In the ideal working environment, employers provide clear guidelines about their policies and how they safeguard their workers’ rights. However, in many companies, things don’t always work in according with the labour laws. Knowing your rights as an employee means that you can take action if the need arises. This article will look at three areas: overtime pay, maternity leave, and redundancy pay.
Overtime pay:
Overtime work, under Jamaican labour laws, the definition of overtime pay has changed since the introduction of the Flexible Work Arrangements law. Overtime is defined as:
- work done during any period of a rest day.
- work done during any period on a Sunday, or a public holiday (e.g. Good Friday, Christmas Day).
- work done during any period exceeding 40+ hours in any week (excluding days in the aforementioned points)
Flexible-week (flexi-week) work arrangements are marked by variations in the work schedule. Instead of working a typical eight-hour workday, workers negotiate with their employers on:
- the number of hours worked each day
- the number of days worked each week
- the start time and end time of the workday
Prior to the amendments, in order to receive overtime pay, one would have to work after an 8-hour workday, each day. However, after the introduction of the flexi-week work arrangement, overtime is no longer calculated daily after eight hours of work but is now calculated after 40+ hours of work done. The new law allows an employee in Jamaica to work more than 8 hours, but not more than 12 hours in one day. After working 40 hours in one seven-day period, overtime pay should kick in.
Maternity leave:
Amendments to the 1979 Maternity Leave Law – which provides employed pregnant women with two months’ paid leave, and one month of unpaid leave – are in the works. To benefit from the law, however, the woman has to be employed permanently for at least one year prior to requesting leave. Concerns have been raised about an increase in contract employment which might affect a woman’s eligibility to claim paid maternity leave.
The proposed amendments include increasing the paid benefits to three full months of paid leave. There are also discussions to pass a paternity leave act, that would provide for a short, paid period of leave for new fathers to take in order to care for their newborn children and assist their children’s mothers.
Redundancy Pay:
Under the Employment (Termination and Redundancy Payment) Act, the Jamaican worker is normally entitled to redundancy payments when:
- the employee’s contract was terminated because the employer is ceasing business operations at the establishment you’re employed
- the employee is no longer required to carry out a specific type or specific types of work
- the employee has suffered a personal injury at work, or developed an illness specified in the Act.
The employee who is being made redundant should be provided with a written statement outlining how the redundancy payment is calculated. He/she is entitled to two weeks’ pay for the first ten years of employment, and three weeks’ pay for each successive year after that. Payment should be calculated from earnings received during the last week of employment. It’s important to note that these payments are taxable (some portions of the payment may be exempt from taxes).
This article is for information purposes only. Please consult a legal expert or the Ministry of Labour for consultation on individual concerns in the workplace.