Candidate FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions for Candidates

Want to know more about Little Sunshines Au Pair Agency? Here is a list of frequently asked questions… including how the agency deals with the requisite compliance of the POPI Act in relation to potential and existing candidates.

What types of positions do you place?

• Au Pairs
• Governesses
• Tutors
• Home School Teachers
• School Facilitators – you attend school WITH the child to assist them

How do I know if I am registered with you?
If you have attended a face-to-face interview with us then you are registered with us.

How do I register with your agency?
Please complete the Application Form – it takes less than 2 minutes! If your application is successful then we will EMAIL you within 3 WORKING DAYS to arrange an interview. So please look out for this email!

Do I need to pay a registration fee?
No, there is no fee.

Where can I email my CV?
We do NOT accept CV applications. Please do not send us your CV unless requested to do so. Please complete the Application Form – it takes less than 2 minutes.

Do you assist with overseas placements?
No we do not.

Do you offer Au Pair Training?
Yes we do. Please visit the Courses link for further information on all the courses we offer at Little Sunshines Academy.

Is it compulsory that I do Training in order to register with your agency?
No. Though it is highly recommended.

What requirements do I need to fulfill to register with your agency?

• Own roadworthy car with seat belts in the back – this WILL be checked
• Valid drivers license – this WILL be checked
• That you passed your drivers license test MORE than 1 year ago – this WILL be checked
• No criminal record – this WILL be checked
• Passed Matric or AS-Levels or A-Levels – this WILL be checked

Must I have my own car and a drivers license?
Yes. We cannot assist you if you do not. Our families require that our candidates have their own car and a drivers license. Our families come to us because they know our candidates have their own car and a drivers license.

Must I have passed my drivers license test more than 1 year ago?
Yes. We cannot assist you if you do not. Our families require that our candidates have passed their drivers license test more than 1 year ago. Our families come to us because they know our candidates have passed their drivers license test more than 1 year ago.

Must I have experience with babies to work with babies?
Yes. Our families with babies, require that our candidates have formal baby experience. Families with babies come to us because they know our candidates have formal baby experience.

Must I have passed Matric, AS-Levels or A-Levels ?
Yes. We cannot assist you if you have not. Our families require that our candidates have passed Matric, AS-Levels or A-Levels. Our families come to us because they know our candidates have passed Matric, AS-Levels or A-Levels.

Is an NQF4 Matric equivalent acceptable?
No. Our families come to us because they know our candidates have passed Matric, AS-Levels or A-Levels. An NQF4 is not considered by our families as an equivalent to a Senior Certificate Matric pass.

Why must I send my photo?
In accordance with the Children’s Act the agency is required, as someone who is facilitating employment for someone whose main job function will be to care for children, to do its due diligence in this regard, and to have a visual record of you, as you will be working with children, who will be in your sole care for an extended period of time, and who may be placed in harms way as a result of being in your care. This is as per the Children’s Act, allowance has been provided for in the POPI Act, as it is considered to be acting in the best interests of the children.

Do you have further agency requirements?
We treat all candidates on a case-by-case basis, matching families and candidates according to position specifications etc.

Must I be bilingual in Afrikaans if a job advert states that Afrikaans is a language requirement?
Yes. If a job advert states that the candidate language requirement is Afrikaans then the family is an Afrikaans family and the candidate will be required to speak Afrikaans, read Afrikaans and write Afrikaans. So do not apply for that particular position if you are not bilingual in Afrikaans.

Must I be bilingual in a certain language if a job advert states that a certain language is a language requirement?
Yes. If a job advert states that a certain language is a language requirement then the family speaks that certain language in their home environment and is requesting that the candidate will be required to speak that language, read that language and write that language. So please do not apply for that particular position if you are not bilingual in that language.

What ages do you place?
Mostly 20 to 50 though we have placed outside this age group.

What areas do you focus on?
We are nationwide and we can assist with placement all over South Africa.

Where can I find your current and active vacancies?
Please go to our vacancies page on our website which has a list of ALL our CURRENT vacancies. This is the best place to see our vacancies.

I am not receiving the weekly job spec email. Please advise?
Sometimes servers block this email, which we have no control over whatsoever. We therefore recommend that you please go to our vacancies page on our website which has a list of ALL our CURRENT vacancies. This is the best place to see our vacancies.

How long will the agency take to find a position for me?
We aim to place most applicants within 2 to 4 weeks of successfully registering with the agency however this is not always the case as there aren’t always suitable positions available. Please also note that we cannot force families to meet with candidates. We send out a number of CVs to each family, and they elect whom they wish to interview.

