COUNTRY

Written Agreements

Written employment contracts are not mandatory in the Isle of Man. Employers must provide a written statement of employment containing employment terms within 4 weeks of the employee's start date. This requirement does not apply if a contract is made in writing. The employer must provide a copy of the contract to the employee. It must contain information on both parties' identities, job title, place of work, working hours, remuneration details, notice requirements, disciplinary rules, and procedures, etc.

A written statement of employment is legally binding on both parties. Employment contracts that are made for less than 4 weeks do not require a written statement. Employers must keep a copy of the written statement until 6 months after the termination of employment.

Oral Agreements

Oral contracts of employment are legal in the Isle of Man if the employment relationship's existence can be proved by the employee's obligation to undertake work personally and the employer's corresponding obligation to provide and control the work. Employers must provide a written statement of employment containing employment terms within 4 weeks of the employee's start date. The statement must contain information regarding both parties' identities, job title, place of work, working hours, remuneration details, notice requirements, disciplinary rules, and procedures, etc.

Implied Agreements

Implied contracts of employment are legal in the Isle of Man if the employment relationship's existence can be proved by the employee's obligation to undertake work personally and the employer's corresponding obligation to provide and control the work. Employers must provide a written statement of employment containing employment terms within 4 weeks of the employee's start date. The statement must contain information regarding both parties' identities, job titles, places of work, working hours, remuneration details, notice requirements, disciplinary rules and procedures, etc.

In addition to the express terms in an employment contract, there are implied terms that may not be recorded in the written contract of employment or the written statement. The general rule is that a term will be implied into a contract if it is so obvious that both parties would have regarded it as a term, even though they had not expressly stated it as a term, or if it is necessary to imply the term in order to give the contract business efficacy.

There are no statutory provisions regarding working hours. Employment agreements determine working hours and rest breaks.

There are restrictions on working hours for young workers under 16 years of age and shop workers. Young employees cannot be employed for more than 28 hours a week, 2 hours a day on school days, and 7 hours a day on non-school days. The maximum working hours of shop workers are 10 hours a day or 44 hours a week.

All employees over the age of 16 years are entitled to 4 weeks' paid annual leave in the Isle of Man. A week's leave allows an employee to be away from work for a week. It is the same amount of time as the working week for the employee. There is no qualifying period for this entitlement. The leave accumulates at the rate of 1/12th of the annual entitlement per month in the first year of employment. If an employee has availed themselves of sick leave for more than 26 weeks in a year, their entitlement to annual leave is reduced proportionately.

There are no provisions for carrying over statutory annual leave to the next year or for payment in lieu of unused leave, except in the case of employment termination, where an employer must pay compensation for unused leave.

In the Isle of Man, employees can take sick leave for up to 26 weeks in a year without impact on their annual leave entitlement. If the duration of sick leave exceeds 26 weeks, entitlement to annual leave is reduced proportionately.

The Social Security Division pays sick leave benefits (incapacity benefits). Benefits are paid to insured people under retirement age who become sick and are unable to work. The first 3 days are unpaid, then the short-term rate is paid for 52 weeks, and the long-term rate after that. Any claims for more than 14 days must be supported with a medical certificate. Employers may also pay sick pay to their employees.

All employees are eligible for an unpaid ordinary maternity leave of 26 weeks, including 2 weeks of compulsory leave after childbirth. Employees must inform their employers of their maternity leave at least 15 weeks before the expected delivery date and submit a related medical certificate. If they have been continuously employed for 26 weeks at the beginning of the 14th week before their expected delivery date, employees can also be eligible for an additional 26 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, to be taken immediately after the end of their ordinary maternity leave.

Employees who earn at least IMP 30 (Manx pounds) per week are eligible to claim maternity allowance from the Social Security Division for up to 39 weeks, starting no earlier than 11 weeks from the delivery date. This allowance is paid as 90% of the employee's weekly earnings, limited to a maximum of IMP 241.50 per week.

Employees have the right to return to the job they held before their leave. Refusal to allow an employee to return to work after maternity leave constitutes dismissal and is automatically unfair.

Employees in the Isle of Man are entitled to take up to 2 weeks of unpaid paternity leave upon a child's birth. The leave must be taken within 56 weeks of the birth. Employees must inform their employers of their intention to take paternity leave by the 15th week before the baby is due.

To be eligible for leave, employees must be either the biological father of the child or the mother's husband or partner (including a same-sex partner). Additionally, they must have worked for the employer for 26 weeks prior to the 15th week before the baby is due.

The Social Security Division pays paternity allowance to employees eligible for paternity leave at the maximum rate of IMP 241.50 (Manx pounds) per week.

Minimum Wage

In the Isle of Man, employers cannot pay adult employees less than minimum wage. Employees under 16 years of age are not entitled to minimum wage.

