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Do you wish to have someone help you with the basic necessities of someone you care about? For instance, do you need constant assistance for eldercare, individuals with special needs or childcare? If this is the case, then you should hire a live-in caregiver. Live-in caregivers will help and assist you with these specific circumstances. There are certain steps that you must take in order to ultimately hire a live-in caregiver. In this article, I will explain and outline the steps needed from the employer to hire a live-in caregiver as well as the steps that the live-in caregiver needs to take.
As an employer looking to find a live-in caregiver, there are standard requirements that need to be met. Through the live-in caregiver program, the employee must have a valid work permit to proceed with being hired. Therefore, the employer must ensure that this is done before offering employment. The employer must also ensure that they have attempted to hire employees through advertisements, personal or business contacts, and/or hiring agencies. After this is done, then they may be able to go through the application process of the live-in caregiver program in order to hire them.
A very useful tool that many employers use to hire live-in caregivers is Canada’s national Job Bank. This is a search engine that provides employers as well as employees the opportunity to seek employment opportunities. The employer is required to advertise their position on this Job Bank in order to find the appropriate employee.
Once the suitable employee has been found and you would like to hire them, the employer is required to contact Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in order to proceed with the employment. At this time, the employee is also required to apply for a work permit for the employer as well as comply with the live-in caregiver program requirements. If all the requirements have been made, then they will receive their work permit. However, it is important to keep in mind, these applications and processes do take some time and can last up to several months. Therefore, you may not employ or allow the employee to work for you until this work permit has been approved. It is illegal to proceed with employing them without a work permit in Canada as it has not been authorized by the government.
In order to employ the live-in caregiver, there must be a legal contract between you two. This legal contract is called an employment contract. This contract must also be recognized by the Canadian government. Therefore, once you and the live-in caregiver have signed and dated the contract, you must submit it with your application for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) . The Canadian government must examine the contract to make sure that there is a justified working agreement between the live-in caregiver and the employer. They will also review the contract to see if both the employer and the live-in caregiver meet the requirements of the LMIA for Live-in Caregivers.
Within the employment contract, there must be a detailed description of several factors that the employer and the live-in caregiver have agreed on. For instance, there are factors such as job responsibilities, work hours, wage, boarding, vacation and/or sick leave benefits, etc. Other factors include transportation agreements and specific details on if there is termination of the employment. Benefits are a very important factor that should be recognized in the contract as well. Benefits that would be included are medical insurance and workplace safety insurance. It is extremely crucial for there to be a mutual understanding between the employer and the live-in caregiver prior to the employment initiating. This means that both parties should be well-prepared and well-aware of what the employment will be.
Prior to hiring a live-in caregiver, it is necessary to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment. When you apply for an LMIA, this validates that there is a demand for a foreign worker as well as confirms that no Canadians are accessible to work this position. LMIAs are only valid for six months; therefore it is imperative that the live-in caregiver applies for a work permit within this time frame.
Once you get a positive LMIA and receive an approved job offer, there will be communication from Immigration Canada. They will send an LMIA confirmation letter. You must retain this letter for your reference as well as make a copy for your live-in caregiver employee. The information contained within this letter includes instructions on how the live-in caregiver must complete the work permit as well as which documents must be submitted in addition.
When you and the live-in caregiver are in receipt of the LMIA confirmation letter, you must submit the required application and documents. Moving forward, the live-in caregiver must apply for a work permit within six months. If they abide by all of the requirements and are eligible for the work permit, they will eventually receive a work permit that lists you as the employer. Nevertheless, this process does take a considerable amount of time and in the meantime, you should maintain contact with the live-in caregiver to confirm when they are eligible to start their employment.
If you would like to employ a live-in caregiver, it is essential for you to follow the steps listed above. This process can seem overwhelming and confusing for those who have never been through the process. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help before proceeding with the application. Here, at Akrami & Associates, we work and have experience with many different immigration issues. We have helped many of our clients obtain employees through the Live-in Caregiver program. If you need assistance, please feel free to contact Akrami & Associates at our office at 416-477-2545 for more information or if you would like to book a consultation with an immigration professional for more advise.
With Akrami & Associates, there is always a way!
