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Live In Caregiver Program Contract Changes May Scare Canadian Employers Away

April 30, 2008 on 8:11 pm | By admin | In Miscellaneous

The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Toronto) announced some changes in the live in caregiver program contract that employers in Canada will have to agree to in order to sponsor a caregiver support from the Philippines.

Filipino officials have imposed additional conditions on the existing document which, according to them, is a necessary step to safeguard the well-being of the foreign caregivers. The Philippines is one of Canada’s largest source of live in caregiver.

Some of the new provisions include:

1) Employers to pay the 2 way airfare of the caregiver to/from Canada

2) Employer pays for caregiver’s health coverage until provincial health insurance kicks in

3) Employment to be terminated only for cause

4) Repatriation of remains of the caregiver to the Philippines to be paid for by employer in case of work related death.

Caregivers support groups who have been advocating for changes in the program welcomed the new initiative as a positive step towards improvement of the live in caregiver program. But many in the industry, including employment agencies and immigration consultants complained that this newly imposed regulation will scare employers away and might consider other nationalities for their caregiver needs.