite far away and it is difficult for them to come fetch me so we can do stuff together. Esentially with out a car I will become imprisioned in this village.
Now is where in need your insights. I am going to talk with them later this evening and is it unreasonable for me to ask for them to pay for a flight back home if they end up leaving the insurance as is??
I will explain to them that if I cannot get out on my own I will most likely become very restless and unhappy and that wont be good for the children to see me like that. Also it will cost more for a short notice ticket to Vancouver Canada then 3 months of suplimentry insurance. The reason why i need your opinions is because this will end up with one of three different situations depending on their response. 1) They see my reasoning and change the insurance. 2) I end up going home on their expense 3) I will stay here with no car and have to live with an awkard situation.
Thanks for your help with this.
Carla
I assume that you have a work contract with them? If so does it state that they will provide a vehicle for you to use or was this discussed in pre-employment? If this was not then they have no obligation to provide you with a vehicle, if this was discussed before had then the are in breach of agreement. I hope this helps.
no contract because of the french government. A non french family cannot have an au pair legally. For this reason there are a lot of illegal au pairs with out contracts.
yes they told me that i would have a vehicle for use before I started work with them. However this was along with everything else was a verbal agreement. I know that verbal does not hold up in court.
My not hold up in court but if there was a verbal agreement before hand I would remind them of this kindly. You do not want to be stuck in an unpleasant situation.
Carla, I really sympathize...I am an American living in a small village on the English countryside...it's a 15 minute drive to the nearest quart of milk. The isolation can be very difficult. I have on occasion hired short-term au pairs. How did you happen to connect with this family? If it was through a third party who helps people find au pairs, you might consider contacting that person and asking for assistance in speaking with your employers. Reliable au pairs are hard to find and no one wants to get a bad reputation a good resource.
no i had to find this family on the quick since I got kicked out of my first family. It was nothing I did but to make a long story short....
I was taking care of three boys and the two youngest boys (twins 3 years) hit me when they got frusterated. Which was often. The parents told me to hit them back but I was obviously not cool with that. So after three months of this I told the mother that I wanted to look for another family and told her why. Her response was if you are not ok with our style of parenting you can leave tonight. She was serious, so I stay with friends for a few days until I found this family. This family was recommended to me through a lady I baby sit and things have been good with the exception of the car thing.
no i didnt talk to them. the dad had to to on an unexpeceted trip for work so I am waiting for him to get back.
Why not get a bicycle that you can use to get to the bus and elsewhere. A 5km/3mile ride should only take you about 15 minutes and could be a very relaxing thing. I ride a bike to the butcher shop, the grocery store, restaurants, and other places. I have even taken up long distance cycling as a form of exercise and relaxation. If I lived in france I would definitely go out touring the countryside by bicycle. Not having a car, is not the end of the world. I have two bicycles now, one with racks to carry shopping bags and a second lightweight bike for longer rides. Oh yeah, I am 56 years young and can ride 75 miles and still be ready to go dancing. I rode 150 miles last week just for fun.
I like the idea of the bicycle. It sounds like an inexpensive fix to the problem! I do feel for you with being isolated and not having the transportation that you were promised, but I don't know if asking for a return trip home is fair as you were going to have to pay for that ticket yourself when the time came for you to leave. I would just tell them that you can't see continuing for the remainder of the term without any mode of transport and if they can't find a solution for you, you're going to have to leave.
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