Employment Contracts
Because live-in nannies and many live-out nannies require legal employment contracts, it is of the utmost importance to make sure your are 100% happy with your nanny before you hire her! Of course, even after the contract is signed, you still retain the right to terminate employment, but it’s just so much easier to choose the right nanny than to have to deal with messy and bureaucratic contracts.
So even though you might not enjoy a long interview process, just remember that it is time well spent, and you will enjoy termination of a contract much less! You will also have to follow the same application procedure for the Live-in Caregiver Program to find another employee - acceptance again is not guaranteed!
Termination of Employment Contract
If you’ve done all your homework and yet for some reason, the nanny you’ve hired is unwilling or unable, without just cause, to uphold the terms of the contract, you are entitled to terminate the contract. However, you must have included a clause about termination in the contract, and give the appropriate notice, whatever it is.
If you cannot give the employee the appropriate notice, you can pay her for the period the notice would have covered.
You will also be required to inform the Canada Employment Centre if you no longer need the services of your caregiver. You will have to issue the caregiver Record of Employment within 7 days of terminating the contract, and send the nanny a T4 slip for the year stating earned wages and deductions.