We Connect You With Professional,
Fully Screened Nannies

Let us help you! We will support and guide you through every step of the process, from clearly defining your requirements to putting in place a suitable contract.

Fill out our parent application form, which will prompt you to think about what you are looking for in a nanny. For example, do you need someone who can go skiing with your children? What hours through the day do you need help? What time in the morning will you need your nanny to arrive? The better we understand your family, the better the we can find a match. We would not want to place a nanny with a severe dog allergy with a family who has 3 golden retrievers, for example! Once we have helped you define your requirements, we continue to support you throughout the hiring process, such as what to pay your nanny.

No. At the Nanny Department, we only work with nannies who are already in Canada and, if not Canadian nationals, have a valid work permit to work with children in Canada. We do not sponsor nannies to come and work in Canada, they must already be here.

Simply put, we make the search easy and effective! Finding a nanny with the right skills to suit your family can be a time consuming and laborious. We are well practiced to do that for you. We have access to pre-screened nannies and a large pool of fully suitable candidates. We ensure that elements such as CPR and police checks are in place. We schedule the interview appointment and offer expert help and advice throughout.

Absolutely! Although we do not provide ‘occasion nannies’ (for example, for weddings) we can provide short term, temporary nannies to support you for a while. For example, if your regular nanny is not available.

Once you have chosen your prefect nanny, we require both you and your nanny to sign a contract that we will draft for you. The contract is essential. When you take on a nanny you become their employer and the contract highlights the expectations of both parties. It outlines the duties you expect from your nanny as well as house rules you may have. For example, no personal calls while on duty. We also recommend defining how you feel about your nanny using social media relating to your children – every family has a different approach and it is essential that you are clear on expectations up front to avoid misunderstandings.

Having a contract in place formalizes the relationship between you and your nanny and shows the value you place on their skills. It also formalizes the agreement that you are responsible for paying the taxes and other requirements around remitting taxes to the CRA.

A nanny is classed as a domestic, household employee. When you hire a nanny you become their employer. You are responsible for calculating the nanny wage deductions and remitting their tax to the CRA. In addition, you will be responsible for their end of year T4 forms.

You can choose to manage this process yourself using our handy guide, which highlights the different steps you need to follow. Or you can pay an agency to do this on your behalf.

As with any employer, you must meet the employment standards for your province, which covers legalities such as minimum wage, working hours, overtime pay, vacation days, sick leave and public holiday pay.

Upon receipt of your completed Family Information Form, we invoice a ‘Search Launch Fee’ of $350. When we have found your perfect nanny, prior to signing of the contract, the full Nanny Department placement fee will become due. This invoice must be paid in full before your nanny starts employment with your family.

Despite everyone’s best efforts there may be times where it doesn’t work out with your nanny and we are entirely understanding of this. If your nanny leaves within the first 3 months we will find a replacement free of charge. We will stay in regular contact with you for the first few weeks of the placement to help ensure a smooth transition into your household. We will make sure that everything is the right fit for both you and your nanny and we will provide support if it is needed.

A nanny does not have to be full time, but part time nannies are in high demand and have more limited availability. Most nannies are looking for a full time role with a family.

Nannies are paid by the hour and typical nanny rates are from $20 – $35 depending on their experience and qualifications. Some will charge a higher rate if they have specialist skills.

When you welcome a nanny into your family, you become your nanny’s employer. As well as needing to calculate, withhold and remit their taxes to the CRA, you must also contribute to their Canadian Pension Plan (CPP), Employment Insurance (EI) and Workers Compensation (variable by Province). In addition, you may also want to look at taking an extra liability coverage on your household insurance to provide cover should something go wrong while they are working in your home. Based on this, we recommend that you factor in an additional 10% on top of your nanny’s gross salary to cover such costs.

Yes — if your requirement is for a live in nanny we can help you find one.

The decision on who you hire is entirely down to you! We scour the employment market and use our extensive network to make a short list of suitable candidates. Based on how specific and detailed your requirements are, we would expect to present up to 5 candidates. You then choose who to interview. Following the interviews, you decide who would be best for your family and the decision is entirely yours!

Absolutely. When completing the Family Application Form, we capture these requirements and would only send you candidates who fit this need. However, not all nannies have their own vehicle for use at work and you may need to consider whether you would need to provide a vehicle for them to use for work purposes.

Nannies are not housekeepers; however, some are happy to carry out light household duties. This may mean doing laundry for the children, tidying the play room and nursery and preparing children’s meals. It is important that we capture your requirements up front so that all parties can be clear on expectations in this area.

No. Nannys are professionals and we expect all our nannies to be treated fairly as employees.