Your life with a live-in nanny: what to expect

A live-in nanny, as you might have guessed, is a nanny who lives at the family's residence. There are certain requirements that you must fulfill in order to have a nanny stay at your family home.

Firstly, you must provide the nanny with her own living space (i.e. bedroom) which cannot be shared with another family member or child. This should be her private space which only she should have access to. 

Mutual respect for privacy is key with a live-in nanny situation. You should not oblige her to spend time with the family outside of her working hours. A bedroom is the basic requirement but many families provide a basement suite or ensuite bathroom (if your house is equipped with one) in addition to cable and internet access and other amenities.

This article by BabyCenter breaks down the legal responsibilities when employing a live-in nanny. 

Room & board deductions

By living with you and eating meals with your family, your nanny is saving considerable sums that she would otherwise need to spend on rent and groceries. It is for this reason that families deduct room and board costs from the nanny's salary.

 The legal amount you are allowed to deduct depends on the province in which you reside. The amount must be agreed upon before the contract commences and cannot exceed the following amounts:

• British Columbia: $325/month for room and board
• Alberta: $4.41/night lodging and $3.35/meal
• Saskatchewan: $250/month for room and board
• Manitoba: $68.20/week (food & lodging) or $15.45/week for lodging only
• Ontario: $53.55/week for food and $31.70/week for lodging
• Quebec: room and board deduction not allowed
• New Brunswick: $295.53/month room and board
• Nova Scotia: $68.20/week room and board
• Newfoundland & Labrador: "reasonable charges"
• Northwest Territories & Nunavut: $420.00/month room and board

Blogger Melissa at AMotherWorld explains her (difficult) decision in choosing to hire live-in nanny and why that decision made sense for her family. Read her post here

Hiring a foreign nanny or "au pair"

Hiring a foreign nanny can have many benefits including opening your child up to a new culture as well as the possibility to learn a new language (much easier while they are still developing). However, the process can be complicated especially if you future nanny is not yet residing in Canada.

You will need to apply for the Live-in Caregiver Program. This process can be long and administratively taxing as you need to prove that you have tried to find a suitable employee already residing in the country and that you have adequate income to pay your nanny. 

The foreign nanny also must meet certain requirements such as written/oral proficiency either English or French and the equivalent of a high-school diploma in her home country. Also a written contract must be signed by both parties and is subject to review. For more information on the hiring process, see here.