Probation period

Dear readers,

I have already written on this forum and got useful responses in flash time! This is great, thanks all. Now I would like to raise one more question: probation time. When I will find suitable person, before our first baby born, to really see if FDH is really good and I can trust when am away from baby. I would like to know from people who have already been through this: can I get a FDH to have a probation time of, say two weeks (or one month), and if I find this person is what my requirements are when baby will arrive, I can then ask her to sign the formal employment contract. Or what other way? In my home, more then the actual house chores duties, we will need a person we can trust, get a good feeling and be part of our family too. If there is no such a feeling when helper start work, sorry to say but she has to go. (soon) So the question is: if I do not like this person I employ, and I want to sack her before baby arrive (and avoid hassles, look for another person, bla bla), do I have a probation period to use? Thanks in advance for suggestions. A father.

As far as I know , there is no such probation period in employing DH because once the visa is approved, you will be responsible of anything(one month notice, airline ticket etc.) In order to get confidence in hiring someone, speak to the previous employer and get information as much as you can and before signing of the contract, meet her not only once, to check if there is a chemistry

I agree. Under the standard FDH contract there is no probation (or cooling-off) period. If you have the chance get her to come to your place as part of the interview process and set her some tasks to guage how she does them. Technically it's illegal but generally the Immigration Dept turns a blind eye to the practice because it makes sense and could save everyone some trouble further down the line. You'll need to pay her for the time that she's doing those tasks (but not for the actual interview time) at around $50/hour. The thing to bear in mind, though, is that only a real fool/klutz would make a mess of the tasks when there's a chance of having a contract signed. It could be a totally different matter once she has moved in to live with you.