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Hiring in Falkland islands
Falkland Islands, an archipelago or a chain of islands, is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. Stanley is the capital of the Falkland Islands. Agriculture, fishing and tourism are the main sectors of Falkland Island’s economy. Some of it key trading partners are the United Kingdom, France and Spain. Global PEO or Employer of Record (EOR) play a pivotal role in providing companies with services related to hiring employees, and ensuring compliance with Falkland Islands’ legal and tax regulations. Employment regulations including probation, holidays and termination are covered by the Labor Code. The Labor Code stipulates that employees are entitled to annual leave of 22 to 30 days based on years of service. Residents are taxed on worldwide income. Nonresidents are taxed only on Falkland Island-source income. Global PEO’s or Employer of Record facilitate companies by ensuring compliance with Falkland Island’s Labor Code and tax laws.
statutory labor requirements
Annual Leave
- For local candidates, annual leave entitlements are based on length of service starting at 22 days and rising to 30 days after five years.
- Overseas contractors get a generous entitlement of 30 days per year.
Public Holidays
- New Year’s (1st January)
- Good Friday (10th April)
- Queen’s Birthday (21st April)
- Liberation Day (15th June)
- Peat Cutting Day (5th October)
- Battle Day (8th December)
- Christmas Day (25st December)
- Boxing Day (26th December)
- Boxing Day Holiday (28th December)
- Christmas Holiday (29th December)
Work Hours
- The working hours for government jobs are 8 am to 12 pm, break, then 1 pm till 4:30 pm
- The working hours for private jobs are 8 am to 12 pm, break, then 1 pm till 5 pm
income tax
- Employers are required to withhold POAT (Payments on Account of Tax) from employee remuneration
- There is limited taxation of benefits-in-kind
- Resident and / or ordinarily resident for tax purposes – are assessed on worldwide income for tax purposes
- Resident – basically present in FI for a total of 183 days or more during the relevant tax
- year.
- Ordinarily resident – repeatedly resident in FI except for a temporary absence (not
- exceeding 2 complete tax years)
- Not resident and not ordinarily resident - assessed on income from within FI and/or for duties performed in FI.
- Individuals are taxed on the first £12,000 at 21% and any remainder at 26%, after taking into account allowable deductions.
|
Income Tax Rate |
|
|
Income |
Rate (%) |
|
First £12,000 |
21% |
|
Anything above |
26% |
deductible expenses
- The Personal Allowance (PA) is £15,000 for the tax year 2018.
- Residents are entitled to the full Personal Allowance (PA) and may claim a deduction for Retirement Pension Contributions (RPCs), contributions to certain pension/retirement benefit schemes, subscriptions and charitable donations.
- Nonresidents are entitled to a proportion of the PA according to the number of days present in FI during the relevant tax year and may claim a deduction for compulsory RPCs and charitable donations only.
|
Personal Deductions |
|
|
Personal Allowance |
£15,000 |
|
Residents |
|
|
Nonresidents |
|
immigration
- Under the Falkland Islands visa regime certain nationals seeking to enter the Falklands as visitors or to take up temporary residency (including for employment purposes) must first obtain a visa.
- Unlike the UK and numerous other countries, a Falklands’ visa is not an entry clearance in itself but is a form of pre-assessment to establish whether an applicant’s intentions appear legitimate and they appear to be of good character.
- Work Permit
-
- A work permit grants leave to the holder to enter, depart and reside in the Falklands during the period of its validity and to take employment with a specified employer or on one’s own account engage in any trade, business or vocation stated in the permit.
- In order to obtain a work permit the holder must prove that they have accommodation within the islands.
- Currently work permits can be issued for a maximum of four years, after which they must apply for an extension or a Permanent Residence Permit.
- Temporary Residence Permit
-
- A residence permit grants the holder to enter, depart and reside in the Falklands during the period of its validity.
- The holder of a residence permit and where applicable, any dependents included in the permit are entitled to apply for work permits if they wish to subsequently take up an employment opportunity.
- If a ‘primary’ work permit is then applied for and granted to a residence permit holder, it has the effect of revoking their residence permit as the work permit will then take precedence.
- A Temporary Residence Permit of up to 3 years can be obtained prior to arriving in the Falkland Islands, but a Work Permit will still be required before employment commences.
- A Permanent Residence Permit
-
- A permanent residence permit grants indefinite leave to the holder to enter, depart and reside in the Falklands and to take any lawful employment of pursue and lawful business, trade, profession, or vocation in the Falklands without needing a work permit.
- Where an application for a permanent residence permit is approved, any dependents included in the application of a principal applicant will also be granted a permanent residence permit in their own right.
- The annual number of permanent residence permits that may be granted is controlled by a quota system.
- The current quota is 44 persons per annum (as at 2018).
|
Type of Visa/ Permit |
Documentation |
Validity |
Eligibility |
|
Work Permit |
|
4 years maximum |
It is issued to individuals seeking employment in Falkland Islands |
|
Temporary Residence permit |
|
3 years |
|
|
Permanent Residence permit |
|
Indefinitely |
|
value added tax
- There is currently no VAT regime in the Falkland Islands
withholding tax
Dividends
- There is no withholding tax levied on dividend payments made by a Falkland Island tax resident company
Interest
- Withholding tax of 10% may be applied to annual interest payment made by a resident in the Falkland Islands to a non-resident payee.
- However, withholding tax will not apply where the payee is tax resident in a country included on a specified list of countries which are not low tax territories.
Royalties
- Withholding tax of 10% is applied to certain types of royalty payment made by a resident in the Falkland Islands to a non-resident
|
WHT |
|
|
Dividends |
No WHT |
|
Interest |
10% WHT for interest payments made by a resident to a nonresidents |
|
Royalties |
10% WHT for interest payments made by a resident to a nonresidents |
statutory benefits
- These are mandatory benefits as postulated by Law
- These include annual leave, public holidays and social security benefits
|
Statutory Benefits |
|
Annual Leave |
|
Public Holidays |
|
Social Security Benefits |
payments and invoicing
- The Falkland Islands (FI) income tax year runs 1 Jan to 31 Dec.
- There is no self-assessment; individuals are required to complete an income tax return.
- Husband and wife are taxed independently
- There is a system of withholding sums (POAT - Payments on Account of Tax) from employee remuneration by employers set out in detail in the Payments on Account of Tax (Employees Deductions) Regulations.
- Non-residents should have tax deducted at a straight 21% (POAT for Income Tax).
- They can then either accept that tax has their final liability on that remuneration or submit a return to receive an assessment.
- Credit will normally be given for foreign taxes either unilaterally or through the one Double Taxation Agreement, with the UK. Proof of foreign tax paid and confirmation it has/will not be refunded will be required.
- Resident individuals should have tax deductions made according to the monthly/weekly tax tables which take into account the PA annual deduction.
- Any further Income Tax due from the individual e.g. on self-employed profits, is collected through assessment after the end of the relevant tax year.
employee accruals
| Christmas Bonus% |
0% |
| Christmas Bonus Over Vacations % |
0% |
| Severance per Year % |
No evidence |
| Vacations % | Employees are entitled to 22 days of annual leave (6.02% of annual salary) |
| Notice % |
N/A |
| 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 6.02% |
employer accruals
Employer Accruals Additional information
| Employment Accruals | ||
| Annual Leave | For local candidates, annual leave entitlements are based on length of service starting at 22 days and rising to 30 days after five years. | This equals 6% (22/365 days) of annaul income |
| Social Security | Employers must contribute 16.75 pounds per week to the Retirement Pension Scheme | This equals 871 pounds per anum |
