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Hiring in Antigua and barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign country located in the Caribbean. It consists of two major islands, i.e. Antigua and Barbuda and several smaller islands. The official currency used is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar. Employment regulations including probation period, holidays and termination are stipulated in Antigua and Barbuda’s Labor Code. The Labor Code postulates that maternity allowance is paid for a maximum of 13 weeks, commencing as early as 6 weeks before confinement or as late as the week of confinement. Global PEO or Employer of Record (EOR) play a pivotal role in providing companies with services related to hiring employees, and ensuring compliance with Antigua and Barbuda’s legal and tax regulations. Thus, the Employer of Record (EOR) facilitate companies by ensuring compliance with its labor code. Antigua and Barbuda do not levy income tax on individuals. Therefore, it is essentially a tax haven.
statutory labor requirements
Probation Period
- A new employee's probation period may not exceed 3 months in duration, unless there is provision for a greater period in a collective agreement between an employer and a registered trade union acting as sole bargaining agent for all employees in an appropriate bargaining unit.
Annual Leave
- Each employee who has successfully passed his probationary period shall be entitled to, and each employer shall give him, vacation leave without loss of at least the basic wage, including the cash equivalent of payments in kind, he would have received had he not taken the leave, in an amount of at least one day per month of employment.
Public Holidays
- New Year's Day (1st January)
- Good Friday (10th April)
- Easter Monday (13th April)
- Labor Day (4th May)
- Whit Monday (1st June)
- Carnival Monday (3rd August)
- Independence Day (1st November)
- Vere Cornwall Bird Snr. Day (9th December)
- Christmas Day (25th December)
- Boxing Day (26th December)
Maternity Leave
- Maternity allowance is paid for a maximum of 13 weeks, commencing as early as 6 weeks before confinement or as late as the week of confinement.
Paternity Leave
- Male employees have the right to paternity leave
- During the period they are entitled to cash paternity benefits under the Social Security Act.
Sick Leave
- Each employee is entitled to leave on workdays, or parts thereof, during which he is ill or otherwise physically incapacitated for work
- Each employee, for at least the first twelve days of sick leave taken during any twelve consecutive months, calculated from the date of commencement of employment and any anniversary date thereof, shall be entitled to that basic wage, and the employer shall give him that basic wage, which he would have received had he worked on those days.
Work Hours
- The law provides for a maximum 48-hour workweek, but most people work 40 hours on the average.
Overtime
- Employees are entitled to a compensation of 25% over his salary for overtime work performed between 06h and 21h, and 50% if the overtime work performed between 21h and 06h, for non-agricultural activities.
Notice Period
- With respect to a person who has been engaged for a specified term of employment of less than one week's duration, the employer need give no further notice of his intention to terminate said employment at the end of the specified term, unless the terms of his employment specify otherwise.
- In all other cases, the employer must give advance notice to the affected employee of an intention to terminate that person's employment, as follows
- with respect to an employee within his probation period, an employer must give at least 24 hours’ advance notice of his intention to terminate said employee's employment
- with respect to all other employees, the period of said advance notice shall be at least equivalent to the interval of time between the affected employee's paydays;
- in no case need the period of said advance notice exceed 30 days unless an employment contract calls for a longer notice period.
Severance
- Severance pay shall consist of at least one day's pay, at the employee's latest basic wage, for each month or major fraction thereof of his term of employment with his employer and any predecessor employer.
13th / 14th Month Pay
- Yes
- There is no statutory requirement to pay the 13th or 14th month salary.
- However it is customary for the government to pay its employees a Christmas Bonus.
- There are different payments that workers may receive including holiday pay and vacation pay which suggests that there the 13th or 14th month may be customary also in other industries.
income tax
Antigua and Barbuda do not levy income tax on individuals
deductible expenses
There are no deductible expenses.
immigration
- The government encourages employers on Antigua and Barbuda to recruit workers from the local population.
- If an international worker is recruited, the employer must make an application for a work permit and pay a substantial, non-refundable fee.
- The prospective employee has to supply an identification, health and criminal record evidence, and must also provide substantial documentary proof that they followed the correct procedure.
- They must show evidence that they advertised and interviewed in the area, and that they had good reason not to select any of the local applicants who came forward.
- This means if the job you’re interested in is low skilled and doesn’t require specialist qualifications, your work permit is unlikely to be successful.
- Once you have lived in Antigua and Barbuda for at least four years, you can apply for residency.
- This allows you to remain in the country permanently along with any named dependents. You will also be free to accept employment with any employer for any job without having to obtain a work permit.