Must I have completed a first aid course?
Some families require that the candidate has completed a first aid course. We do recommend that you do a first aid course. Please go to our First Aid Course link for companies we recommend where you can do a First Aid Course.

What tips can you give me for attending interviews?
Please go to our attending interviews link for interview tips.

What may prevent a family from interviewing me?

• if you are older than 50 years of age, it will take longer to place you as most families are looking for au pairs who are younger than 50
• if you won’t do babysitting, or if you won’t work on public holidays and weekends this may prevent families from meeting with you as many families require au pairs to work additional hours, which is a standard job function of an au pair
• if you have your own young children, as many families do not want to employ an au pair who has their own young children
• if you smoke, as many families require non-smokers
• if you do not reside in their area
• if you do not speak the language they require – some families require Afrikaans speaking au pairs etc.
• there are many other barriers to entry in terms of families electing to interview candidates, however we have placed thousands of au pairs over the years so stay positive!!

I can see that there are vacancies that match my criteria however I haven’t heard from you in terms of those positions. Why is this the case?
Whilst it may seem that there are positions available on the vacancies page where you match the requirements, this isn’t always the case. Either we have already submitted your CV to the family and they elected not to interview you for whatsoever reason, or alternatively the position has further requirements which aren’t displayed on the vacancies page, which you do not fulfill. We can assure you however that as soon as a suitable position comes up, or as soon as a family wishes to interview you, we will contact you. It is in our best interests to do so! However please note we cannot force families to meet with you. The decision remains up to the family whether or not they choose to meet a candidate.

What salary can I expect to earn?
Kindly read our Au Pair Salaries page for more information regarding salaries and what you can expect to earn. Please note however that this is also dependent on your qualifications, experience and what the client has put forward as a possible salary.

What happens if I get placed with a client but they don’t pay the agency placement fee?
Please read our candidate agency terms for a detailed answer.

Who pays my monthly salary?
The family will pay your monthly salary directly to you, on or before the last day of the month. You are NOT employed by the Agency.

Who pays my petrol?
Regarding petrol, if you are using your own car then the family would have to cover your petrol costs for travel during your working hours (not to and from work). The family will reimburse employees at AA rates.

Will PAYE and UIF be deducted?
All salaries advertised are gross monthly salaries and all necessary tax deductions apply.

What are typical au pair job functions?
Please go to our au pair job functions link to see a list of typical au pair job functions.

Will I be required to work overtime?
More than likely yes. It should also be noted that in positions where the salary exceeds R17 000 gross per month, overtime pay is not required.

Will I be required to travel with the family?
This depends on the family. If a family requires a candidate to travel it will be stated on the job advert on the website.

How many positions will you put me forward for?
You will inform your designated contact which positions you wish to apply for so we will send you to as many positions as you request to be sent to, provided you meet the requirements as stated in the individual job adverts.

Do you provide on-going assistance after the placement?
Yes we do. If you have any queries or concerns in relation to the family that we have placed you with, simply contact us and we will gladly be of assistance. Your personal information remains in on our cloud based system after placement so that we can facilitate this ongoing service to you.

Must I let you know if I am leaving the family you placed me with?
Yes please. We need to keep our records up to date. We can also assist you with finding another position.

Do you comply with the POPI Act?
Yes we do. This is one of the reasons that our interview process is so strict.

What is my personal information in terms of the POPI Act?
“Personal Information” shall mean the race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, national or ethnic origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental health, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth of a person; information relating to the education or the medical, financial, criminal or employment history of the person; any identifying number, symbol, email address, physical address, telephone number, location information, online identifier or other particular assignment to the person; the biometric information of the person; the personal opinions, views or preferences of the person; correspondence sent by the person that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature or further correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence; the views or opinions of another individual about the person whether the information is recorded electronically or otherwise.

Is it legal for you to ask me about my health?
In accordance with the Children’s Act, and as per chapter 4 of the POPI Act, the agency is allowed to ask you about your health. Furthermore, the agency is required in terms of the Children’s Act, as someone who is facilitating employment for someone whose main job function will be to care for children, to do its due diligence in this regard, by querying your health, as you will be working with children, who will be in your sole care for an extended period of time, and who may be placed in harms way as a result of being in your care. This is as per the Children’s Act, allowance has been provided for in the POPI Act, as it is acting in the best interests of the children.

