In our previous post, we included a Canada-wide matrix that shows all prevailing wages and requirements for Live-In Caregivers.  But we thought we would make a separate post outlining the provinces that have changes upcoming.

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The following document is provided by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) to help employers across the country understand what they are required to provide to their Live-In Caregiver Program employee.  The original document can be found here.  Because the image below is a screen shot, you will not be able to click on the minimum advertising requirements but they can be found here.  Advertising requirements are uniform for all provinces across Canada.

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Carrying on from our blog post concerning the new contract, there is a sore point for nannies, families and agencies that should have been, but was not, addressed.

Anyone hiring a live-in caregiver has been through this situation:  You find someone you absolutely love, interview them, make an offer, work out the salary and then… the waiting begins.  Many of our clients are astounded when we tell them that, even though the caregiver is in Canada, they have to go through up to 8 weeks or more of processing to change their work permit to the new employer’s name.

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For most of the top tier agencies, placement fees have stayed relatively the same for the last few years.  In our opinion, the steady rate has more to do with the fact that there have been hundreds of fly-by-night business popping up offering free placements and cheap recruitment to Canadian families.  To combat this, those that provide a high level of service to their clientel have not been able to increase fees according to inflation and growing operating costs.  But that’s all about to change now that agents who do the majority of their business with overseas candidates will have to stop charging exorbitant fees to nannies for recruitment.

Consider this…

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Effective April 1, 2010, employers in Canada who wish to hire a foreign Live-In Caregiver under the federal immigration program must abide by new regulations that will seriously impact Canadian families.

For a detailed analysis of the changes, please check out our blog post and tell us what you think about how this will affect your family and your decision to pursue the hiring of a Live-In Caregiver in the future.

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To go along with the new changes, Citizenship and Immigration have posted a new mandatory Live-In Caregiver contract that employers and employees will need to fill out.

This new document is 7 pages; an expansion from the 2 page contract that was posted for suggested use previously.  As you can imagine, there is a lot more text in it specifically to help the caregivers in their new job.  While we do not agree with the new legislation as far as lack of protection for employers and all costs being put on the sponsoring family, we think that the protection for employees has been significantly improved.  For those who have traditionally taken advantage of their nanny – not paying over-time, requiring “free babysitting,” having down-time during the day being unpaid when the nanny is still obligated to be in the home – this contract will make it very clear that this sort of thing is not going to be acceptable anymore; it should have never been in the first place.

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On March 8, we were notified by the Association of Caregiver and Nanny Agencies Canada (ACNA), of which Execu-Nannies is a supporting member, that the proposed changes to the Live-In Caregiver program have been passed.  ACNA met with Immigration Minister Jason Kenney in September of 2009 to provide their input on the proposed changes but none of their suggestions were taken into consideration and we think this is regrettable.

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UPDATE AUG 5, 2011: We are currently seeing processing times at overseas embassies being much longer than advertised on the Citizenship and Immigration website.  We advise you to contact your local Member of Parliament to voice your concerns if your application has taken much longer than the posted times and you are not receiving any information from the embassy.

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Along with “how much does it cost,” one of the most frequently asked question is regarding the timelines to hire a nanny under the Live-In Caregiver program.  While employers may want a clear cut answer on this question, its often not very easy to say, especially for overseas applications.  But we’ll go ahead and try…

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One of the most commonly asked questions about the application process for a Live-In Caregiver is the addition of the Attestation of Identity Authentication document included in the Labout Market Opinion (LMO) request package.  In April 2009 it was implemented in response to the influx of fraudulent applications made.  It was alleged that employers were simply putting their name on applications for caregivers to allow them to come to Canada and then find new jobs once they arrive.  There were even a few reports of some agents using client’s names without permission or even paying people to participate in these dummy job offers.

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UPDATE – AUG 2011: Service Canada now does not require any advertising for families hiring caregivers who are already in Canada.  Advertising is still required for overseas sponsorship though.

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You may or may not know that if you want to hire a live-in caregiver, whether already in Canada or currently residing overseas, you are obligated to make efforts to source qualified permanent residents or Canadian citizens for the job before considering applicants in the Live-In Caregiver Program.  In order to issue their Labour Market Opinion (LMO) approval, Service Canada wants to ensure that Canadian applicants are given priority in the hiring process to avoid an excess of unnecessary immigration applications.  But, in our experience, there are very few, if any, Canadians or permanent residents who apply to live-in with a family on a permanent, full time basis under the same salary and working conditions as those in the Live-In Caregiver Program.  Families must pay a minimum of $10 $10.25 per hour in Ontario and can deduct a maximum of $369.42 from the nanny’s net salary on a monthly basis (provincial requirements vary – please consult the Service Canada website).

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