Hiring a Live-in Caregiver - For Canadian Employers

Information for Canadian employers:
Hiring a live-in nanny – How to apply

As an employer, you are responsible for finding a foreign live-in caregiver through advertisements, personal contacts or hiring agencies. You then must go through the application process to hire them.
Learn about:

• Finding a caregiver
• Applying for a labour market opinion
• Work permits
• The contract
• Hiring in Quebec

Finding a caregiver

Your local Human Resources and Social Development Canada HRSDC/Service Canada centre can help you find an employee. They will also ask you to show that you have made reasonable efforts to hire a Canadian or a foreign worker already in Canada as a live-in caregiver.

Using a hiring agency

If you use a hiring agency, choose a reputable one. You should:

• find out what services the agency offers
• review your agency contract for information about the caregiver’s airfare or other costs you may be required to pay, and
• ask about guarantees and whether the company will replace an employee who quits (and if so, within what period of time and after what period of employment).

Ask the agency for references to ensure that the workers it recommends are qualified. You can also ask:

• How does the agency screen applicants?
• Does the agency have the resources to service clients?
• Does the agency check references and interview applicants in person?

Hiring a caregiver who is already in Canada

You can hire a live-in caregiver who is already in Canada and has a work permit.
Your offer of employment must first be confirmed by HRSDC. Give a copy of the letter from HRSDC confirming your job offer to the caregiver you wish to hire. The caregiver will need it to apply for a new work permit naming you as the employer. It is illegal for the caregiver to begin working for you without this permit.
You cannot hire a caregiver on a trial basis to find out if they are suitable. It is a crime to employ a worker who is not authorized by CIC.
When you have found a person you want to hire, contact your local HRSDC/Service Canada centre.

Applying for a labour market opinion

Your next step is to get a positive labour market opinion LMO from the HRSDC/Service Canada center. They will give you information on acceptable wage standards, taxes, health insurance, workers’ compensation and more.
You can request an LMO under the Live-in Caregiver Program for up to three years and three months (except in Quebec, where it is up to three years). An LMO is an assessment of the impact a job offer will have on the Canadian labour market.

Work permits

When the HRSDC/Service Canada centre has approved your offer of employment, you will get a letter of confirmation. The letter contains important information about immigration for live-in caregivers, including the work permit application process. It will also tell you which documents you must send to the caregiver which they will need for their application.
Caregivers found eligible and who meet all other requirements will be issued a work permit. This process may take several months, so plan ahead.
Even if your offer of employment is approved, your caregiver cannot work in Canada until he or she receives the work permit naming you as the employer. You should keep in contact so you know when he or she will be able to begin working for you.
Live-in caregivers have the right to change jobs without their employer’s permission and work for another employer as a live-in caregiver. Live-in caregivers cannot start working for someone new until the employer has an approved LMO and the live-in caregiver has a new work permit naming the new employer.
After a live-in caregiver has worked under the Program for two years within three years of their date of entry into Canada, they can apply for permanent residence. They may also wish to apply for an open work permit, which would allow them to work in Canada in any occupation.

The contract

You and the caregiver you hire are legally required to sign a contract. The caregiver’s responsibilities and your conditions of employment should be set out in the contract.
Note: The province’s labour laws take priority over the terms of the contract if the contract terms provide less than the law requires.
The wages will be set out in the contract. The minimum wage in your province or territory may be below the market wage in your community. Be prepared to pay a wage rate and provide benefits comparable to those provided to other caregivers in your community if you want to keep your employee.

Before you sign a contract

You should be sure of what you need from a caregiver before you decide if someone is suitable to work for you. Your employee will be living in your home where they will care for your children or other family members. It is important to choose the right person for your family. For example, ask if the applicant:

• smokes
• drives a car
• likes children or the elderly
• can cook
• observes any special customs or religious holidays
• will be eating the same food as your family or would prefer to buy or prepare separate meals, or
• other things that could affect suitability.

Some countries may have additional requirements for their citizens that we do not have here in Canada. For example, some countries have exit requirements whereby their citizens must apply and meet certain requirements to get approval to leave their country. Before you sign an employment contract, you should ask your caregiver about their country’s requirements and find out if there are additional requirements that may affect you. You can also contact the embassy for that country here in Canada or check their website.

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European Aupairs / Babysitters Working As Nannies In Canada

Nowadays in most families both parents are working and a nanny is a necessity for those who want to keep the children in a happy and safe environment. The best solution would be to find a live-in nanny who can care for the kids while the parents are at work. The majority of nannies willing to work as a live-in caregiver are from overseas i.e.: Europe, Philippines, and South America.