How is my personal information stored?
All your personal information is stored in a secure cloud based system. The service provider of the cloud based system complies with the regulations set out by the POPI Act. We do not print anything. Everything is stored online in a secure cloud based system for as long as is needed to fulfil our service to you. Should we place you with one of our families the Contract of Employment between you and the family as well as your profile at the agency will be stored in a secure cloud based system for a 5 year period in accordance with the Labour Relations Act of South Africa.

What happens to my personal information?
Online candidate applications are deleted from our system once they have been screened. They are not stored. All personal information received during the interview process, where applicable and where needed, is stored in a secure cloud based system whilst we facilitate our service to you so that we can assist you in finding employment. If you no longer require our services, simply inform us and we will delete your personal information from our cloud based system. Should you return, we will go through the interview process again and obtain your personal information. Should we place you with one of our families your personal information will be stored on our cloud based system for 5 years in accordance with the Labour Relations Act of South Africa.

Can I access my personal information?
Should you wish to see the personal information we have stored, in accordance with the POPI Act you will need to pay a R50 administration fee and we will send the information to you which we have stored in our cloud based system. Should you wish to see the personal information kindly email popi@littlesunshines.co.za to obtain it at which point we will provide the banking details for the R50 administration fee. We will send it to you via email once we have received the proof of payment of the R50 administration fee.

What personal information do you have now?
In order to ensure POPI compliance the decision was taken by the agency to delete all personal information from all registered candidates who were not actively in communication with us from the 14 June 2021 when POPI came into effect at the agency. Therefore if you were not in contact with us from the 14 June 2021 we no longer have your personal information, except for your name, surname and email address which we are using to correspond with you for direct marketing purposes which you can opt out of at any time as well as for legal purposes. If we placed you with a family in the last 5 years, in accordance with the Labour Relations Act, certain personal information has been retained and is being stored on our cloud based system. This personal information is limited to what we are legally required to retain in accordance with the POPI Act. For further queries in this regard kindly email popi@littlesunshines.co.za for further assistance.

When do you give my personal information to families?
So as to protect you, no family is able to identify a candidate until the candidate meets the family in person. Once the candidate meets a family then we will send personal information such as reference letters and so on to the family which the family can identify the candidate from. We will only give the candidate’s contact number, ID number and email address to a family once a candidate has accepted employment with the family. We never give out physical addresses to a family.

What personal information do you give to families?
Initially we provide families with an agency profile which contains your personal information therein but which they cannot use to identify you with. Therefore until they meet you they do not know that the personal information supplied to them is in relation to you, the individual. Once they have met you then we provide your further personal information as per their request in order to fulfill our service to them and in order to assist your potential placement with the family.

Are the Contracts of Employment which you supply to families and candidates POPI compliant?
All contracts of employment sent out from the 14 June 2021 by the agency on behalf of the family and the candidate contain the necessary POPI clauses therein. Any contracts of employment sent by the agency prior to this date do not contain the necessary POPI clauses therein however all families who we facilitated placement for, were emailed with an Addendum Form which they can provide to the candidate to ensure that the existing employment relationship is in accordance with the POPI ACT.

Is the agency responsible for POPI compliance between the Family and the Candidate?
No. It is not the responsibility of the agency to enforce compliance between the family and the candidate in terms of the POPI Act. Whilst our Contracts of Employment, effective 14 June 2021, do have the necessary POPI clauses therein, it is still the responsibility of the family (who is the employer) and the candidate (who is the employee) to comply with the POPI Act in terms of the employment relationship between the family and the candidate.

Do you give my personal information out to other people?
No. Never.

What direct marketing will you send me?
If you entered your email address on the candidate application form, and your application was successful, we will contact you to book an interview with us so that we can assist you further. This will be a once-off email. If you have entered your email address on any of our forms on our website, we will send you newsletter emails about other products and services which we offer. If you were ever invited to book an interview with us, we will send you a weekly job newsletter email which details the current jobs we have available at the agency. You can opt out from receiving these newsletter emails whenever you wish. There is a link at the end of every newsletter email which we send where you can opt out from receiving them. Once you opt out you will not receive that type of email again unless you contact us and request to receive it again. If you are a registered candidate of ours you will receive new jobs via WhatsApp. Should you no longer wish to receive the job adverts on WhatsApp simply message the company WhatsApp number informing them of this and they will no longer send them to you.

To Apply with the Agency Please CLICK HERE
If you are already registered with the agency and you HAVE met us,
please email positions@littlesunshines.co.za for further assistance