Question: I operate a small (15 employees) tourism business and, as such, expect my employees to carry out a variety of functions. I am currently filling out a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) application for a position I call a Housekeeper/Groundskeeper. The position will be required to do both inside work (cleaning rooms, light dusting, etc) as well as outside work (cutting grass, watering the lawn, etc). I understand that the government looks at the National Occupation Classification System (NOC) to determine what the position is and from there, determines what the prevailing wage should be. I cannot find a position in the NOC that covers the breadth of duties required in this job. How do I proceed?
Answer: Many small businesses require their employees to be a ‘jack of all trades’ and have job descriptions that do not fit into a nice clear-cut pigeon hole. This can cause some problems when completing an LMO. In your situation your job contains duties that are in two NOC job descriptions – Housekeeper ( NOC 6661 Light Duty Cleaner) and Groundskeeper (NOC 8612 Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance Workers). Where the duties fall under more than one NOC, Service Canada will first of all determine whether the two NOCs are in the same ‘skill level’ or not. If they are, Service Canada will use the NOC that corresponds closest to the predominate duties of the position.
If the skill levels are different, then Service Canada will use the NOC with the highest skill level. In this particular example, you will find that both the Housekeeper and the Groundskeeper are at Skill Level D. Therefore, Service Canada will use the NOC that has the predominate duties. When you complete your LMO application, list all the major duties and allocate a percentage to each in order to assist Service Canada in determining the correct NOC.
Wages will be based on the prevailing wage for the highest paid position, regardless of the percentage of time spent. That is, if the main duties of the position are housekeeper but the wage for groundskeeper is higher, it's expected that you will pay the wage for a groundskeeper.
You can determine the skill level for each NOC by going to the NOC website and clicking on the Matrix:
http://www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC-CNP/app/index.aspx?lc=e
