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According to the Bajan Holidays with Pay Act, employees are entitled to paid annual leave after they complete 1 year of employment. An employee who completes 1 year of employment with the same employer is entitled to a minimum of 3 weeks of annual leave. Employees who have been employed for 5 or more years are entitled to a minimum of 4 weeks of annual leave.

An employee may be granted more annual leave than is stipulated above if it's part of the employment contract, collective bargaining agreement, or is dictated by the employer.

Annual leave is given and taken in a single continuous period unless the employer and employee agree to a different arrangement. The employer determines the date the employee utilizes annual leave and provides no less than 14 days' notice.

The Employment Rights Act does not specify the number of days for employee sick leave; however, employees who are absent due to certified sick leave are not considered to have interrupted their continuity of employment, provided they submit a medical certificate to their employer. An employee missing 2 days or less due to illness that is not certified by a medical practitioner is also not considered an interruption of their continuity of employment. Sick leave policy must be included in the written statement of particulars of employment provided to the employee.

National Insurance Scheme does provide sickness benefits to those who are eligible. The daily rate of sickness benefit is 66 2/3% of the insured person’s average insurable weekly earnings, divided by 6. The sickness benefit is payable for each day of illness, excluding Sundays, subject to a maximum of 26 weeks in any continuous period of illness.

The Employment of Women Act provides 14 weeks of maternity leave to pregnant employees. In cases of multiple births from a single pregnancy, the maternity leave entitlement increases to a minimum of 17 weeks. To qualify, the employee must submit a certificate issued by a medical practitioner setting forth the expected date of her confinement or a certificate issued by a medical practitioner or a midwife setting forth the actual date of her confinement. Expectant employees may begin leave no more than 6 weeks prior to their expected due date. Maternity leave is available for employees who have been employed for at least 12 months.

If an employee suffers additional illness arising from pregnancy, additional leave is provided, not exceeding 6 weeks, as recommended by a medical practitioner.

The National Insurance Scheme of Barbados pays maternity benefits to pregnant insured employees who fulfill the eligibility criteria. The daily rate of maternity benefits is 100% of the insured person’s average insurable weekly earnings, divided by 6.

Under the Family Leave provisions, a male employee who has been with the same employer for at least 12 months is entitled to paternity leave in addition to his regular annual holiday. To qualify, he must provide supporting documentation such as a medical certificate with the expected birth date or confirmation of the birth date from a doctor or midwife, along with a signed declaration from the mother confirming paternity. Employers may also accept other reasonable proof depending on the circumstances. Additionally, employees must give at least 4 weeks’ notice before the requested start date of the leave.

Paternity leave lasts a minimum of 3 weeks, which can be taken as a single block or split into 2 periods. At least 2 weeks must be used within the first 3 months after birth, while the remaining week can be taken before the child reaches 6 months. Only 1 paternity leave benefit is allowed in any 12-month period, but an additional 3 weeks may be granted if the mother passes away during or soon after childbirth. The National Insurance and Social Security Service covers the paternity leave benefit for employees. Employees must claim the benefit within 6 months of the birth

Minimum Wage

Employers in Barbados are required to pay employees at least minimum wage. The current minimum wage is set as follows, effective from June 1, 2025:

• BBD 420.00 (Barbados Dollars) for 40 hour work week
• BBD 84.00 for an 8-hour workday where the employee is not employed on a weekly basis
• BBD 10.50 per hour when the employee is not employed on a weekly or daily basis

Additionally, employers are required to provide at least minimum overtime wages. The minimum overtime rates are as follows:

• BBD 15.75 for ordinary working days
• BBD 21.00 for public holidays

Payroll frequency is determined by the employment contract, either weekly or monthly.

Overtime, Holiday & Vacation Pay

Overtime work is defined as work done beyond 40 hours in a week. According to the Bajan Shops Act, Employers should note that employees must be paid at least twice their regular rate if they work on their day off or a public holiday. In all other cases, employees are entitled to 1.5 times as much as their ordinary rate.

Since employees are not obligated to work extra shifts, employers should provide reasonable advance notice for additional hours (overtime), except in unexpected situations.

Employees are entitled to their basic wage for the duration of annual leave.

Notice Period

Per the Employment Rights Act, employment contracts can be terminated by either party by providing prior notice. The notice period is applicable to employees who maintain continuous employment.

