Terms of Service

Puffin is a professional home care and service provider. For our hourly care services — childcare, postpartum support, senior and adult support, and event nannies — we directly employ, fully vet, and insure our team of dedicated caregivers to deliver reliable support straight to your home. Unlike matching platforms, Puffin is the sole employer of these caregivers: we handle 100% of the employment responsibilities, including payroll processing, tax deductions, BC Employment Standards compliance, and WorkSafeBC coverage — so your family enjoys seamless care without any of the administrative or legal burdens of becoming an employer.

Our Nanny Placement service is different by design: we search, screen, and present nanny candidates, and the ongoing employment relationship (including wages, which must meet or exceed BC minimum wage) is formed directly between your family and the nanny you choose. Our placement fee is separate from and additional to the nanny's compensation. Sections 3, 4, and the placement items in section 9 apply to that service.

We operate under an intermunicipal business licence across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley to bring professional, worry-free services to your doorstep.

• You must be at least 19 and the parent/guardian or authorized representative of the household receiving care.
• You agree to provide accurate, current information in your profile, inquiries, and bookings — including care details that affect safety (allergies, medical needs, home conditions such as pets).
• First-time in-home bookings require photo ID verification, reviewed by a Puffin administrator before dispatch (see the Privacy Policy for how the ID is handled). We may decline or cancel service if identity cannot be verified.
• You are responsible for activity under your account and for keeping your sign-in credentials secure.

The one-time placement fee covers our matching service:

• Candidate search across our registry (extended search and skills/personality matching for long-term placements);
• Background check (a police vulnerable sector check) and reference verification of presented candidates;
• Presentation of typically 2–3 matched candidates and coordination of introductions;
• Support through your selection and start.

Fees are $500 (short-term, up to 3 months) and $1,000 (long-term, 3+ months), collected as a deposit and a balance under section 8. The optional payroll & hours-tracking add-on is billed at $99/month and may be cancelled for the following month at any time. The placement fee never includes the nanny's wages.

• The placement fee is payable in two parts: a $200 deposit when you start, and the balance when we place your nanny. The deposit forms part of the fee and is not additional to it.
• If we are unable to present you any suitable candidates within 30 days of your paid inquiry, the deposit is refunded in full.
• Once candidates have been presented, the deposit is non-refundable — the search, screening, and matching work it pays for has been performed. This applies whether or not you go on to hire one of them.
• The balance falls due only on placement. If no placement is made, no balance is payable.
• If a placement ends within the first 30 days after the nanny's start date (for reasons other than a change in your own requirements), we will conduct one complimentary re-match at no additional placement fee.
• Re-matches after that window, or a second re-match, are treated as a new placement at the then-current fee.

Hourly services (childcare, postpartum support, senior and adult support, and event nannies) have been open for booking since August 1, 2026. When you book:

• Your card is authorized (held), not charged, for the booked total at the time of booking. The price is computed and verified on our servers from your booking details.
• The hold is captured after the care session is completed. If actual circumstances change the amount owed, we will tell you before charging anything beyond the authorized amount.
• Your card is saved on file with Square so that cancellation penalties (section 6) or agreed post-service adjustments can be processed without re-entering it.
• Bookings are subject to caregiver availability; if we cannot staff your booking, the hold is released in full.
• Weekly bookings. If you start a weekly series, you authorize Puffin to book the same time each week and, five days before each visit, to place a hold on your saved card for the same price as the booking the series started from. Each visit is charged only after the care is done, under the same rules as any booking, and can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before. You can skip a week or stop the series at any time in your account; stopping it does not cancel visits already booked unless you cancel them too. If a hold is declined, the series pauses and we tell you.
• Staffing and overtime. One caregiver covers up to 8 hours. Longer bookings are staffed by two or more in sequence, and a booking those caregivers cover between them carries no overtime at all — so a 12-hour booking costs less than an 11-hour one. Only the hours past what they cover bill as overtime, at 1.5x the rate those hours would otherwise be charged at. Overnight hours (10:00 PM – 6:00 AM) carry the overnight rate, so overtime worked overnight is 1.5x the overnight rate. It applies to childcare, postpartum support, and senior and adult support. Event Nannies has its own overtime rule, shown on the rate card. Your price breakdown itemises it before you pay, and the rate card lists the tiers and the figure for each service. The pattern repeats: every further 8 hours adds a caregiver, the 3 hours past each of those adds overtime, and the hours after that are overtime-free again.
• A worked example. At the standard childcare rate, an 11-hour booking is $400: one caregiver, 8 hours at $32 and 3 overtime hours at $48. A 12-hour booking is $384, because it is long enough for a second caregiver to cover the later hours, so none of them is overtime. The longer booking costing less is intended, not an error. How overtime works explains the pattern in full, with longer examples.
• How many caregivers. Where a booking is long enough to need more than one, they work in sequence rather than together — one caregiver present at a time. The hourly rate does not change because of how many people cover the booking, and we will tell you the number before you pay. Which individuals are assigned is scheduled by us and may change; we will tell you who is coming.
• If a shift runs longer than booked. Additional time is billed to your booking by a Puffin administrator and you receive an emailed record of it, exactly as with any other adjustment. Our caregivers are employed by Puffin and paid through us for every hour they work, so there is never anything to settle at the door. A payment made directly, in cash, is not recorded against your booking — it is not covered by our insurance or our guarantee, and neither of you has a receipt for it. Tipping is not expected and we never ask for it.

