The Nitty-Gritty of the Employment Act, 2001 - Part II

The Employment Act, 2001 has been passed by the House of Assembly and is currently in the Senate. In our last newsletter we listed some of the basic provisions of the Employment Act, 2001 and this is a continuation of that article. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and the explained provisions are not fully described.

Sick Leave - Employees employed for at least six months are entitled to 7 days sick leave per year. Employees are required to produce a medical certificate whenever they are absent due to sickness except for the first day or a single day of sickness. Sick leave is only paid upon the production of a medical certificate. If a medical certificate is produced for a single day of absence, that day shall be paid.

Vacation Leave and Pay - Employees who have been employed for six months but less than one year are entitled to a 1 week vacation with pay, (after twelve months a second week of vacation would be due). Employees who have been employed for one year or more but less than seven years are entitled to a 2 week vacation with pay. Employees who are employed for seven years or more are entitled to a 3 week vacation with pay. Vacation pay is based on basic pay.

Termination of Employment During Year - When an employee is terminated prior to the completion of a full year, he shall be paid on a pro rata basis the amount of vacation pay earned for the uncompleted year. No employee is entitled to vacation pay unless he has been continuously employed for a period of ninety days or more.

Maternity Leave - The duration of maternity leave shall be for a period not less than 12 weeks, with at least 1 week of leave being before the birth and at least 8 weeks of leave being after the birth. Additional leave of up to 6 weeks shall be granted due to illness, subject to a medical certificate.

Maternity Pay - The minimum amount of maternity pay shall be 40% of the employee's wage up to the level of the National Insurance ceiling on insurable wages for the 12 week leave period. (There has been an indication that this percentage may have changed to 33 1/3%.) In order to be entitled to maternity pay, the employee must have been employed for a period of twelve months or more, and the pay entitlement is only once in every three years.

Family Leave - Any employee who has been employed for six months or more is entitled to one week unpaid leave per year in the event of the birth of a child, or the death or illness of a child, spouse or parent. Employees are required to furnish evidence of the birth, death or illness.

Redundancy Payments - When an employee who has been continuously employed for one year or more is terminated due to redundancy, the amount of redundancy pay shall be 2 weeks' notice (or 2 weeks' basic pay in lieu of notice) plus 2 weeks' basic pay for each year of employment up to 24 weeks. Where the employee holds a supervisory or managerial position, the amount of redundancy pay shall be 1 month's notice (or 1 month's basic pay in lieu of notice) plus one month's basic pay for each year of employment up to 48 weeks.

Meaning of Redundancy - An employee shall be deemed to be redundant if his termination is mainly attributed to the fact that his particular job has diminished or ceased to exist, or the employer has ceased or intends to cease to carry on the business for which the employee was hired.

Termination of Employment With Notice - In order to terminate a contract of employment with an employee, the minimum amount of notice required is as follows: where the employee has been employed for six months or more but less than one year the amount of notice required is 1 week's notice (or 1 week's basic pay in lieu of notice) plus 1 week's basic pay on a pro rata basis for the period between six months and twelve months; and where the employee has been employed for one year or more the amount of notice required is 2 weeks' notice (or 2 weeks' basic pay in lieu of notice) plus two weeks basic pay for each year up to 24 weeks. Where the employee holds a supervisory or managerial position, the amount of notice required is 1 month's notice (or 1 month's basic pay in lieu of notice) plus one month's basic pay for each year up to 48 weeks.
Note: Employees are required to give 2 weeks notice to their employer if they have been employed for one year but less than two years, and if employed for more than two years, the amount of notice shall be 4 weeks.

Summary Dismissal - An employer may summarily dismiss an employee without notice or payment in lieu of notice when the employee has committed a fundamental breach of his contract of employment or has acted in a manner repugnant to the fundamental interests of the employer. Misconduct which may constitute a fundamental breach shall include, but not be limited to, the following: theft; fraudulent offences; dishonesty; gross insubordination or insolence; gross indecency; breach of confidentiality (except when made to a law enforcement agency or government department); gross negligence; incompetence; and gross misconduct.

The third part of this article will be in the next issue of the News Bulletin.

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