Minimum wages are set by the Minimum Wage Committee, which is made up of an independent Chair, 2 members representing employers, and 2 members representing workers. The current hourly minimum wage is as follows:

• Over compulsory school age (16 years) but under 18 - IMP 8.75 (Manx pounds)
• Aged over 18 (except for development workers) - IMP 11.45

The provision of accommodation for an employee by an employer is the only benefit-in-kind that can count towards minimum wage pay. The accommodation offset value cannot exceed IMP 1.05 an hour, IMP 6.00 a day, or IMP 42 a week.

Overtime, Holiday & Vacation Pay

There are no statutory overtime benefits in the Isle of Man's Employment Act. Employees with normal working hours fixed by their employment contracts are eligible for overtime pay if they work more than their normal hours. Employers determine shift and overtime premiums. Employees' gross pay includes commission and bonuses and excludes overtime or shift premiums.

All employees over the age of 16 years are entitled to 4 weeks' paid annual leave.

An employee is not entitled to a day off on a bank holiday. There is no general statutory entitlement to paid leave or an enhanced pay rate for working on a bank holiday. Where a bank holiday is taken as paid leave, it will count as one day of a worker's annual leave.

Both employees and employers can terminate an employment contract. If an employee has worked for at least one month, both the employer and the employee must give a minimum notice period to terminate the contract. Employees can be dismissed without notice by providing payment in lieu of notice or as a result of disciplinary proceedings against them.

Fixed-term employment contracts terminate automatically on their expiry date or when the specified job is completed. Such contracts can be terminated early as per the provisions in the contract.

Dismissed employees have the right to request a written statement of the reasons for dismissal from their employers. This statement must be provided to the employee within 14 days of such a request.

Notice Period

In the Isle of Man, when an employee has worked continuously for at least 1 month, both the employer and the employee must provide a minimum statutory notice period to terminate the contract. The notice period ranges from 1 week to 12 weeks for employers and from 1 week to 4 weeks for employees. Employees are entitled to all contractual benefits and payments during the notice period.

An employer or employee is not required to give the minimum notice if the other party's conduct amounts to contract termination (for example, gross misconduct, incompetence, or breach of contract).

An employer can pay the employee in lieu of notice if the contract specifically provides for payment in lieu of notice with agreement from the employee.

Severance Benefits

There are no statutory provisions for severance pay. Employment contracts can include provisions for termination pay. The law provides for a redundancy payment when an employee is made redundant after at least 2 years of employment. The redundancy payment is calculated as 1 week's pay for each year of employment.

If the employer fails to make statutory redundancy payments to employees, payment can be made by the Manx National Insurance Fund to employees who fulfill certain conditions. The government also provides support for redundancy payments to small employers with less than 40 employees.

Pension

In the Isle of Man, the retirement age is 66 years and will gradually increase to 68 years by 2046. A person must have paid at least ten years of National Insurance contributions to be eligible for pension benefits.

The current full amount of basic pension is IMP 241.50 (Manx pounds) per week. This full amount is paid to those with 35 years of contributions. Additional pension is paid depending on the years of contributions made above 35 years. If a person has less than 35 years of contributions, their pension is reduced proportionally. A pension supplement is available to those who have paid at least 10 years of contributions. The maximum supplement is IMP 38.30, paid to those with 30 years of contributions.

Both employers and employees make contributions to the National Insurance scheme.

Dependents/Survivors Benefits

The Isle of Man's Social Security Division provides a Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) to people who fulfill the following conditions:

• Their husband, wife, or civil partner died.
• They are under state pension age (currently 66 years of age).
• They are ordinarily resident in the Isle of Man.
• The deceased had paid enough National Insurance contributions to be eligible for a state pension in the Isle of Man or died due to an accident at work or a disease caused by work.
• The deceased must have died on or after April 6, 2017.

The benefits can be claimed within 3 months of death.

Qualifying persons receive a lump sum payment of IMP 3,500 (Manx pounds), plus weekly payments worth IMP 148.40 per week for 78 weeks. Guardian's Allowance is paid to people responsible for a child or young person under the age of 16 years whose parents are dead (or where one parent is deceased and the other is in prison). It is paid in the amount of IMP 21.75 per week per child.

Both employees and employers make contributions to the National Insurance scheme.

Invalidity Benefits

The Isle of Man's Social Security Division provides incapacity benefits to insured employees younger than the state retirement age and unable to work due to sickness or disability. They must have paid National Insurance contributions for at least 1 year.

Insured persons who become disabled or terminally ill before reaching the state retirement age are also eligible for Disability Living Allowance. They must have been present in the Isle of Man or the United Kingdom for at least 104 weeks within the 156 weeks immediately before their disability.

Income support is also provided to insured people above 16 years of age who cannot work or work for less than 16 hours a week due to disability. It is paid based on the difference between the amount the person needs to live on according to the law and the person's income.

Contributions to the National Insurance scheme are made by both employees and employers.