Definitive Guide to Hiring in Bermuda

Hiring in Bermuda

Hiring employees compliantly in Bahamas means doing it yourself or using an Employer of Record like Global Expansion. You should be careful using independent contractor agreements in Bahrain so that you don’t run afoul of employment laws. To hire an employee compliantly and offer them mandatory benefits and compliant agreements, you can:

(a) Establish your own new legal entity, banking, accounting and payroll service in Bahrain or

(b) use an Employer of Record like Global Expansion who can handle all of the details for you.

Labor Laws in Bermuda

Employee Probation Period

• Length of the probationary period is enclosed in an employment contract
• It is usually 6 months

Annual Leave in Bermuda

• An employee shall be entitled to a period of two weeks’ annual vacation leave after he has completed
  • the first year of continuous employment; and
  • each subsequent year of continuous employment

Holidays in Bermuda

Workers are entitled to paid holidays during Festival (public and religious) holidays. These include memorial holidays and religious holidays (Christian origin).

Here is the full list of public holidays in Bermuda:

Maternity Leave Bermuda

• Women continuously employed one year or longer with an organization will be entitled to 13 weeks of paid leave, up from the current eight weeks of paid and four weeks of unpaid leave.
• Employees who don't fulfill the minimum service criteria can take 13 weeks of unpaid leave, up from eight.

Paternity Leave Bermuda

• Fathers with at least one year's continuous employment by their baby's expected birth date will be entitled to five consecutive days of paid leave.
• Fathers must use the leave within 14 weeks of the birth and can take only one paternity leave in any 12-month period.

Sick Leave in Bermuda

• Employees are entitled to eight days’ sick leave with pay after the first year of continuous employment except that the employee will not be entitled to more than two consecutive days unless he provides the employer with a doctor's certificate.

Working Hours in Bermuda

• Typically, employees in Bermuda work a 40-hour week, from Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. including an hour's break for lunch (i.e., 35 paid hours).

Overtime in Bermuda

• An employee who works in excess of 40 hours a week is entitled to be paid at the overtime rate of 1.5 times his normal hourly wage.

Notice Period in Bermuda

• Employees are entitled to at least one week's notice if they are paid on a weekly basis, two weeks' notice if they are paid every two weeks, and in other cases, one month's notice.
• If the contract stipulates a greater amount of notice, the longer notice period will apply

Severance in Bermuda

• Severance Payment: Under the Act an employer is required to make a lump sum severance payment equal to:
  • two weeks’ wages, for each completed year of continuous employment up to the first ten years; and
  • three weeks’ wages for each completed year of continuous employment thereafter, up to a maximum of 26 weeks’ wages (i.e. 6 months).
• Under the Act an employee is entitled to a written itemized pay statement before the payment of any severance entitlement.
• An employee’s employment contract may provide for other payments in addition to those provided under the Act in the event of redundancy.

Bermuda Salary and Wages

• Bermuda’s contributory pension scheme requires employers to make monthly contributions to the Contributory Pensions Fund for every employee above 17 years of age for each week in which the employee works more than four hours.
• An employer must ensure that each qualifying employee registers with the department and obtains a social insurance number.
• Civil and criminal penalties may apply to employers for failure to register or pay in for each qualifying employee.
• Employees contribute a matching sum via weekly payroll deduction, with several exceptions.
• Full time students under age 26 who are employed during holidays, weekends and summer breaks, and their employers, are entirely exempt from social insurance contributions.
• Employees over the age of 65 are exempt from contributing their half, although the employer must still contribute its part.
• The current total contribution per employee per week is BMD 71.84. The employer portion is BMD 35.92 and the employee portion is BMD 35.92.
• Expatriate and other employees who pay in to the system but fail to qualify for a pension due to insufficient contributions may apply at age 65 for a refund of the total value of the contributions made on their behalf, including both employer and employee contributions.

