You’re almost ready to work with a new client. You’ve done the interview, visited the home, and discussed the responsibilities you’ll take on. There’s just one more thing: The client wants to know how much you’ll charge for your in-home senior care services.
Figuring out what you should be paid isn’t an exact science. There are a lot of factors that can affect your rate, including where you live, your credentials, and what duties you’re being asked to take on. You also don’t want to forget about travel time and extra tasks, like caring for pets, that might increase the workload and warrant additional compensation. You want to be respectful of your client’s budget, but you also want to earn a fair rate for the care you provide.
Before you decide what to charge per hour, here are some things to think about.
What to consider when determining your pay
When you’re deciding how much you should charge for your in-home care services, start by taking a closer look at what other caregivers charge, how much experience or training you have, and the level of care you’ll be providing.
1. Average rates for in-home senior caregivers in your area
According to 2022 figures from Job Bank, Canada’s national employment service, the average wage for live-in senior caregivers is $18 an hour—but there’s a lot of variation from one place to the next. Rates tend to be lower in areas with a lower cost of living, such as Newfoundland; however, they are not necessarily higher than the national average in large, expensive cities. This is likely due to a higher supply of qualified caregivers competing for jobs in these places. The median rate for Toronto, for instance, is $17.50 per hour, and it’s as low as $15.61 in Montreal. Vancouver comes in somewhat higher at $21 an hour.
2. Your skills and experience
As with other positions, caregivers with more education and years in the industry tend to charge more for their services than their less experienced counterparts.
Because some older adults require more advanced care, having certain certifications or licences can put you in high demand, especially when people are expecting to need more assistance as they get older. Qualifications that might warrant higher pay can include:
- Registered nursing qualifications.
- Certifications in senior or elderly care offered by a number of community colleges and private career schools across the country.
Senior care remains an unregulated occupation in Canada, with little government involvement and a lack of standardized qualifications. But things have been changing in recent years. In British Columbia, Home and Independent Living (HaiL) was launched in 2021 as a free training program funded by the provincial government’s Ministry of Advanced Education and the BC Care Providers Association (BCCPA). The Alberta government has also taken a step towards greater clarity for caregivers and clients alike with its Health Care Aide (HCA) Program, a standardized curriculum that is offered by a number of licensed post-secondary institutions in the province.
3. Level and type of care you’ll be providing
In-home caregivers provide a wide range of services, from simple companion care to fairly involved medical care. Generally speaking, the more you’re asked to do and the more complex the tasks, the more you can expect to earn.
Individuals with dementia or a history of stroke, or those needing specialized medical equipment, for example, tend to require a more complex level of care which translates to higher rates for the caregiver responsible. Caregivers are also well advised to discuss how pay rates will adjust as these needs change over time.
Another thing to consider is whether you’ll be caring for a couple, rather than an individual. Caring for two people will be more time-intensive than caring for one—so this should be reflected in your rates.
4. Other benefits or compensation you might receive
What you charge on an hourly basis might not be the only way you’re compensated for your care services. Some families might also provide benefits and perks in addition to your standard pay rate.
If you’re a full- or part-time employee, for example, you’re entitled to paid vacation after the first year of employment (two weeks in most provinces for full-time employees), which can be a huge non-monetary perk of a job. As an employee, you’ll also be eligible for pension contributions and, in some provinces, sick pay.
Alternatively, if you’re self-employed, you benefit from all the flexibility that comes with it, including variety in your work and organizing your working hours around your own commitments. It’s worth bearing the benefits and convenience of a job in mind when assessing how much to charge.
5. Overhead costs
Your rate as a caregiver should cover more than just your time. You may have additional overhead costs, such as travel and equipment. Consider how much time you spend travelling to and from your place of work, and how much this costs. If you’re expected to shuttle the individual you’re caring for around as well, for example to and from appointments, consider asking for a mileage reimbursement.
There may also be equipment you require when providing your care, like PPE or tools and items you bring with you, such as stacking steps or pill boxes. Make sure your fee either covers sourcing such items, or that you have a clear way of ensuring these expenses are covered by your employer.
6. Additional services
While every family and situation is slightly different, the rate charged by in-home caregivers generally includes all the basic tasks needed to help an individual live in their home, including prepping meals, managing medications, providing assistance while bathing, running errands, and doing light housekeeping.
If you’re asked to take on additional responsibilities above and beyond what’s needed to care for the individual (or, in some cases, the couple), those tasks might warrant asking for a little extra pay. Some examples of additional services include caring for pets, travelling with the individual on trips, or accompanying them to special events.
What you should ask for these responsibilities might differ based on the added workload and inconvenience. How much extra caregivers charge for pet care will vary from one case to the next, for example. Are you putting out food for a cuddly cocker spaniel? Or taking a Rottweiler out four times a day and cleaning up after it? Be realistic about what you’re being asked to do, and how much extra time and effort it requires.
Know the bare minimum you’re required to be paid
Families always want experienced, high-quality care for their loved ones, and budgets are often tight. All the same, you need to make sure the fee you’re being paid reflects your needs—and the legal requirements. The minimum wage is the legally mandated hourly minimum an employer is required to pay you. This varies by province or territory from $13 in Saskatchewan to $16 in Nunavut. There may be other regulations, such as Alberta’s monthly minimum wage of $2,848 for in-home caregivers, so make sure to check exactly what you are owed by your employer.
Know how much you need to make a living
While the minimum wage is a requirement, experts agree it’s not enough to live on. The wage workers actually need to make ends meet and support their families is referred to as the living wage.
The living wage varies greatly depending on location, since the cost of living is different everywhere. The living wage for Vancouver, for example, is $24.08 per hour compared to just $16.23 in Regina. Both living wages are well above their respective province’s minimum wage. Here are a couple of tools to help you calculate your salary requirements:
- Take a look at the living wage table for Canada.
- Check out the Budget Planner from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada to find out how much you should realistically be charging to meet your needs.
When to ask for a raise
One of the biggest mistakes in-home caregivers make when setting their rates is not discussing raises ahead of time. Some families might not realize that caregivers should receive raises, just like employees in other sectors do. But those periodic increases in pay are important in order for caregivers to keep up with rising rent prices and other costs of living.
Caregivers would be well advised to include a schedule for raises in the original caregiver contract, including pinning down a minimum rate increase—such as increases in line with inflation. Suggesting a range (rather than a fixed amount) for the raise gives the family leeway to increase the raise based on performance.
There’s no perfect formula for calculating a fair pay rate for your care services, but thinking through some of these variables can help get you closer to a pay rate that’s fair for everyone involved.
Don’t forget about tax
Remember that your caregiver rate is how much you’ll be paid before tax is deducted. You can use this take-home salary calculator to work out how much money you will actually make after tax—which is useful to know when calculating your rates.