• 24 hours or more before the scheduled start: cancel free of charge — the card hold is released in full.
• Less than 24 hours before the scheduled start (including no-shows and turning the caregiver away at the door): up to 100% of the booked total may be charged as a late-cancellation fee. This protects caregivers who have reserved the time and often declined other work.
• If the caregiver cancels or Puffin cannot staff the booking, you owe nothing and any hold is released.
• Penalty charges are reviewed and triggered manually by a Puffin administrator — they are never automatic — and you will receive an emailed record of any charge.

All payments are processed by Square in Canadian dollars. Puffin never sees or stores your full card number. Nanny placement is paid in two stages through Square: the $200 deposit is charged by card at the end of the placement form, and the balance is charged to that same saved card when your nanny is placed, with an emailed record of the charge. Hourly bookings use the hold-then-capture flow in section 5. Payroll add-on subscriptions are billed monthly. Prices may change for future bookings; a price is locked once your booking is confirmed and authorized.

• Nanny placement is a one-time fee of $500 for placements under three months, or $1,000 for three months or longer.
• A $200 deposit is charged by card at the end of the placement form and begins the candidate search. The remaining balance is charged to the card you saved with the deposit when we place your nanny, and you receive an emailed record of that charge.
• The deposit counts toward the fee. A short-term placement is $200 then $300; a long-term placement is $200 then $800.
• Refunds of the deposit are governed by section 4. In short: refunded in full if we do not present suitable candidates within 30 days, and non-refundable once candidates have been presented.
• Fees may change for future inquiries; the fee is fixed once your deposit is paid.

• Provide a safe, lawful working environment for caregivers in your home, and disclose conditions that affect their safety.
• Do not solicit a caregiver introduced by Puffin to work privately in a way that circumvents the placement fee within 12 months of introduction; if you wish to hire a presented candidate for a different arrangement, contact us and we'll make it work through the placement.
• Do not hire or pay a caregiver Puffin sent to you for hourly care to work for you privately, outside Puffin, while they work with you through Puffin or within 12 months of their last shift with you. If you do, you agree to pay Puffin a fee of $2,500 (plus GST) for each caregiver, which reflects what it costs us to find, check and train them. If you would like the same caregiver more often, or for an ongoing arrangement, contact us.
• Treat caregivers respectfully; we may refuse or discontinue service where a caregiver's safety or dignity is at risk.
• For nanny placements, meet your legal obligations as an employer (wage, payroll remittances, WorkSafeBC coverage where applicable) — our payroll add-on can assist but does not transfer those obligations to us.

• Once your account has received 10 hours of delivered hourly care from Puffin — childcare, postpartum support, senior and adult support, or event nannies — your next hour is free.
• The free hour is applied automatically to your next booking once you reach 10 delivered hours. You do not need to ask for it.
• Hours count once the care has been delivered. Hours from nanny placement and pediatric services do not count.
• The free hour is available once per account, and it does not expire. It is worth one hour at the rate of the service it is applied to.

• Tell us about any illness, medical need or care instruction when you book, or as soon as you know. Every childcare booking records this for each child so that your caregiver arrives briefed.
• Caregivers are not medical staff and do not provide nursing or clinical care. A child who needs clinical attention needs a health service rather than a childcare booking.
• A caregiver may decline to begin care if, on arrival, a child is contagious or too unwell to be cared for safely. In that case the booking is still charged, and you can reschedule it.
• Same-day care for a sick child is arranged by phone at (604) 283-2829; online bookings need 24 hours' notice.

