Yes, overtime for time worked in excess of 44 hrs/wk or 190.5/mth is paid at their regular rate of $9.17/hr ($9.62/hr effective October 1, 2008).

If your caregiver agrees you could also compensate him/her with time off in lieu of the overtime worked.

No, the caregiver pays her own health care & optional Blue cross.

Unless required to do so, most nannies do not remain in their employer's homes on their days off (weekends etc.) Rarely do clients state that their privacy has been compromised. On the contrary, most focus on the positive and find the extra set of hands a huge asset when running their home.

Childcare is a limited, but critical investment in your child's future!

No, this is the maximum amount permitted under the live- in caregiver program. You may charge less but not more. Room and board means a furnished room with a door lock (key entry) and meals (food).

No, the caregiver is given a work permit which specifies the one family she is to live and work with.

As the caregiver pays Room & Board and is expected a certain amount of privacy, you are required to provide a furnished bedroom with a key lock on the door.

In addition to the room, food must be provided. However if your caregiver makes a special request then this could be at her own cost.

You do not have to provide a kitchenette, private bathroom, telephone in room, TV in room etc. These are extras that would be an added bonus for your caregiver if you choose to provide them.

Currently in Alberta this coverage is optional. However it is advised to check with WCB in the event there are any changes to the existing guidelines.

Yes, but the amount they do will depend on the amount of care you need. The person(s) being cared for will always come first.

If you have one child age 5, your caregiver should have time to keep a very clean home. If you have three children ages 1, 3 and 6, your caregiver may not have as much time for housework.

Yes, the caregiver has to meet minimum requirements under the program in order to qualify to come to Canada. They are pre-screened by the Canadian Government in order to determine their communication abilities in the English language in order to successfully integrate into the Canadian communities. One of the requirements under the program is the ability to speak, read and write English although some candidates are more proficient than others.

No, you do not pay to look at caregiver profiles. Upon filling out a family application form, your family profile will be matched to specific caregiver's that meet your criteria.

A Senior Preferred Personnel consultant will contact you to arrange and set up an introductory orientation meeting where you will come into our office and discuss the program and your options. You will also be able to ask any questions you may have regarding this process.

During the presentation, you will be shown applicable caregiver profiles that have been specifically matched according to your family needs. Should you decide on any of these applications, we would than request the one time service fee.

Complete the on-line application form or send this by fax to: 780-430-8399. A Consultant will review your application and without obligation or cost, conduct an initial search of caregiver’s available for your position. Call us with your questions 780-430-7987 or toll free (North America) 1-800-899-8841. Send us your questions by email: shanna@preferrednannies.com.

We recommend you begin with an in-depth telephone interview. Preferred will provide you with an "interview check list" and some of the areas we suggest you cover are:

An overview of the children:

• Child's name, age and areas of interest
• Personality, developmental tasks and any special needs

An overview of the Family:

• Parent's occupation and work schedule
  
• A discussion of current and previous childcare arrangements
• Religious or dietary needs in the home
  
• Philosophy on childcare Pets

Accommodation:

• Description of the home
  
• Nannies accommodation

Job Requirements & Benefits:

• Start date and hours of employment
  
• Days off and degree of flexibility required
  
• Holidays and vacation
  
• Overtime compensation, taxes
  
• Salary and benefits

Most caregiver's stay for several years. However they can apply for their resident status after 2 years. The processing for this takes several months as well which means they would typically work for a minimum of 3 years

Nannies generally work a five-day workweek. Typically, a live-out nanny will work Monday through Friday with Saturday and Sunday off. Live-in nannies are more flexible and the days off may vary or be staggered and banked.

An average workday for a live-out nanny might be:

• 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM or;
  
• 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM or;
• 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM

Days off: Saturday and Sunday(somewhat flexible)

An average workday for a live-in nanny might be:

• 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM or;
  
• 12:00 PM - 12:00 AM or;
  
• 3:00 PM - 12:30 AM

Days off: Two per week, days may vary (extremely flexible)

The wage works out to be $9.17 per hour ($9.62/hr effective October 1, 2008) for child & elderly care as well as disabled & special needs care.

On a weekly basis this covers 44 hours/week or 190.5 hours/month.

$7000.00 per year for each child under 7 years of age
$4000.00 per year for each child over 7 years of age

Our fee is tax deductible.

Preferred has an excellent pool of nannies available on an immediate basis for live-in or live-out placement. We also have nannies available on short notice for clients who are without care, or require temporary arrangements while interviewing for their permanent position.

Good care takes time to organize. We recommend that you allow a minimum of 2 - 6 weeks for local placement, 4 - 6 months for placement from abroad.

Preferred will provide you with an excellent start-up kit which includes basic daily routines, cleaning checklists, sample daily menu plans, and an orientation guide. We also provide and instruct you on using our “Preferred dialogue binder”.

Yes, any time your caregiver is responsible for the children, elder persons, disabled or special needs persons and she is considered working or on call, she is to be paid at her full rate for all hours worked.

Yes, your caregiver works under the same labour standards as all other Canadians. You will be required to give her time off equivalent to 4% of her regular wage per year. Given her regular salary this means 2 weeks (88) hours time off with pay annually.

Yes. The amount of your caregiver's wage that you are allowed to deduct depends on the number of children and their ages and is limited to a maximum of 2/3 of the salary of the lower wage earner.

We recommend that you refer to your accountant or the government web site www.cra-arc.gc.ca.

Preferred provides full time live-in or live-out care and there many advantages to both. In deciding which option is best for your family, we take into consideration the nature of your employment, the type of hours you work, the location of your home and the degree of flexibility required of the caregiver.

