Family-Owned Home Care Company Stands Out From Rest By Paying All Staff At Least a Living Wage

OTTAWA—The Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) is pleased to announce that Freiheit Care Inc., a premium home care company, has become a certified living wage employer with all employees earning at least $18.42 per hour.

There has been a constant call for caregivers, personal support workers, and nurses to be fairly compensated for the service they provide, especially to a society grappling with COVID-19. Helen Reimer, Director of Freiheit Care, explains why they pay at least a living wage to all full-time, part-time and contracted staff:

"Our business is about caring for our clients, and we depend on our staff to provide that service. If we want to offer reliable, premium care, we must start with making sure our staff are able to make ends meet...

We believe everyone deserves at least a living wage, and if we can't pay it, then we need to review our business model."

A living wage is calculated by the OLWN to show how much a household—two adults working full time supporting two small children—must earn per hour in order to make ends meet and enjoy modest participation in their civic and cultural community. The living wage for Ottawa has been calculated at $18.42 per hour.

Reimer adds: "If you’re a senior, particularly with dementia, and you see different caregivers every visit because of high staff turnover–and there’s really high turnover in this industry because of the low wages and poor treatment of staff–that’s not good for continuity of care."