Hire an In-Home Caregiver – Wages, Working Conditions and Occupations
In exceptional cases where the employer is not required to pay income tax in Canada, copies of paystubs, bank statements, personal work contract or other official documents can be submitted as proof of income.
In cases of multiple employers where the income of 1 employer is not sufficient to meet the financial ability to pay the caregiver’s wages, the income of both employers can be combined to meet this requirement. However, the 2 employers must submit copies of their past year individual Notice of Assessment from CRA if your application is submitted after July 1. Please note that NOAs submitted from a previous year or a combination of years will not be accepted.
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Size of family unit
|
Community size | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Rural areas outside CMA or CA |
Census Agglomeration (CA) | Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) | |||
| Less than 30,000 inhabitants |
Between 30,000 and 99,999 inhabitants |
Between 100,000 and 499,999 inhabitants |
500,000 inhabitants or more |
||
| Current dollars | |||||
| 1 person | 18,192 | 20,696 | 22,618 | 22,759 | 26,426 |
| 2 persons | 22,647 | 25,764 | 28,157 | 28,332 | 32,899 |
| 3 persons | 27,841 | 31,673 | 34,615 | 34,831 | 40,445 |
| 4 persons | 33,804 | 38,457 | 42,029 | 42,290 | 49,106 |
| 5 persons | 38,339 | 43,617 | 47,668 | 47,963 | 55,695 |
| 6 persons | 43,242 | 49,193 | 53,762 | 54,096 | 62,814 |
| 7 persons or more | 48,142 | 54,769 | 59,856 | 60,227 | 69,935 |
Transportation
Employers of low-wage in-home caregivers must always pay for the transportation costs (for example, plane, train, boat, car, bus) of the caregiver to the work location in Canada. These costs must be paid up-front to ensure that they are not part of any negotiations related to the employment contract. This process helps protect temporary foreign workers, who may be tempted to accept alternative travel arrangements in return for a job offer.
Employers may have a financial agreement with any member of their family to pay for the transportation costs.
Transportation costs may include:
- transportation from the caregiver’s country of current residence to the work location in Canada
- transportation from the caregiver’s current residence in Canada to the new work location
- gas expenses when the caregiver drives his/her personal car to the new work location
- return transportation from the caregiver’s current residence in Canada to his or her original country of residence
Employers should know that:
- the mode of transportation selected must reduce the travel time, expenses and inconvenience to the caregiver
- under no circumstances, can an employer recover the transportation costs from the TFW
Transportation costs paid by the employer do not include:
- hotels, meals and miscellaneous expenses during the caregiver’s travel to the work location
- transportation or other expenses for vacations or emergency trips
Employers must keep records (for example, invoices, receipts, copies of flight itineraries, tickets, boarding passes) of all transportation costs paid, for a minimum of 6 years. This information may be required as proof if employers re-apply for a subsequent LMIA or if they are selected for an inspection.
Note: This requirement does not apply to employers of high-wage in-home caregivers.
Housing
Employers cannot require a caregiver to live in their home. However, if an employer and foreign caregiver decide that a live-in arrangement is the most suitable, for the needs of the person requiring care or to assist the TFW, there are certain criteria that must be met. Specifically, employers must ensure the:
- accommodation is being provided in the home of the person receiving care
- accommodation is private and furnished bedroom
- bedroom door has a lock and safety bolt on the inside
- bedroom meets the municipal building requirements and the provincial/territorial health standards
- foreign caregiver is not charged room and board for the accommodations, as per the policy, under the TFWP
Employers must complete the Bedroom description section of the LMIA application form.
Employers of low-wage in-home caregivers, who are not providing live-in accommodations, must ensure that suitable and affordable accommodation is available to the TFW. In addition, these employers should be prepared to provide proof (for example, newspaper ads) that affordable housing is available in the community where the TFW will be employed. Meanwhile, employers of high-wage in-home caregivers do not have to meet this requirement.
Ministerial instruction – Refusal to process an application
As a result of public policy considerations as determined in Ministerial Instructions, the TFWP may refuse to process LMIA applications received on or after December 1, 2014 from employers seeking to hire in-home caregivers exclusively on a live-in basis.
Health and workplace safety
Health insurance
Employers of low-wage in-home caregivers must always pay for the TFW’s private health insurance. Coverage must begin from the time the TFW arrives in Canada until the worker is covered by the appropriate provincial/territorial health insurance plan. The waiting period to be eligible for the provincial/territorial health insurance is available on the Ministry of Health websites for each province or territory. The private insurance coverage provided to the TFW must be similar to the provincial/territorial health insurance plan.