- If you have married an Antiguan citizen, you only have to wait one year before making your residency application.
|
Type of Visa/Permit |
Documentation |
Validity |
Eligibility |
|
Work Permit |
|
1 year |
|
|
Residence Permit |
|
3 years |
|
value added tax (vat)
- Taxable activities for purposes of the Antigua and Barbuda sales tax are sales of goods or supplies of services within Antigua and Barbuda and the import of goods
- The standard rate is 15%, with a reduced rate of 12.5% applying to hotels
- Certain goods and services may be zero rated or exempt
|
VAT |
|
|
Standard Rate |
15% |
|
Reduced Rate |
12.5% |
withholding tax
Dividends
- There is no withholding tax on dividends paid to residents; a 25% tax is withheld on dividends paid to nonresidents
Interest
- The withholding tax on interest paid to nonresidents is 25%
Royalties
- The withholding tax on royalties paid to nonresidents is 25%
Technical Service Fees
- The withholding tax on technical service fees paid to nonresidents is 25%
|
WHT |
|
|
Dividends |
25% |
|
Interest |
25% |
|
Royalties |
25% |
|
Technical Service Fees |
25% |
termination
- With respect to a person who has been engaged for a specified term of employment of less than one week's duration, the employer need give no further notice of his intention to terminate said employment at the end of the specified term, unless the terms of his employment specify otherwise.
- In all other cases, the employer must give advance notice to the affected employee of an intention to terminate that person's employment, as follows
-
- with respect to an employee within his probation period, an employer must give at least 24 hours’ advance notice of his intention to terminate said employee's employment
- with respect to all other employees, the period of said advance notice shall be at least equivalent to the interval of time between the affected employee's paydays;
- in no case need the period of said advance notice exceed 30 days unless an employment contract calls for a longer notice period.
- Severance pay shall consist of at least one day's pay, at the employee's latest basic wage, for each month or major fraction thereof of his term of employment with his employer and any predecessor employer.
statutory benefits
- These are mandatory benefits as postulated by law
- These include probationary period, annual leave, public holidays, sick leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, overtime pay, notice period, and severance pay
- Statutory benefits also include social security benefits
|
Statutory Benefits |
|
Probationary Period |
|
Annual Leave |
|
Public Holidays |
|
Maternity Leave |
|
Paternity Leave |
|
Sick Leave |
|
Overtime Pay |
|
Notice Period |
|
Severance Pay |
|
Social Security Benefits |
payments and invoicing
- There is no personal income tax
- Hence, no obligations of payments and invoicing
ease of doing business
- The ease of doing business index is an index created by Simeon Djankov, an economist at the Central and Eastern Europe sector of the World Bank Group.
- Higher rankings (a low numerical value) indicate better, usually simpler, regulations for businesses and stronger protections of property rights.
- According to the World Bank Antigua and Barbuda ranked 113th in the World in 2019 in terms of ease of doing business.
employee accruals
| Christmas Bonus% | 0% |
| Christmas Bonus Over Vacations % | 0% |
| Severance per Year % | Employees are enititled to 1 day's pay for each month worked. Severance pay equals 12 days of salary after 1 year of service (3.29% of annual salary) |
| Vacations % | Employees are entitled to 12 days of paid annual leave after 1 year of service (3.29% of annual leave) |
| Notice % | Employees are entitled to 30 days of notice period for one year of service or more (8.24%) |
| Christmas Bonus Over Notifications% | 0% |
| Vacations Plus% | 0% |
| Total percentage of Salary (yearly) | The total employment accruals as a percentage of salary per anum are equal to 14.91% |
employer accruals
Additional information (Country Accruals)
| Social Security | 7% |
| Maternity leave | 13weeks |
| Vacations | 6.03% |
| Social insurance | 7% (gradually rising by 0.25 a year from 2018 until reaching 9% by 2025) of monthly covered payroll. The minimum monthly earnings used to calculate contributions are the legal monthly minimum wage. The maximum monthly earnings used to calculate contributions are EC$6,500. The employer's contributions also finance sickness (private sector only) and maternity benefits. |
Employer Accruals Additional information
| Employment Accruals | ||
| Annual Leave | Employees are entitled to 12 days of annual leave | This equals 3.28% (12/365 days) |
| Maternity Leave | Maternity allowance is paid for a maximum of 13 weeks, commencing as early as 6 weeks before confinement or as late as the week of confinement. | This equals 25% (13/52 weeks) |
| Sick Leave | Employees are entitled to 12 days of paid sick leave | This equals 3.28% (12/365 days) |
| Overtime | Employees are entitled to a compensation of 25% over his salary for overtime work performed between 06h and 21h, and 50% if the overtime work performed between 21h and 06h, for non-agricultural activities. | Normal rate is around 28.2 XCD. Overtime is paid at an additional 14.09 XCD (50% of 28.2). |
| Severance | Severance pay shall consist of at least one day's pay, at the employee's latest basic wage, for each month or major fraction thereof of his term of employment with his employer and any predecessor employer. | Assuming 1 year od employment, this equals 12 days of severance pay. Thus, it equals 3.28% (12/365 days). |
| Social Security Contribution | Employers must make social security contribution of 7.5% | This equals 7.5% of annual income. |