Recent studies show that 96% of the caregivers arriving in Canada under the Live-in Caregiver Program are from Philippines. The rest 4% are from Europe (Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, etc,) and from South America.

In most cases the nannies coming from Europe are well educated and trained as teachers or nurses. After working as babysitters in Europe (in particular Great Britain) they decide to move on and seek a job as a nanny in Canada. Unlike Europe, the former babysitters can apply in Canada for permanent residence after two years of employment as a live-in caregiver providing better chances to settle in Canada in an easier and faster way. The majority of those coming from Europe have a driver license which allowed them to obtain a Canadian driver license after they pass the road test. Having years of experience in Europe as babysitters and most cases a University degrees they are easily accepted by Canadian families, moreover they are in demand as many parents are looking for a nanny who is able to drive the kids to activities, school and supervise them during studying time. European nannies are preferred by families who are looking for more of a nanny then a housekeeper. In this case the parents are most concerned to have somebody to contribute to their offspring education and for the cleaning they will have a professional housekeeper several times a month. Of course the nanny will do some housekeeping and cooking, but her main duty is to focus on the children well-being.

The former babysitter working as a nanny will need some time to adjust to her new environment. Unlike her job in Europe where she worked fewer hours a week for room and board and pocket money, in Canada she will have a busy schedule with a full time job and more responsibilities. It would be very helpful if the family can provide her with childcare duties and guidance about the house and work schedule. The nanny job requires somebody who is flexible and willing to adjust her schedule to family’s needs. For a happy relation nanny-family the parents should have a clear picture about what they require from a nanny and the nanny should have an idea about what the family is expecting from her.

Although most of the nannies are willing to do housekeeping, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. it is recommended to have a work agreement in writing to avoid any misunderstandings. The employment agreement should include details about the work schedule, salary and benefits, overtime compensation, holidays, childcare and housekeeping duties, etc.

It is also recommended to keep an honest and open communication dialog with the nanny, praise her for the good work she has done and discuss any issues that arise before a decision is taken. Let the nanny know what is expected of and respond to her needs. The more you help your new nanny to adjust to her new environment, the sooner you will be confident to leave your children in her care.

Need a nanny? Here are some pointers…

Looking for a suitable nanny to look after my children was not an easy task as I had thought it would be. In a household with two parents working full time and two toddlers, a nanny is a necessity. First of all, will be cheaper than a daycare and secondly the kids will feel more at ease in a familiar environment. However, finding the right nanny on my own seems to me a tough job.

In the old days, the obvious route to start was to place an ad in the news paper. Normally the results are a nightmare. Dozens of phone calls at all times of the day. The answering machine will be jammed with calls, anybody from grandma’s neighbor to the high school kid down the street. In many cases it is so overwhelming you don’t know where to start. If you are to go through a screening process and meeting with all callers, you would need a vacation after this exhausting adventure.

To begin with, you have to figure out what are you looking for in a nanny. You know she will spend many hours everyday with our children, so you need someone affectionate, open minded, gentle but firm, and most importantly, someone who genuinely loves kids. Someone like… Mary Popins!!! Or maybe just somebody like her… Hey, you know this is almost an impossible task, but at least you have to try, right…?

Second, you have to prepare yourself for the interview: What questions to ask the nanny? What should you look for in a nanny? You may have to consider that she is very nervous during the interview, but how does she handle herself in such a situation? Did she approach the kids during the interview? How did they respond to her? You should also do your homework and prepare some ‘What if…’ questions. These are very important indicators to her ability to handle situations that may occur during an average day with children. … I told you, this is not an easy task.

After the interviews it’s time to make your assessment. Do it as soon as possible after the interviews while your memory is still fresh. Read your notes again on each candidate you met with (you took notes during the interviews, didn’t you?). Maybe now you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The other way is to call on a nanny agency. That should make things a lot easier to find a nanny. You call the agency, they send a candidate and… voila, you have a nanny - end of story. Well, not quite… As it turned out, you still have to put some work in this matter, before and after the actual hiring. How come, you say? Well, here is how it goes…

You start your search on the internet. You are looking for a reputable agency, preferably in business for several years. The best way is to ask about their experience. What happens if the nanny doesn’t work out? Are there any guarantees? Then, ask them to provide you with reference. Call on their customers and find out if their service is satisfactory.

Tell the agency what you need and they will know what to do. Provide them with a detailed description of so called “Mary Poppins” and let them do the job.

So, that was the easy part. Now, assuming the agency has done the preliminary screening of the candidates, you need to meet only a handful of candidates for a personal interview. After I put somebody else in charge with finding a nanny I can relax and watch another hockey game.

Good luck.

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