• If your caregiver arrives after the booked start time, you receive a credit for the late portion of the booking.
• If your caregiver cannot attend a confirmed booking, we will work to send a replacement as quickly as possible. If we cannot, you owe nothing for that booking and any card hold is released in full, as section 6 sets out.

• Puffin caregivers do not photograph or film your children, at any time and for any reason. This applies even where a parent or guardian asks or agrees.
• We do not use images of your children, your family or your home in marketing, on our website or on social media without your written consent.

• If anything is damaged, or anyone is hurt, during a booking, tell us within 24 hours — by phone at (604) 283-2829 or by email to admin@puffinservices.com.
• We record every report and, where it applies, refer it to our commercial general liability insurer. Claims are subject to section 15.
• If a Puffin caregiver is injured while working, Puffin handles it as their employer through WorkSafeBC. You do not need to make that claim.

We stand behind our vetting and coordination, but to the maximum extent permitted by law: Puffin's total liability for any claim connected to the services is limited to the amounts you paid to Puffin for the service giving rise to the claim in the 12 months before the event; and we are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential losses. A nanny placed with your family under our placement service becomes your employee, and Puffin is not responsible for their acts or omissions after placement. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited under BC law, including for our own negligence where such limitation is prohibited.

We are not responsible for failing to provide, or for delaying, a service because of events beyond our reasonable control — including severe weather, natural disasters, public-health orders, road closures, and utility or network outages. If such an event affects a confirmed booking, we will tell you as soon as we can, and any card hold for care that was not provided is released in full.

These terms are governed by the laws of British Columbia and the federal laws of Canada applicable there. Talk to us first — most issues are resolved with a call to (604) 283-2829 or an email to admin@puffinservices.com. Unresolved disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of British Columbia (including, where eligible, the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal or Small Claims Court).

If any part of these terms is found invalid or unenforceable, the rest of these terms remains in effect, and the affected part is applied to the fullest extent the law allows.

• Once your caregivers are confirmed for a booking, My Profile shows each one's first name, the credentials Puffin has on record for them (such as their vulnerable sector check and First Aid / CPR dates) and, where they have agreed to share one, their photo.
• Their photo is shown while they are on your booking and for 7 days after their last day with you. It is there so you can recognise your caregiver at the door: please do not copy, save or share it.
• If your caregiver changes, we email you.

• Once a caregiver accepts your booking, you and they can message each other: you from My Profile, they from their Puffin shifts page. Messages are text only, up to 2,000 characters each. Before your first message, you will be asked to confirm you have read how messages work.
• The conversation is open until the end of the booking's last day, or until the booking is cancelled or your caregiver is taken off it. After that it closes, and neither of you can see it any more. Puffin keeps it, as explained below.
• Messages cannot be edited or deleted by either of you, so that a conversation stays an intact record if a safety question ever arises.
• Messages are stored encrypted. Puffin staff may read any conversation to keep families and caregivers safe and to make sure arrangements stay with Puffin, as well as to review one that is reported or flagged. An automatic check runs on Puffin's own servers and looks for contact details, payment outside Puffin, or arranging work outside Puffin; it records only the kind of thing it found. Phone numbers, email addresses, links and social media handles are hidden from the other person before a message is sent (Puffin's own phone number and email are left in), and the sender sees that they were hidden. Puffin keeps what was hidden, privately and for Puffin staff only, so we can reach you about a booking. Nothing else in a message is changed, and neither of you is told about a flag. Every time Puffin opens a conversation, who opened it, when and why is recorded.
• After a review, Puffin may close a conversation early.
• To report a conversation, use “Report this conversation” inside it. The other person is not told.
• Messages are not watched in real time. In an emergency call 911, then Puffin at (604) 283-2829.
• Please keep arrangements on Puffin: do not use messages to arrange care or payment outside Puffin (see section 9).
• Messages are kept for 2 years after the last day of the booking, then destroyed. A conversation under review is kept until the review is resolved and for 2 years after that. Deleting your account does not delete messages sooner. Our Privacy Policy explains how they are protected.

We may update these terms from time to time. Each version carries an identifier (the current version is 2026-10-v5), and when you accept the terms at account creation we record which version you accepted and when. For material changes we will update the date above and notify account holders; continued use after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.