Vancouver Nannies and Babysitting Services

FOR FAMILIES

WHAT IS A NANNY

A nanny is someone who will care for one or more children in the child's own home and can be daily or live-in. Nannies can either be trained or will have relevant work experience. A good nanny must love children and she needs to express good qualities such as honest, reliability, conscientiousness, intelligence and capability. They will be able to take sole charge of children from birth upwards making it a fun environment in which to grow up.

The nanny will be expected to:
~ Provide a safe and caring environment for your chid (ren)
~ Stimulate your child's physical, intellectual, emotional and social development.
~ Organize and supervise the child's social activities i.e.: visits to the park, library, community centers, swimming pools etc
~ Be able to produce and cook a well balances meal.
~ Manage the children's rooms, laundry, clothing and toys.
~ The ability to administer First Aid.
~ Know how to call/contact the emergency services, contact the Family Doctor plus know the nearest hospital.
~ To provide educational stimulation in reading, writing, creative art and number work according to the children's developmental age.

DAILY NANNY

A daily nanny will come to your home at a specific time each day and leave again when you get home. The cost will be based on an hourly rate and are around $12-17+ gross per hour. The cost reflects exactly what you will be receiving in terms of quality childcare e.g. the higher the pay range the more experienced and or qualified the nanny will be.

LIVE IN NANNY

Some employers find that employing the nanny to live in an easier option. Their wages will reflect that she is living in your home and using the house amenities. The average pay for a Live-In Nanny is starting at $8.00 gross per hour but it depends upon the number of people living in the home and the duties that are expected of the nanny.Some people find it difficult to adjust to having another adult in their house and this should be taken into consideration. (Your nanny will require her own room with a lock on the door and often their own bathroom and you are able to deduct a maximum of $325 from their salary for these.) You must ensure that you discuss your expectations in advance, or living with the Nanny could become difficult so communication is essential for all nanny/employer relationships.

SHARED NANNY

If the cost of hiring a nanny is too expensive for you another option is a shared nanny. The nanny will care for the children of two families and the cost of employing her is shared appropriately. The nanny's time would be divided by agreement between the two families or an alternative arrangement could be the care of the combined children in one house, houses could be alternated. All such arrangements can be variable to suit each different situation. As with a live -in nanny, your expectations must be made clear otherwise friction could occur, not only between nanny and employer, but also between the sharing families and confusion for the children.

TEMPORARY NANNY

This is an ideal arrangement for emergencies situations or when your nanny is away on holidays or for any other reason a temporary nanny is required. She will be experienced and or a qualified nanny who is confident and used to being placed in new situations. The cost will be based on an hourly rate and are around $12-15 gross per hour. You can either pay the nanny direct or Almost As Good As Mum can run the payroll through the agency. Either way there is a $3.00 per hour charge to the client for every hour that the nanny works for the family or if you will be employing the nanny for more then a few hours at a time a placement fee will be worked out for you.

BABYSITTERS

Just like a Temporary nanny this service allows you the freedom of going out for a night knowing that the right person is looking after your children. She will be experienced and or a qualified nanny who is confident and used to being placed in new situations. The cost will be based on an hourly rate (3 hour minimum) and the babysitter is paid directly by you for the hours that she has worked at an hourly rate of $12 - 15. There is also a $3.00 per hour charge to the client for every hour that the nanny has worked paid to the agency.

NANNY'S HOURS OF WORK

The hours of work will obviously vary depending on the hours you will need someone, but as a rule a full-time Nanny will be given two full days off a week, but will cover a reasonably long day, to include your working day plus traveling time.

If overtime or babysitting is required this should be at a rate discussed at interview, most girls realize that sometimes this is necessary and if they are paid at a reasonable rate they won't begrudge doing it.

The maximum working hours by law are 40 hours per week, this is not always the case for Nannies and should you need longer than that so long as your nanny is happy with it, and it is written in your contract, they can work longer hours.

How to work out what you need to take off your Nanny's wages.

CPP ~ Canada Pension Plan
EI ~ Employment Insurance
Federal Tax
Provincial Tax

As well as paying the Nanny her wage you also have to pay a portion to the Government. This is calculated by matching the CPP that was deducted from the Nanny's wages and then with the EI you times that by 1.4 so always remember that even if you pay a Nanny a bi-weekly payment of $960.00 (every two weeks) then it would actually cost you $1025.99.

"Almost As Good As Mum" will be pleased to offer impartial advice on wages, but this is a matter of negotiations between the Client and the Candidate. Wages must be discussed at the interview.

PAYROLL SERVICE

Almost As Good As Mum is happy to offer families a pay roll service through the agency. This service is not only offered to families who have found a nanny through the agency but to others who would like the convenience of this service. For more details please see Payroll Services.