Reponte HomeCare Services Inc.
"Bringing Personalized Care To Your Home"
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Reponte HomeCare Services Inc.
"Bringing Personalized Care To Your Home"
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They Are Protected
Employer's Responsibility to a Live-in Employee You must provide acceptable working conditions, reasonable duties and fair market wages. You must also provide accommodation that ensures privacy, such as a private room with a lock on the door. You should provide your employee with a key to the house to ensure freedom of access. It is your employee's home as well as his or her place of work. Your caregiver pays rent for a room in your home and is entitled to privacy. You should not enter the caregiver's room without his or her permission. You should respect the caregiver's cultural or religious practices and discuss his or her needs. A live-in caregiver is protected by employment standards legislation in most provinces and territories. Live-in employees are entitled to days off each week, statutory holidays, extra pay for overtime work and a salary that meets at least the minimum wage. It is your responsibility to find out what these standards are and to respect the law of your province or territory. Hiring a Caregiver Who Is Already in Canada You may wish to hire a live-in caregiver who is already in Canada as a temporary worker under the Program but is unemployed. Your offer of employment must first be validated by a HRCC. Give a copy of the letter from the HRCC which validates your job offer to the caregiver you would like to hire as well as signed contract between you and the caregiver. The caregiver needs this letter and the signed contract to apply for a new work permit to work for you. The caregiver must get the new work permit before working in your home. It is illegal for the caregiver to work without a valid work permit naming you as the employer. "Trial employment" is not allowed. It is illegal to informally "try out" a caregiver for a few weeks or months to determine if the caregiver is suitable for a one-year contract. You could be charged with a criminal offence for employing a worker who is not authorized by Immigration Canada to work for you. Hospital and Medical Care Insurance Contact the proper provincial authorities to determine how medical insurance for your employee will be provided. Depending on the province, you may be required to pay premiums or a health tax on your employee's behalf. If so, you cannot deduct this from the employee's wages. Workers' Compensation Live-in caregivers have the right to be covered under workers' compensation legislation in most provinces and territories. If you employ a live-in caregiver, you must determine your responsibilities under workers' compensation according to the laws of your province or territory. Contact your local workers' compensation office. Workers' compensation is an employer's insurance plan; it is to your benefit to be sure your employee is covered if he or she is injured on the job. Employer's Legal Responsibilities Anyone who employs a full-time live-in caregiver under the Program is required by federal law to register as an employer with Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA). You must make the proper deductions for income tax, employment insurance and Canada Pension Plan and remit these amounts to the proper federal authority. When you register as an employer, CCRA will provide you with an information kit containing the necessary forms and explaining how to comply with the law. Remember: you must comply with the law and provide your employee with a record of employment when the employee's term with you is over. You will not be able to get the record of employment form unless you have registered properly as an employer. Like all other small business employers in Canada, you must keep written records of your caregiver's employment. Employment standards laws require that records of an employee's earnings be kept and that employees be provided with a statement of earnings with each pay cheque. The statement should normally indicate your employee's gross and net pay, specific deductions, the purpose of these deductions, and the total hours worked (including overtime) in that pay period. You are also required by law to give your employee a T4 slip for the previous year 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 to file his or her income tax return for each year. Refer to the information kit provided by CCRA when you registered as an employer. Deductions You must make the following deductions from your employee's pay:
You must remit these deductions to the appropriate government agencies on a regular basis. Check with provincial authorities or the HRCC about other deductions such as workers' compensation and health insurance. Room and Board Charges for meals not eaten by your employee in your home cannot be deducted from his or her pay. Room charges, however, are calculated on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on the terms of the contract. Whether you may deduct room and board directly from your employee's pay cheque may also be governed by provincial employment standards legislation. Your employee is entitled to leave your home on days off. Helping Your Employee Adjust Coming to live in a private home in a new country puts workers and employers in a special relationship of trust. Although the relationship is a professional one, we urge you to do all you can as an employer to help your employee adjust to life in Canada. You can refer your employee to agencies or other organizations that offer support. Ending an Agreement with an Employee If your employee is unwilling or unable, without just cause, to perform the job as stated in the contract, and you no longer wish to employ the caregiver, you can terminate the contract. However, you may have agreed in the contract, or the law may require you, to give a notice of termination. When you cannot give the employee the appropriate notice, you can pay him or her for the period the notice would have covered. Regardless of whether the law or your contract requires you to give notice or pay in lieu of notice, you may be liable for it under common law or Quebec's civil law. You are required to notify the HRCC if you no longer need the services of your caregiver. Please remember that if you abuse the terms of the work agreement, you will have difficulty hiring a live-in caregiver under the Program again. If you need to find a replacement for your employee, you must follow the same application procedure under the Program as before.
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