EMPLOYER FAMILY

HOW TO PROCEED

1. In order to register with our agency you must complete our 3 page questionnaire and forward the payment of the INITIAL SEARCH FEE of $100.00 + tax to our office. You can complete the questionnaire by mail, fax, or on-line for childcare questionnaires only . Payment of the Initial Search Fee (ISF) can be made by e-mail transfer (on-line banking) , cheque or by cash.
2. Obtain and Employer Business Number (BN) at www.cra-arc.gc.ca if you do not already have one."
3. We will contact you with any questions we have after reviewing your questionnaire, and to discuss any potential candidates for consideration. We will either assist in setting up interviews of suitable local applicants, or forward suitable file summaries of overseas applicants, depending on your needs and availability of applicants.
4. If you are looking to hire a Live - In caregiver, post your Job on the National Job Bank at www.jobbank.gc.ca as per the LCP requirements.
5. Once you have selected a candidate we will draw up an Offer of Employment which will be forwarded to you for approval. Once all corrections are made and the offer is satisfactory to the employer, we will contact the caregiver to receive verbal acceptance. Once received the employer must come to the office to sign the paperwork, pay the deposit placement fee and complete any required paper work such as the required Human Resources & Skills Development (HRDC) application, and Immigration Employer / Employee Contract needed to hire an LCP work visa caregiver.
6. At this time we will assist you with setting up an employer account with CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) and give you an employers handbook which will explain about deductions to CRA, Employer responsibilities, agency policies and procedures, the current Ontario Employment Standards Fact Sheet for Domestic Workers, and helpful hints on a successful placement.

Service and Fees:(effective Feb. 15, 2010)

*NB. No initial search fee is payable in advance for part time positions of less than 18 hours per week or less than 4 hours per day for up to 5 days. If we are able to find suitable candidates for interview, the initial search will be payable upon placement or prior to the the arrangement of an interview for a third possible candidate, whichever comes first.

PLACEMENT FEE

A 50% DEPOSIT PAYMENT (non-refundable) is payable if and when a file is chosen, a job offer made and verbal acceptance is received from the caregiver. For overseas applicants, deposit must be received in office prior to the offer being mailed overseas.
A 50% BALANCE PAYMENT is due 7 days after the written acceptance of the job offer has been returned, signed, from the overseas applicant ; or for local placements, by postdated cheque made payable for the last full working day prior to commencement of employment.
Should the employee not commence employment with the employer , this balance fee would be refunded to the Employer by the Agency and the deposit held for transfer to another caregiver chosen on future placement, OR if the Employer chooses and notifies the Agency in writing within 2 weeks of receiving notification that their caregiver is unable to commence employment, 50% of the deposit will be refunded and the contract canceled.

OUR GUARANTEE - WE OFFER A NINE MONTH GUARANTEE ON OUR FULL SERVICE CONTRACT.

WAGES

Live In:

HRSDC Central Processing Center is Downsview processes all Employer applications for LCP Live-In Caregiver and has the ability to set a higher rate that the Provincial Minimum Wage rate they feel. Wage guidelines for all provinces are available at http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/advertReq/wageadreq.shtml#tphp.

CPP, EI & Income Tax submitted to Revenue Canada monthly by the Employer , along with the Employers share of CPP & EI. Room & Board is the only flexible part of the equation as employers may not deduct for any meals the caregiver chooses not to eat with the family (in Ontario the rate is $2.55 / meal) . Rather than reimbursing a caregiver for meals not taken, Trafalgar Personnel normally recommends our employer clients deduct less (approximately $65.00 / week) for Room & Board in lieu of any meals not taken on time off. Effective April 1st, 2010, Trafalgar Personnel Limited does not place any live-in caregivers in Ontario for any less than $310.00 net per week after all deductions including Room & Board.

Caregivers who are an Open Permit , are Permanent Residents or Canadian citizens and accept a Live-In position , usually are looking for a slightly higher hourly wage that the current HRSDC wage guide set for LCP caregivers. In the GTA, most are looking for about $2.00 / hour more with minimal , or no Room & Board deduction. Also many are willing to accept a Salary vs an hourly wage , for up to a set maximum number of hours per week and additional overtime paid at a set rate.

Live-Out Wages:

Wages to the Employee presently average $15.00 - $18.00 / hour for Childcare ( single family), and $14.00 - $20.00 / hour for Eldercare depending on the start / finish time, total number of hours required, training & experience of the Caregiver, job description and travel time. Most Live-Out caregivers working in excess of 44 hours per week are paid on a Salary Basis. You as the employer will pay your employee directly and are responsible for making the correct CPP, EI and Income Tax deductions and submitting them monthly to Revenue Canada along with the Employers portion of the deductions.

Nanny Share positions , when a child or children from 2 different families are looked after by 1 nanny at the same time, usually pay a Salary based on $16.00 - $18.00 / hour for the total # of hours required. Each family pays half the wage and is considered an Employer with a CRA number. Thus they both qualify for the Child Tax Credit deduction. The Agency places this type of placement as 2 Permanent Part Time positions and both families receive a full guarantee.

Temporary Care: TLC - Tender Loving Care:

Our temp care program provides hourly care for families needing a sitter / caregiver for evening / daytime / weekend sitting, or emergency care in the Mississauga / Oakville / Burlington areas for up to a maximum of 7 hours/day. Our TLC caregivers are experienced and screened. However, we have a limited supply of child and elder care workers and thus they are placed on a first come first serve basis. Rates of TLC Caregivers range between $19.00 to $22.00 / hour (inclusive of our agency fee) depending on the time of day, number & ages of children , or the health condition of seniors etc. Cheques are made payable to the Agency and given to caregiver upon completion. Receipts are issued yearly by the agency for child tax credit purposes. No tax is charged for care of children under the age of 14 years. For further information, please call (905) 849-6520.

Short Term Placement:

Live in or Live-out Agency Placement Fees - $30.00 per day to a maximum of $150.00 per seven consecutive days per caregiver plus tax, for child or companion care. Nursing / PSW Carerates are $35.00 / day plus tax. Payment is due in full for the entire period booked PRIOR to commencement of placement. A refund for any unused portion of the placement fee will be given, minus a $50.00 administration fee, should the placement terminate early. Short term placements are usually made on an independent professional basis where the caregiver is paid the full amount owing and issues the family a receipt for payment received upon completion.
Caregiver rates range between $130.00 to $180.00 / 24 hour period, depending on the job description.

SUMMER SITTERS AND OTHER SERVICES AVAILABLE

Summer Sitters: are usually university / college students who are looking for summer employment. Many are studying in a care related field (Early Childhood Education, Nursing, Child & Youth Work Programs) or have worked previous summers as camp counselors or summer sitters. They are young and energetic people who provide a safe, stimulating and fun-filled summer for children. Most are looking for full time work from May to August, but some are looking to supplement another part time job , or are available around previously planned summer vacation times etc. We also occasionally have full time nannies ( NOT on a work permit ), who have time off during the summer and are looking to supplement their yearly income. Often they work throughout the year for teachers or a family that goes away for their summer vacations, or are school teachers themselves. .

Wages for student summer sitters are $13.00 - $15.00 per hour depending on their background and experience, job description, number and ages of the children and hours required, but may be higher. They are employed and paid directly by the employer.

For further information on these rates please call (905) 849-6520