Does anyone have hired help for your dc???

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Originally Posted by giraffe

I'm sorry MAFM but I'm pretty sure that Reggio is right.

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Ya I know here in Ontario that there are people who believe that 'unregulated daycare' means there are NO rules at all too ~ this is not the case the minimal rules are THERE that one must follow just as it seems like they are there according to the Alberta website ... so for us we cannot care for more than 5 daycare children under the age of 10 plus our own ~ and even though we are 'unregulated' as business owners we must still follow all city bylaws for zoning and fire codes and so forth or risk fines and issues of being closed down by those agencies ... is just up to the individual business owner to ensure they are following those minimum rules as know one is coming in and 'inspecting' that you are ~ as a business owner it is each persons own due diligence to ensure they are following the rules for their industry or risk it hitting the fan so to speak ... even unregulated if you fined yourself in front of a Civil court judge due to a client suing you you are going to be held to the 'standard of practice of the industry' which is going to include those rules the government deems 'best practice' so it is wise to know them and if you choose not to follow them for whatever reason you need to be confident you can argue to a judge why you did not if a child is injured in your business and they feel that 'rule not being followed' was why ;)

Problem is that violations of the over ratio issue or fire code issues and other rules are 'complaint' based so unless a child is injured and harmed to draw attention to the illegal practice or unless a neighbor or unhappy client lodges a complaint the programs go unchecked ... you hear the news story of 'illegal childcare gets busted' at least once or twice a year in Ontario news but in the meantime lots of illegal providers are able to thrive and it is one of the reason why advocates are pushing to remove the option of 'unregulated childcare' at all in Ontario because sadly too many people are not able to 'self regulate' giving the rest of us who are a bad reputation!

I was hoping to get some ideas as I might want to hire a ECE student for a 1-2month period. Mostly after the baby is born....so that I can keep up with the daily park/splash pad outings w/ picnics and not have the kids tapped at home all day.

Although my mom will be living next door she can only handle "so much"...she has said often she admires me LOL She will be able to help but she's also only 48yrs old and wants to continue working even if it's a PT so I can't fully count on her....nor expect her to.

Even a highschool student for a couple of hours a day? ((of course I would make sure they have CPR, and with the parents permissions etc.))

I *think* I'll be ok but I'd rather be perpared just in case......any ideas?

Yes you can hirer help as long as you do not exceed your allowable number and feel you can budget for it ~ lots of providers do it.

The challenge with hiring someone is it makes you an 'employer' and comes with rules and regulations you'd need to ensure you meet ~ so check with your insurance company to start to ensure your home childcare ryder will cover an employee and if not what EXTRA cost is associated with that so your butt is covered liability wise.

Also call CRA and find out how the 'legalities' of having an employee works because as an employer technically you would be required to pay the employers portion of EI, CPP, vacation pay, federal tax and other 'employer' tax contributions that are required to be made.

However when it was a short term situation like a mat leave verses a permanent thing I have had peers who claim to have 'contracted' their help and had a employment contract that clearly stated that the 'employer portion of all deducations' were being included in the hourly wage being paid and it was up to the employee to submit the entire portion both employee and employer at tax time and than they just made sure to pay them enough hourly wage to cover the expenses plus ensure the person is making at least minimum wage required ... if you go that route I would look to get help from a lawyer who specializes in employment contracts to ensure your butt is covered and whomever you hirer cannot come back later and claim you own them more money at tax time!

I wouldn't be running any type of childcare against the rules. ANY rules. If I had been told otherwise I would be operating under different circumstances. You can make it as difficult as you want to, but it is what it is. Aside from this business I have been a business owner and entrepreneur for many years. I am confident in the information I provide. Being from the other side of the country I wouldn't expect that you know our rules. Ontario, Quebec and BC have some of the most strict legislation for this industry, where Alberta is the most relaxed. Now unless municipal legislation is completely different and in violation of provincial regulation, those are the rules. Sorry. I have two social services employees that live directly accross the street and I checked with them last night. If anyone would know they would. They also operate a daycare center.