If your nanny (or neighbour's nanny) recommends a friend and your goal is to save money, then this is definitely an option. The downside is this leaves you with only one potential candidate to consider. No company would consider one resume for a simple clerical position, and neither should you for your children! Your goal should be to access the largest pool of nannies available in order to locate the best care possible.

The employment contract is valid for one year, renewable on a yearly basis. Preferred will provide you with a list of incentives you may offer in the second year.

There are no additional fees paid to Preferred if your nanny stays on beyond the first year.

If you elect to hire a nanny from abroad, the nanny is responsible for her airfare to Canada. If you hire a nanny already in Canada and live in a rural area, you are responsible for transportation one way to the location of employment.

Typically, your caregiver will prepare breakfast and lunch for the children or the person they are caring for and supper for the family if the timing falls within the hours of her work day.

• Part-time caregiver's typically work less than 30 hours per week
  
• Full-time caregiver's work an average of 40 - 50 hours per week
  
• Part-time caregiver's always live-out
  
• Full-time caregiver's may live with the family or maintain their own residence
  
• Temporary caregiver's work short-term contracts such as a vacation or holiday, usually less than three weeks, on a live-in or live-out basis

Primary childcare, housekeeping, laundry and ironing, simple mending, cleaning washrooms, vacuuming, dusting, washing floors and spot cleaning walls, grocery shopping, meal planning and preparation.

Childcare is always your nanny’s first priority. A general rule of thumb is that for each year of age you may add 10% more housekeeping. For example, a nanny caring for a one-year-old would spend approximately ten percent of her day on housekeeping, with a two-year-old, twenty percent. By the time the child is five, approximately 50% of her day would be spent on housekeeping and child generated tasks such as the children’s room, children’s meals and children’s laundry.

Housekeeping is secondary to the emotional and physical needs of your child.

Outdoor yard work such as gardening, mowing the lawn, snow removal etc.

You would have two options:

1) Hire a Canadian live-out caregiver willing to work full-time or part-time.

2) Pay the live-in caregiver her full wages and try to utilize excess hours with house keeping, extra childcare (i.e. in the evening) or errand running.

* If you take your children to a day home or daycare more than ½ time (2 ½ days/week) in most cases you will be paying full time rates so you might as well pay full time rates and get house keeping and cooking included *

If, for any reason, you need another caregiver, one will be provided for you (assuming you have followed Provincial Labour Laws) at no cost. However, there may be a period of time that you are without a caregiver as a local caregiver may not be available at that time.

If your caregiver works a statutory holiday you will be required by law to pay her time and a half ($13.76/hr) ($14.43/hr effective October 1, 2008) over and above her regular pay.

If the statutory holiday falls on her regular work day, but you give her the day off, you will be required to pay her regular salary. If the stat falls on her regular day off and she does not work, you will not be required to pay her.

All Overseas & Local applications are screened by our staff before we accept them. They must provide documentation relevant to their schooling and work experience in addition to reference letters and contracts for the past three years of employment (if applicable).

The Canadian Consulate will request both a complete medical exam and a police clearance from any country the candidate has resided in for more than 6 mos.

We also request a Canadian child welfare check along with a Canadian Police Clearance check for our Local Caregiver's.

Preferred nannies must meet (and many exceed) the following criteria:

• Minimum one year of paid experience or, post secondary education as a Teacher, Nurse or a Midwife.
• First Aide and Infant/Child CPR
• Police clearance
• Child Welfare checks
• References

Also available: Driver’s abstract, insurance information, medical If the nanny is abroad, additional screening will include:

• Academic verification
• Medical screening
• NBI, FBI, CIA, CPIC clearance

Over 90% of our nannies have completed a post secondary degree such as nursing, midwifery, early childhood development and education.

• Full-time live-in or live-out care
  
• Part-time care on a live-out basis
  
• Short-term, emergency and temporary placements

You do. Once your caregiver's visa is released, we will have her book a flight to the airport nearest your residence. We will then send the confirmed itinerary to you so that you can make arrangements to be there to pick her up.

If you are in a remote area and there are no airports nearby, you may have to book a bus ticket for your caregiver to get from the airport to the bus terminal nearest you.

Preferred has the largest database of nannies in Canada. We are also the only agency still operated by the original owner after over 25 years. With confidence we offer you an unconditional one-year placement guarantee.

We are full-time human resource professionals specializing in placing caregivers to families in need of professional care. Preferred will process all government documentation on your behalf leaving you with only one task; hiring the best nanny possible. We provide in-house interviews and on-going employment assistance to all of our nannies.

We are members of the Better Business Bureau, The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, and play an active role in our community. Ms. Levin is the founder of NANA (North American Nanny Association) a non-profit mentoring society for nannies. Ms. Levin is also qualified as an expert witness in the costs of home and childcare and provides reporting to a number of law firms and hospitals in Western Canada.

The economy in some of these countries is very poor and the caregivers do what is needed in order to support their families and to provide them with a good future.

Working with an agency will provide you with an immediate pool of pre-screened and qualified candidates.

A good agency has resources you may not have such as time, staffing, funds to advertise, experience interviewing and verifying credentials. The longer the agency has been in business, the larger their pool of in-house candidates. Top caliber candidates in any industry, look to HR professionals when seeking employment.

Unlike other agencies, Preferred does not charge local caregiver’s a placement fee, nor do we take a percentage of their salaries. Because of this, the “best of the best” come to Preferred first.

Yes, contracts are signed for a term of 1 to 3 years at a time. However if circumstances arise that prevent you from fulfilling your contract you may terminate the contract with a minimum of 2 weeks notice. We ask that you give as much notice as possible as her workplace is also her home.