A lot of home care in Alberta is delivered by contractors: self-employed caregivers matched through an agency or an app. It is cheaper for the agency. It moves risk on to you.
What employee status means
- WCB coverage. If a caregiver slips on your parent’s step, it is handled through workers’ compensation rather than becoming a dispute with your parent’s home insurance.
- Liability insurance that actually covers the work being done.
- Supervision. Someone whose job is to check the care is good.
- Training on our time, not theirs.
- Sick pay, which means a caregiver with a cold stays home rather than bringing it to an 87-year-old.
What it costs
More. Our rates include wages, WCB, insurance, supervision and scheduling, and we say so on the rates page. The alternative looks cheaper per hour until something goes wrong.
How to check
Ask any agency two questions: are your caregivers employees, and can I see your WCB clearance letter. If the answers take a while, that tells you something.
