Find your employer of record in Barbados

According to employment laws, employees have to receive the following benefits:

• Employment injury.
• Pension.
• Maternity leave.
• Annual leave.

By opting for PEO services you can prepare a great offer package for your employees including outstanding benefits.

Foreign employees that want to work in Barbados must first apply for a work visa. But this is not required for US citizens.

To apply for a work visa, the employee needs the following:

• Passport.
• Photographs.
• Letter of invitation.
• Business letter.
• Visa application form.

Therefore, the employer is responsible for applying for a work visa on the employee’s behalf. First, the employer has to get an immigration card and representative card issued by the Ministry of Labour.

After that, the employer has to apply for an employment visa and work permit. Then, the employee may travel to Barbados once they have received the work visa and have passed the medical test.

Within 7 days of the employee’s arrival, the employer has to apply for the work permit. After that, the employee can start working.

The standard VAT rate in Barbados is 17.5% Nonetheless, some services or products may have a higher rate. For example, the VAT rate on mobile services is 22%.

With a PEO, you can get timely assistance on VAT, taxes, immigration, and more.

Termination Process

Any of the parties can decide to terminate an employment contract. However, if the employer decides to terminate the employee and he or she has one year of continuous service, the employee has the right to request a written statement of the reason for dismissal.

Also, an employment contract has to be terminated under fair reasons, such as the term of a fixed term contract expires.

So, an employee may be dismissed due to being incapable to perform the job, misconduct, or any other valid reason stated in the law.

Navigating termination of employment can be challenging. For this reason, it is best to count on an EOR.

Notice Period

The employment law establishes several notice periods depending on the type of contract of employment. Thus, the notice period to be given by an employer varies as follows:

• Hourly, daily, and weekly-paid employees:
• Less than 2 years of service: one week’s notice.
• 2 to 5 years of service: 2 weeks’ notice.
• 5 to 10 years of service: 4 weeks’ notice.
• 10 to 15 years of service: 6 weeks’ notice.
• More than 15 years: 10 weeks’ notice.
• Fortnightly-paid employees:
• Less than 5 years of service: 2 weeks’ notice.
• 5 to 10 years of service: 4 weeks’ notice.
• 10 to 15 years of service: 6 weeks’ notice.
• More than 15 years of service: 10 weeks’ notice.
• Monthly-paid employee:
• Less than 10 years of service: one month’s notice.
• 10 to 15 years of service: one and a half months’ notice.
• More than 15 years of service: 2 and a half months’ notice.

And, in the case of the notice period given by an employee that wants to terminate the contract is the following:

• Hourly, daily, and weekly-paid employees: one week’s notice.
• Fortnightly-paid employees: 2 weeks’ notice.
• Monthly-paid employees: one month’s notice.

If you want additional help with the notice period, with an Employer of record in Barbados you will be successful. 

Severance Pay

According to the law, severance pay is only mandatory for those employees with 2 years contract and that have been dismissed due to layoff, redundancy, and other valid reasons stated in the provisions.

In this regard, the severance payment is as follows:

• Up to 10 years of service: 2.5 weeks’ basic pay for each year.
• 10 to 20 years of service: 3 week’s basic pay for each year.
• More than 20 years of service: 3.5 weeks’ basic pay for each year.

Determining the severance pay can be complicated. Thus, a Professional employment organization can be of great help.

Probation Period

Since there are no provisions regarding the probation period in Barbados, most employers opt for determining it at their discretion.

So, based on your internal policies you may want to define a probation period suitable for your employees.

Nonetheless, most companies decide to establish a probation period of one to three months maximum.

Paid Time Offs

An employee can take an annual leave once he or she has completed 12 months of service. In this case, the annual leave is as the following:

• 1 to 4 years of employment: three weeks of annual leave per year of service.
• 5 or more years of employment: four weeks of vacation per year of service.

By getting hr and payroll outsourcing you can ensure outstanding management of your employees’ leaves.

Public Holidays

There are 12 national holidays throughout the year.

Vacation Holidays

There are 21 vacation holidays throughout the year.

Sick Days

employee may be absent from work due to illness in the following conditions:

• If the employee does not submit a medical certificate, he or she cannot be absent for more than two consecutive working days.
• If the employee submits a medical certificate, he or she may be absent for sick leave. But in this case, the law does not specify the duration.

Since handling this sensitive matter can be challenging, you need to look for an Employer of record in Barbados.