Definitive Guide to Hiring in British Virgin Islands

Hiring in British Virgin Islands

Hiring employees compliantly in British Virgin Islands means doing it yourself or using an Employer of Record like Global Expansion. You should be careful using independent contractor agreements in British Virgin Islands 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 British Virgin Islands or

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

Labor Laws in British Virgin Islands

Employee Probation Period

• Most Virgin Islands employees are subject to a 90-day probationary period of employment pursuant to the “Virgin Islands Wrongful Discharge Act”.

Annual Leave in British Virgin Islands

• An employee who has successfully completed his or her probationary period is entitled to be granted vacation leave at the rates set out below in respect of each year of service:
• employees with less than ten years’ service, to a minimum of twelve normal working days;
• employees with ten years’ service and less than twenty years’ service, to a minimum of fifteen normal working days; and
• employees with twenty years’ service or above, to a minimum of twenty normal working days.

Holidays in British Virgin Islands

Maternity Leave British Virgin Islands

• The period of maternity leave shall not be less than thirteen weeks of which not less than six weeks shall be taken after the date of confinement.

Paternity Leave British Virgin Islands

• Where a female employee is granted maternity leave under this section, the husband or de facto spouse of the employee shall, upon application, be granted paternity leave without pay for such period as requested in the application, but in any case not exceeding one month, to be taken during the period his wife or de facto spouse is on confinement or not later than six months from the birth of the child.

Sick Leave in British Virgin Islands

• An employee who becomes ill shall, where service with his or her employer is for a continuous period of not less than four months, be eligible for sick leave with pay for a period of not less than twelve working days in any one year.

Working Hours in British Virgin Islands

• The normal hours of work, exclusive of the meal interval, shall be eight hours and the standard work week shall be forty hours.

Overtime in British Virgin Islands

• For any hours of work accrued by an employee for his or her employer at the employer’s request on a rest day, or in excess of eight hours on any work day or in excess of forty hours in any week, the employer shall pay the employee at the rate of at least one and one half times his or her basic rate of pay.
• An employer shall not employ any person in excess of twelve hours in any period of twenty-four hours’ subject to a maximum of sixty hours in any period of one hundred and sixty-eight hours.

Notice Period in British Virgin Islands

• Where an employer is required by section 89 to give an employee notice of termination of the employment contract, such notice shall be determined on the following basis unless a written contract provides more favorable terms:
  • where the employee’s length of service does not exceed seven years, the period of notice shall be at least equivalent to the interval of time between the affected employee’s pay days;
  • where the employee’s length of service exceeds seven years but does not exceed fifteen years, the period of notice shall be at least one month;
  • where the employee’s length of service exceeds fifteen years, the period of notice shall be at least two months.

Severance in British Virgin Islands

• In the case of an employee who is not a periodic employee and who is not paid on a piece-work basis, severance payment shall consist of three-quarters of one day’s pay or nine days’ pay per year, at the employee’s latest basic rate of pay, for each month or major fraction thereof of his or her period of employment with his or her employer and any predecessor-employer.
• In the case of a periodic employee,
  • severance payment shall consist of three quarters of one day’s pay or nine days’ pay per year for each twenty-nine days worked;
  • any fraction of a day which is obtained by dividing the number of days worked by twenty-nine shall be reckoned as one day; and
  • one day’s pay shall be calculated as equal to the total of his or her basic wage in the last twelve-month period worked divided by the number of days worked.

British Virgin Islands Salary and Wages

• All employers and employees must contribute to the National Insurance Scheme.
• The total contribution rate is 8.5%; employers pay 4.5% and employees pay 4%.
• Both the employer and the employee pay 3.75% of the employee’s salary for national health insurance (subject to a cap).
  
  

Immigration British Virgin Islands

• In general, all visitors may enter the British Virgin Islands if they meet certain requirements.
• A person entering the British Virgin Islands to visit must satisfy the Immigration Officer at the port of entry that he or she satisfies all of the following requirements:
• He or she possesses a valid travel document.
• He or she does not intend to remain permanently in the British Virgin Islands.
• He or she has sufficient funds to support himself or herself, as well as any dependents, without working for the duration of his or her stay, and can meet the cost of return or onward travel. In general, a return ticket is required.
• Citizens of the British Commonwealth, except Guyana and Jamaica, do not require visas to visit the British Virgin Islands.
• All visitors to the British Virgin Islands are allowed entry without medical certification for 30 days.
• After the 30-day period expires, visitors can apply for an extension with the Department of Immigration
• Persons who are employed in the British Virgin Islands on a temporary or periodic basis must obtain temporary or periodic work permits (as applicable). Work permits for foreign nationals are issued by the Labour Department for specific positions with specific employers if the positions cannot be filled locally. The permits are usually valid for one-year periods. However, one month before expiration, they may be submitted for renewal. Temporary work permits are issued to persons to enter and work in the British Virgin Islands for a single period not exceeding three months. Periodic work permits are issued to persons to enter and work in the British Virgin Islands for short periods within a one-year period.
• In general, an applicant cannot reside in the British Virgin Islands during the period during which his or her work permit application is being processed. However, if the applicant is changing employers and has worked and lived in the jurisdiction for five years or more, he or she is not required to leave while his or her work permit is being processed. Approval of work permits may be issued within six to eight weeks if all of the appropriate documentation is in order when it is submitted to the Labor Department.

Value Added Tax (VAT) in British Virgin Islands

The BVI does not levy VAT or sales tax.

Mandatory Benefits in British Virgin Islands

• 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

Accrued Benefits in British Virgin Islands

Payroll Accrual in British Virgin Islands

Payroll Accruals Additional Information

Why use Global Expansion to hire in British Virgin Islands

Establishing a branch office or subsidiary in British Virgin Islands 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 British Virgin Islands labor laws are complex.

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

Global Expansion makes it easy for you to expand into British Virgin Islands. 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 British Virgin Islands 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.