Immigration Bermuda

• All persons must obtain specific permission by or on behalf of the Minister of Home Affairs responsible for immigration if they are to engage in gainful occupation in Bermuda, unless they are the following:
  • A Bermudian
  • A spouse of a Bermudian
  • A widow or widower of Bermudian
  • A permanent resident
• Prior to making an application for a Standard Work Permit in an open job category, employers must demonstrate that they have made a bona fide attempt to recruit a suitably qualified Bermudian
• If no qualified and interested Bermudians are available, the employer may apply for a work permit to employ a non-Bermudian unless the position is in a closed category.
• Work permit applications must be made in writing by the employer and addressed to the Chief Immigration Officer at the Department of Immigration.
• A Global Work Permit allows a person who is already employed by a global company in another jurisdiction to transfer to the Bermuda office without the requirement to advertise the position.
• The employee must occupy a senior position within the company.
• To qualify for the Global Work Permit, the following conditions must be satisfied:
  • The company must demonstrate that the Global Work Permit holder is not being transferred to fill a vacancy or a pre-existing position in Bermuda.
  • The company must demonstrate that the employee has been employed within the organization for at least one year before transferring to the Bermuda office or provide specific reasons for transferring an employee with less than one year of service.
• In addition, a Global Work Permit is automatically approved for an individual who earns at least BMD125,000 per year.
• Applicants earning less than BMD125,000 a year are considered on a case-by case basis, and approval depends substantially on demonstrating that the addition of the Global Work Permit holder will add value to Bermuda.
• A Global Entrepreneur Work Permit is issued for a one-year period for an individual to work and reside in Bermuda with respect to an exempted company or Section 114B startups.
• Work activities may include the following:
  • Business planning
  • Seeking appropriate government or regulatory approval(s)
  • Meeting compliance
  • Financial requirements
  • Raising capital
• To apply for a Global Entrepreneur Work Permit, a letter of application must be sent to the Department of Immigration justifying the request, together with a letter from a Bermudian or Bermuda business services company verifying the intent of the applicant and a completed form.
• The Minister of Home Affairs grants a permit if the Minister is satisfied that the applicant is a bona fide investor or business person that is likely to domicile a company in Bermuda.

Value Added Tax (VAT) in Bermuda

• There is no VAT or sales tax in Bermuda.

Mandatory Benefits in Bermuda

• 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
• Mandatory benefits also include social security benefits.

Payments And Invoicing

• Since income taxes are not imposed on individuals in Bermuda, tax returns are not required to be completed for individual income tax compliance purposes.

Payroll Accrual in Bermuda

Country Accruals Additional Information

Description

Bermuda’s contributory pension scheme requires employers to make monthly contributions to the Contributory Pensions Fund for every employee above 17 years of age for each week in which the employee works more than four hours.

An employer must ensure that each qualifying employee registers with the department and obtains a social insurance number.

Civil and criminal penalties may apply to employers for failure to register or pay in for each qualifying employee. Employees contribute a matching sum via weekly payroll deduction, with several exceptions.

Full time students under age 26 who are employed during holidays, weekends and summer breaks, and their employers, are entirely exempt from social insurance contributions. Employees over the age of 65 are exempt from contributing their half, although the employer must still contribute its part.

The current total contribution per employee per week is BMD 71.84. The employer portion is BMD 35.92 and the employee portion is BMD 35.92. Expatriate and other employees who pay in to the system but fail to qualify for a pension due to insufficient contributions may apply at age 65 for a refund of the total value of the contributions made on their behalf, including both employer and employee contributions

Payroll Accruals Additional Information

Accrued Benefits in Bermuda

Why use Global Expansion to hire in Bermuda

Establishing a branch office or subsidiary in Bermuda can be time-consuming, expensive and complex. With such a robust labor market in place, one must pay great attention to detail when structuring employment because Bermuda labor laws are complex.

The company also has a responsibility to comply with specific employment practices dictated by Bermuda law to maintain its good standing as an equal opportunity employer.

Global Expansion makes it easy for you to expand into Bermuda. We'll help you hire your candidate of choice, handle HR matters and payroll, and ensure that you comply with local laws without the burden of setting up a foreign branch office or subsidiary. In addition, you'll have complete control and direction over your employees.

We enable you to stay in control of everything. Our Bermuda Global Professional Employer Organization (PEO) and Employer of Record (EOR) solution provides you with peace of mind to focus on running your company and the security to enter new markets.