Au pair Salary
You will employ an Au Pair just as you would any other employee: remitting CPP, EI, Worker’s Compensation and her Income Tax to Canada Revenue Agency. The weekly pay rate for your Au Pair is determined by the province she works in and the hours being worked. The wage is based on the provincial minimum wage. Currently, the hourly minimum wage is between $13 CAD and $16.00 CAD. Are au pairs cheaper than nannies?
In addition, room and board can be deducted from an Au Pair’s wage in most provinces. Wages and room and board deductions vary depending on the province and are subject to change.
Families with multiple children
Do I pay my Au Pair more if I have multiple children?
No. The cost is per family, not per child. Compare an Au Pair to a day care, and you will find that Au Pair childcare is a financially competitive solution!
Do they get paid for Canadian statutory holidays? Do we have to allow vacation time/pay?
Following Labour Standards; every employee (part time and full-time) must be employed for a certain number of days before they are given a paid day off on a statutory holiday.
The period of time depends on the province but is roughly between 15 and 30 days.
Employees are entitled to two weeks (three weeks in Saskatchewan) of paid vacation time after each 12-month period.
Most of our Au Pairs do not complete the full vacation entitlement year and therefore do not qualify for vacation time under the Employment Standards Act. However, they earn vacation pay as they earn wages. So even if an Au Pair doesn’t
complete a vacation entitlement year, they are still entitled to at least 4% of their wages earned as vacation pay. This can be paid to the Au Pair at each pay period. Most families will allow the Au Pair then to take prorated unpaid vacation before her/his contract is up.
Au pairs and Flexible childcare
Our childcare hours may be inconsistent, do we have to guarantee certain hours every week?
Once you have selected your Au Pair, we will set up an employment contract with a specific number of hours that you and your new Au Pair agree on. More about Flexible childcare.
The times of these working hours may vary depending on your schedule but we do ask you to ensure that the Au Pair is working a minimum number of hours every week. We recommend the hours of work be no less than 25 hours a week.
Less hours will make it harder for her/him to bond with your children and integrate themself into the family. It also leaves the Au Pair with a lot of free time and not enough money to spend, which might create unnecessary problems.
