Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the current MINIMUM and PREVAILING hourly wage rates for In-Home Caregivers?

The “MINIMUM hourly wage” for In-Home Caregivers vary province by province.  In Ontario, the current minimum wage rate is $14.00  per hour (as at January 1st, 2018).

For “PREVAILING hourly wages” for In-Home Nannies (who care for children) in the GTA, prices can vary by location and type of caregiver needed, and the dynamics of the care recipients.  For example, Nanny hourly rates vary between $15.00 and $18.00 per hour (or more) depending on a number of factors, such as (but not limited to); the number of children, ages of the children, expertise such as infant care,  degree of cooking skills required, degree of housekeeping skills required, number of hours, whether shifts are split or not, whether the caregiver needs a drivers licence or not, care of pets, etc.  In addition, since there is a shortage of Nannies within the centre of Toronto, many employers pay for a Metro Pass for the caregivers use.

The same goes for the “care of the elderly” or “persons with a disability”, wherein, the rates usually range from $16.00 to $22.00 per hour (or more), again depending on the degree of skills required, the required hours, whether the focus is on companionship, vs. focus and skills on a particular circumstance (e.g. Alzheimer’s, mobility issues, etc.).  In fact, most caregivers for the elderly have PSW (Personal Support Worker) Certification.

[Updated 02/18]

What is a Live-in Caregiver going to cost me and what additional costs I can expect?

As a general rule of thumb, most families in the Greater Toronto Area can expect to pay between $2,600 to $3,500 out-of-pocket per month based on a 40 hour work week for a Nanny or Caregiver to live in their home. Comparatively, the cost of a Full-Time Live-OUT Nanny or caregiver is about the same but without the additional room and board provisions.

The costs above only include:

salary paid
employer portions of:
CPP (Canada Pension)
EI (Employment Insurance)
employee remittances

To determine your own current Payroll calculations, go to this link: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/esrvc-srvce/tx/bsnss/pdoc-eng.html (Last checked 02/18)

OTHER COSTS:

PLUS, Placement fees to an Agency (optional) and mandatory W.S.I.B. (Workers Safety Insurance). For more information go to www.wsib.on.ca (see #944 Personal Service). [Last checked 01/18]

IF a caregiver is a Foreign Worker who is already in Canada and requires a Work Permit under the Live-IN Caregiver Program to work with a Family, ADD (to ALL the above PLUS); Transportation to the place of work. Consulting fees to an Immigration Consultant / Immigration Lawyer / or Paralegal who are members in good standing of the regulatory body ICCRC (Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council) in order to submit LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment) applications to Service Canada on behalf of employers seeking Foreign Caregivers (optional). All recruitment fees paid to third parties. And while waiting for a Work Permit to be issued, you may need to make temporary arrangements for a caregiver (optional) IF a Foreign In-Home Caregiver is NOT in Canada and hired from overseas ADD (to ALL the above PLUS): return airfare to Canada, basic health insurance for the first three months.

For further information about hiring a Foreign Caregiver, see “Temporary Foreign Worker Program – Live-in or In-Home Caregiver Program” found at: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/hire-foreign-worker/caregiver-program.html.  However, around December 2015, the Foreign Live-In Caregiver Program was changed, whereas, an employer can no longer demand, promote or advertise for a Live-In position, so we find it odd that the federal site still mentions the “Live-In” Program in it’s information. [Updated 02/18]

How much will it cost to hire a LIVE-OUT Caregiver?

In Ontario, where the minimum worker wage is currently $14.00 per hour, the prevailing or “market-rate” for  Nannies is between $15 and $18 per hour, and caregivers for elderly and persons with disabilities runs between $16 to $22 per hour and the average at about $18 gross hourly for full-time (higher depending on the circumstances).  And, if you are hiring for any home care, the householder become the the employer of record.

We do not dictate the cost of your caregiver. Although we facilitate the process, this is negotiated between you and the caregiver. Only with more detailed information reflecting your true families needs and the caregivers skills, experience and credentials can we be more specific. However, as a general rule of thumb, most families in the Greater Toronto Area can expect to pay between $600 to $750 per week and UP, PLUS of employer/employee tax remittances and benefits PLUS mandatory W.S.I.B. (Workers Safety Insurance).

For more information go to www.wsib.on.ca (see #944 Personal Service) • Does not include extra cost items such as: Metro Pass or transportation allowance. • To determine your own current Payroll calculations, go to this link: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/esrvc-srvce/tx/bsnss/pdoc-eng.html [Updated 02/18]

Do you pre-screen Caregiver Candidates?

With our FULL Service…ABSOLUTELY.