The notice required to be given by an employer to terminate the contract of employment of an hourly, daily or weekly paid employee who has been continuously employed for one year or more is no less than:

• 1 week's notice where the service period is less than 2 years
• 2 weeks' notice where the service period is 2 years but less than 5 years
• 4 weeks' notice where the service period is 5 years but less than 10 years
• 6 weeks' notice where the service period is 10 years but less than 15 years
• 10 weeks' notice where the service period is 15 years or more

The notice required to be given by an employer to terminate the contract of employment of a bi-weekly paid employee who has been continuously employed for 1 year or more is not less than:

• 2 weeks' notice where the service period is less than 5 years
• 4 weeks' notice where the service period is 5 years but less than 10 years
• 6 weeks' notice where the service period is 10 years but less than 15 years
• 10 weeks' notice where the service period is 15 years or more

The notice required to be given by an employer to terminate the contract of employment of a monthly-paid employee who has been continuously employed for 1 year or more is not less than:

• 1 month's notice where the service period is less than 10 years
• 1.5 months' notice where the service period is 10 years but less than 15 years
• 2.5 months' notice where the service period is 15 years or more

The notice required to be given by an employee who has been continuously employed for 1 year or more to terminate his contract of employment is not less than:

• 1 week's notice in the case of hourly, daily, or weekly paid employee
• 2 weeks' notice in the case of fortnightly paid employees
• 1 month's notice in the case of a monthly paid employee

Severance Benefits

Per the Barbados Severance Payments Act, an employee's eligibility for severance pay is dependent on the following criteria:

• 104 continuous weeks with the same employer
• Working at least 21 hours per week
• At least age 16 and no older than age 67
• Dismissed due to redundancy, natural disaster, or laid-off or short-term dismissal.

Severance pay is calculated by utilizing the 104-week period and backtracking through the years of service and the rates are as follows:

• 2.5 weeks' basic pay for each year up to 10 years
• 3 weeks basic pay for each year that exceeds 10 years but does not exceed 20 years
• 3.5 weeks' basic pay for each year that exceeds 20 years but does not exceed 33 years.

The basic weekly average should not exceed the maximum insurable earnings ceiling which is currently BBD 1,219, increasing to BBD 1,238 from January 2026.

Pension

The National Insurance Scheme of Barbados provides benefits for retirement and pensionable age is currently 67 years, effective from January 1, 2018. NIS pension eligibility requires a minimum of 150 contributions paid to one's account and a minimum of 500 contributions paid or credited to one's account.

There are currently 3 bases for calculating NIS Pension. The calculations are based on the age of the person applying for pension as of December 31, 2002.

• Persons born on or before December 31, 1946 will stay on the old basis
• Those born on January 1, 1956 or later go to the new basis
• All those in between go on the 50/50 basis

Eligible residents can also receive non-contributory pension. The rate payable in respect of a non-contributory old age pension is currently BBD 230.00 per week, and is the same amount for all persons who qualify for this type of pension.

Dependents/Survivors Benefits

Eligible dependents include widow(er)(s) and surviving children under 16 (or 25 if they are full-time students). The benefits are paid as stated below:

• Survivors’ benefit payable to a widow/widower who at the time of the death of the insured was 50 years or over and married for at least 3 years, would be entitled to a pension of one-half of the amount which would have been payable as invalidity or old age contributory benefit to the deceased spouse had they been alive.
• For spouses 45 years and over, they would be entitled to a pension of one-third of the maximum pension available for payment to survivors.
• Survivor’s benefit payable to a child is one-sixth of the amount which would have been payable to the parent had, they been alive. However, if a child is an orphan or an invalid, they may receive one-third.

Death benefit is payable to the dependents of a person who dies as a result of an employment accident or occupational disease. Beneficiaries include surviving spouse, children, and other dependents.

Invalidity Benefits

The National Insurance Scheme of Barbados provides insurance coverage for disability. In order to be eligible for disability pension, an employee must have the following qualifications:

• Be under pensionable age
• Permanently incapable of undertaking further employment because of a specific disease or bodily or mental disablement; for so long as the invalidity continues
• Have at least 150 contributions paid to one's account

The annual rate of pension is 40% of the average annual insurable earnings of the insured person, supplemented by 1% of the total insurable earnings on which contributions were based subsequent to the first 500 contributions paid or credited. It is subject to a maximum of 60% of average annual insurable earnings but may exceed 60% of average best 3 insurable earnings where increases are granted, and a minimum pension of currently BBD 254.00 per week.

Employees who are incapable of working due to a work accident or occupational disease are entitled to an injury benefit for a period of up to 52 weeks immediately following the accident or disease. The daily rate of injury benefit is 90% of the person’s average insurable weekly earnings, divided by 6.

Personal Income Tax

Individuals who spend in aggregate more than 182 days in Barbados in an income year and persons with ordinarily resident status are deemed residents for tax purposes. Individuals who are both resident and domiciled in Barbados are taxed on their world income. Individuals who are residents but not domiciled are taxed on income derived in Barbados and on income from foreign sources from which a benefit is received in Barbados. The fiscal year for employees and individuals in Barbados is the calendar year, and for companies, it is based on their fiscal year.

Currently, every employee who earns a wage or salary of more than BBD 481 per week or BBD 2,083 per month is liable to Pay As You Earn (P.A.Y.E.). Current income tax rates range from 12.5% to 28.5%.

The legal minimum age to work in Barbados is 16 years. It is prohibited to employ a child or young person of compulsory school age in any undertaking during school hours. No child is allowed to work between the hours of 6:00 PM and 7:00 AM. Furthermore, young employees are entitled to at least 13 consecutive hours between 2 periods of work.