The Live-in Caregiver Program from an employer's perspective...

Overview

The Live-in Caregiver Program is a federal government initiative that seeks to address the shortage of suitably qualified Live-in Caregivers by providing a way for Canadians to hire caregivers from abroad.  The program is designed to allow private households, who have a genuine need for live-in care, to employ a suitably qualified caregiver from abroad.

Who may use the Live-in Caregiver Program

The Live-in Caregiver Program is for private households that require live-in care for children, the elderly, or people with disabilities.  One of the key requirements of the program is that the caregiver must live and have a private room in the household where they work.

The process of hiring a Live-in Caregiver

Take a look at our job noticeboard and post an advert. Using our noticeboard is a totally free service.

The following list outlines the process of hiring a foreign Live-in Caregiver:

  1. First determine that you really have need of a full-time, Live-in Caregiver, that you have the financial resources to hire a full-time employee, and that you can provide a Live-in Caregiver with sufficient privacy (a private room as a minimum).  To help in this, it is a good idea to start drafting an employment contract specifying the number of working hours per week, salary, overtime rate, duties and responsibilities, holidays, rent, meal arrangements etc.  Your employment contract will need to take account of provincial labour laws and your local Service Canada Centre (SCC), also known as HRCC, HRC and CASC (in Alberta), will be able to advise you on the prevailing regulations in your province and help you to draft a suitable employment contract.
  2. Advertise the position.  You can post the job right here with TLC Edmonton.  The advantages of using TLC Edmonton to locate a Live-in Caregiver are that we are connected to a large network of caregivers through our six month accredited training course for Live-in Caregivers, and, because we know them personally, we can help you to find the best match.  Our students are trained to a very high standard, have adjusted to life in Canada, and performed voluntary care giving work in Canada as part of their course.  Additionally, we prepare and assist our students in meeting all the stringent requirements in order to qualify for a work permit under the Live-in Caregiver Program.
  3. Register as an employer with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).  The CRA will give you an information guide on tax requirements when you register as an employer.
  4. Once you have interviewed and selected a prospective Live-in Caregiver, the next step is to negotiate and agree an employment contract, write a letter offering them employment and submit an application to HRSDC for a LMO.  Assuming that your prospective employee already meets the training and educational requirements, they will also need copies of these documents to obtain a work permit.  To improve the chances of your prospective employee getting a work permit, the letter should make clear that you are offering a firm job offer and, ideally, indicate the urgency of the position and explain how the candidate is ideally and uniquely suited to the position.
  5. You must now wait because the process involved for your prospective Live-in Caregiver to obtain their first work permit can take a few months, especially so, if they have not taken the medical check and obtained security clearances in advance.  Additionally they must leave Canada in order to apply for their first work permit.  Please note that your prospective caregiver is not permitted to start work before obtaining the work permit.
  6. Once your Live-in Caregiver gets their work permit they may start work.  As an employer you will acquire many extra responsibilities...


Employers' Responsibilities

Legal requirements:

  1. The employment of a Live-in Caregiver in a private household must be covered by an employment contract and the working conditions must meet provincial labour laws such as the minimum wage standard and other regulations.  The total number of working hours per week should be specified in the labour contract as well as provisions for payment of over-time, holidays etc.
  2. you will have to keep records and provide your employee with a statement of earnings with each pay cheque indicating gross and net pay, specific deductions, the purpose of these deductions, and the total hours worked (including overtime) during that pay period.  Deductions are for income tax, employment insurance and Canada pension plan and must be remitted to the appropriate authority.  This information can be obtained from the CRA or from your accountant.
  3. You must give your employee a T4 slip by the end of February each year. The T4 slip will show your employee's total gross earnings and total deductions for income tax purposes. Your employee will require the T4 in order to file an annual income tax return.
  4. You must also keep a Record of Employment (ROE) which you will have to give to your employee when the work ends.


Social responsibilities:

The Canadian Live-in Caregiver Program is not a means to hire cheap domestic labour. The Live-in Caregiver immigration program requires caregivers to meet stringent educational and training requirements and in many cases candidates are highly qualified professionals.

When you hire a Live-in Caregiver, they effectively become a member of your household.  It is part of your responsibility to help your employee settle into, what is for them, a foreign country and a foreign household - often with a very different cultural background than their own.  As a host you provide the context in which your caregiver experiences Canadian culture and hopefully, in time, decides to become a fully participating Canadian citizen.

Employers can help caregivers settle-in by maintaining a professional yet kind relationship, assisting them with finding and using local services and by respecting the periods in each day when they are not working.  Also by respecting differences in culture, religious beliefs and cuisine.  It's a good idea to do some cultural research in order to better understand possible social conditioning in advance.

Building a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship will make the arrangement much more satisfactory for all parties.