Before you interview our caregivers, we pre-interview and pre-screen all caregivers before we recommend them to you. We then send you or discuss their BIO’s for review. They must meet, exceed or closely match all the specific requirements that we collected in our detailed Family Needs Survey that we conducted (most often on the phone and/or at your home). The minimum caregiver requirements are usually satisfactory experience and/or a six month intensive caregiver program (Canadian Government approved). All caregivers must have recent CPR and First Aid training and certification, and/or be willing to upgrade. Of course they should be able to provide written references with contact names and phone numbers. Foreign caregivers usually have police and health clearances before entering the country. For landed or natural citizens, especially for Live-out and Part-time work, we recommend you do a Police Check and get proof of Health Clearance. Canadian Caregivers can conduct, coordinate and ensure this is looked after.

All Caregivers are NOT created equal nor are the families that hire them. That’s why developing close personal relationships with both the caregivers and the employing families are paramount to our success.

What are the advantages to having a LIVE-IN Nanny vs. a LIVE-OUT Nanny or putting my child/children in Day Care?

There are many advantages to having a Live-in Caregiver or Nanny:

More flexible scheduling
No waiting for a late caregiver to arrive (think about winter, traffic and transit schedules)
Less transfer of sickness (colds, flu’s, etc.)
Built-in sitter (many live-in’s can make themselves available)

Whatever your choice (e.g. Live-in, Live-out, full-time, part-time, temporary), if we work with you, we promise to find as close-to-perfect, a fit for your family. [Updated 02/18]

How long does it take to hire a caregiver?

Once we have your commitment to work with us, we can have you interviewing candidates usually within two to three weeks.  However, depending on whether you are looking to hire Full-time, Live-in or Live-out, domestic or domestic foreigner needing a work permit or sponsoring a foreign caregiver, selection and start-times do vary. You should allow 3 to 6 weeks to hire a full time live-out caregiver (or a live-in who has a minimum Open Work Permit), and 5 to 9 months for all clearances and approvals for a foreign LIVE-IN or In-Home Caregiver already in Canada and 9 months to 12+ months for foreign overseas caregivers. [Updated 02/18]

How does the interview process work?

It varies and call us old fashion, but, you will find that we work hands-on with most families to meet their exacting preferences. We usually arrange for caregiver interviews in your home (especially full-time live-in’s). What we often find is that most families review several “recommended” caregiver profiles, then choose to interview 1 to 3 applicants and when they’ve narrowed their choice to one or two they sometimes invite the prospective caregiver for a second interview to meet and spend some time with the child/children and/or family see how they “fit” with the family. (Trials are not allowed under the Live-IN Caregiver Program). Even, by being remotely involved on the outside of the interview process, we get valuable feedback from the caregiver which helps to get detailed information and find the closest to perfect fit. In fact, since we started in 2002, almost every selected caregiver placed was always chosen from the first three or four candidates.

(By the way, about 90% of our business is referrals, including both employers and caregiver candidates). [Updated 01/13]

What if our family feels our caregiver is not working out?

Based on our Full-time published rate, we guarantee a replacement caregiver and or intermediary service up to one year, should you feel your caregiver is not working out. Before replacing though, we usually attempt to resolve issues through our intermediary* service (*candy coated word for conflict resolution) where we may involve you and/or the caregiver to make “adjustments” to better manage expectations with all parties.

Since 2002 and up to 2009, Canadian Caregivers never had to make a single replacement as our intermediary work had excellent results 100% of the time. Since 2009, we have only made two replacements, which were unavoidable due to the circumstances. In fact, every full-time caregiver we’ve helped get hired, has stayed with the family for a second year term or more (if more than one year was intended). Our Success Rate also shows our commitment to our 100% PLACEMENT GUARANTEE. [Updated 02/18]

Do you place part-time caregivers?

As a rule of thumb…NOT REALLY…but sometimes. As a full-service placement agency, Canadian Caregivers specializes in placing Full-Time caregivers. Unless the placement is for 3 or 4 days a week on a permanent basis, it is not usually cost effective to give the same personal service for too short a period of time. It would be best to call first for availability, since we do have part-time candidates registering from time to time. If we have some detailed information from a family it’s sometimes possible to find a caregiver who would be a good fit. Placement fees for part-time are negotiated on a case-by-case basis due to so many variables. Give us a call if you are interested (416-469-1305).

Do you charge a placement fee if you don’t place our caregiver or nanny?

We believe in billing and getting paid only for services rendered. We never charge a full placement fee if we don’t place a caregiver or nanny for your family. However, once you decide to begin the interview process in your home with our recommended caregivers and nannies we do ask for a small admin or courtesy fee (usually $450).. Once you make an offer to a caregiver that we’ve introduced, you will be obligated to pay a deposit and the balance when the caregiver starts working in your home. If you do online banking you can conveniently pay via INTERAC® Transfer which is instant.

If you don’t place with us, but paid a $450 deposit, we’ll refund you $100.00 if we couldn’t find you a candidate or you didn’t interview a candidate.  [Updated 02/18]

Any other Questions?

Call us with any other questions you have. We’ll be happy to answer them. We can be reached at (416) 469-1305 or you can e-mail us from the Contact section of this web site.


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