Definitive Guide to Hiring in Montserrat

Hiring in Montserrat

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

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

Labor Laws in Montserrat

Employee Probation Period

• The probationary period shall not exceed six months for employees of the rank of supervisor and above and three months for all other employees.

Annual Leave in Montserrat

• After each calendar year of continuous employment with an employer an employee shall be entitled to paid holiday leave on the following basis
  • employees with less than ten years’ service, to a minimum of two weeks’ paid holiday;
  • employees with ten years’ service and less than twenty years’ service, to a minimum of three weeks’ paid holiday; and
  • employees with twenty years’ service or above, to a minimum of four weeks paid holiday

Holidays in Montserrat

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 Montserrat:

Maternity Leave Montserrat

• Employees are entitled to 3 months of paid maternity leave
• This is 6 months in case of medical complications

Paternity Leave Montserrat

• 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 for such period as requested in the application, but in any case not exceeding two weeks with pay, to be taken
  • during the period his wife or de facto spouse is on maternity leave; or
  • not later than six months from the birth of the child

Sick Leave in Montserrat

• After not less than thirteen weeks of continuous service with an employer, an employee shall be eligible to not less than twenty-four days of paid sick leave during each year of service.

Working Hours in Montserrat

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

Overtime in Montserrat

• An employer shall pay his or her employee at the rate of at least 1½ times his or her basic rate of pay for work in excess of eight hours on any work day or in excess of forty hours in any week and double time his or her basic rate of pay where the employee works on a public holiday.
• An employer shall not employ any person in excess of twelve hours in any period of twenty-four hours.

Termination of Employment in Montserrat

• An employer may terminate the employment of an employee where two medical practitioners certify that the employee is unfit to continue in employment because of incapacity of the mind or body which has lasted for at least six months and which is likely to be permanent.
• An employer is entitled to dismiss summarily, without notice, an employee who is guilty of gross misconduct of a nature that it would be unreasonable to require the employer to continue the employment contract.
• Where an employee is guilty of an offence in breach of his or her employment contract, or of any misconduct such that the employer cannot reasonably be expected to continue to employ him or her if it is repeated, the employer may, when taking disciplinary action, warn the employee in writing that repetition of the behavior will result in summary dismissal.
• Where the employee, after being warned in accordance with subsection (3), is guilty of a similar offence or misconduct in the following six months, the employer may terminate the employee’s contract without further notice.
• An employer who dismisses an employee under subsection (4) shall provide the employee with a written statement of the reasons for the action.
• The employer shall be deemed to have waived his or her right to terminate the employment of an employee for misconduct where he or she has failed to do so within six months after having knowledge of the misconduct.
• Where, after the probationary period has expired, the employee is not performing his or her duties in a satisfactory manner, the employer may give him or her a written warning to that effect.
• Where the employee, after he or she is warned pursuant to subsection (7), does not, during the following three-month period, demonstrate that he or she is able to perform and has performed duties in a satisfactory manner, the employer may terminate the employment contract.
• An employer shall not terminate the employment of an employee for unsatisfactory performance unless the employer has given the employee written warning pursuant to subsection (7) and appropriate instructions and training where required to correct the unsatisfactory performance and the employee continues to perform his or her duties unsatisfactorily for a period of three months.

Notice Period in Montserrat

• Except in the case of summary dismissal, the minimum notice required to be given by an employer to an employee to terminate the contract of employment where the employee has been continuously employed for thirteen weeks or more shall be: -
  • not less than one week if the period of continuous employment is thirteen weeks or more but less than two years;
  • not less than two weeks if the period of continuous employment is two years or more but less than five years;
  • not less than four weeks if the period of continuous employment is five years or more but less than ten years;
  • not less than six weeks if the period of continuous employment is ten years or more but less than fifteen years;
  • not less than eight weeks if the period of continuous employment is fifteen years or more.

Severance in Montserrat

• Where an employee’s employment contract is terminated on grounds of redundancy, he or she is entitled to severance pay from his or her employer calculated as follows
  • where the employee has worked for more than one year but less than five years, he or she shall be paid two weeks’ pay for every year of completed service;
  • where the employee has worked for more than five years but less than ten years, he or she shall be paid 2½ weeks’ pay for every year of completed service;
  • where the employee has worked for more than ten years but less than fifteen years, he or she shall be paid three weeks’ pay for every year of completed service;
  • where the employee has worked for more than fifteen years, he or she shall be paid 3½ weeks’ pay for every year of completed service.

Montserrat Salary and Wages

• As of 1st April 2022 the Regulations provide that every employee in Montserrat must contribute an amount of 5% of his gross income to the MSSF.
• In addition to the amount deducted from the employee, the employer is also required to remit an amount of 6% to the MSSF on, or by the 14th day of the following month.
• Employees who have passed the Pensionable Age may still contribute to Employment Injury; i.e. – 1% of their gross income.
• Contributions shall be payable both by insured persons and by their employers, if any.
• Regulations shall provide for fixing, from time to time, the rates of contributions to be paid by such different categories of insured persons and employers as may be prescribed.
• Social Security Benefits payable shall be of the following kinds, namely
  • sickness benefit, that is to say, periodical payments to an insured person who is rendered incapable of work otherwise than as a result of employment injury;
  • maternity benefit, that is to say, a payment or periodical payments to an insured woman in the case of her confinement;
  • invalidity benefit, that is to say, a payment or periodical payments to an insured person who is rendered permanently incapable of work otherwise than as a result of employment injury;
  • survivor’s benefit, that is to say, a payment or periodical payments made in respect of an insured person who dies otherwise than as a result of employment injury;
  • funeral grant, that is to say, a payment on the death of an insured person, or the spouse of an insured person towards the costs of and incidental to burial;
  • age benefit, that is to say, a payment to an insured person who has reached 60 years of age.

Immigration  Montserrat

Montserrat issues the following visas/permits

• Tourist visa/ e-visa
• Residence Permit
• Work Permit

Tourist/ e-visa

• A Montserrat eVisa is equivalent to a conventional visa, but no paper is inserted in your passport and there is no need for you to visit a British Consulate to submit an application.
• Applications for eVisas are submitted online, verified online, and in most cases, eVisas will be approved and issued online within 24 Hours.
• When submitting an application for an eVisa, you will need to provide Passport and Credit Card information.
• Anyone with a valid passport who wishes to enter Montserrat, as a visitor or on business is eligible to apply.
• In certain cases, where an invitation letter or other supporting documents are necessary to obtain a Visa, applicants will be informed via the email address they provide in the online application form.
• Applicants for an eVisa should have a passport which would be valid for the duration of their trip abroad.

Work Permit

• The Department of Labor has responsibility to process work permits and exemptions for working on island.
• Work permits are issued in accordance with the Immigration Act (CAP 13.01) Revised 2008
• Every foreigner who wishes to work in Montserrat is required to obtain a work permit prior to taking up employment.
• They are generally granted to skilled professionals when no one in Montserrat can fill the special position.
• Generally, your employer will have to advertise your prospective job locally to make sure that no natives can take the position, that describe minimum qualifications and experience required.
• If it is determined that no local inhabitants can fill the spot, then your employer must submit the application for the work permit.
• Your employer is to provide information about your work and educational experience, and why you have been chosen to fill this job as opposed to a local.
• Work permits are approved by the Cabinet.

Mandatory Benefits in Montserrat

• 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, severance pay.
• Mandatory benefits also include social security benefits.

Payroll Accrual in Montserrat

Payroll Accruals Additional Information

Accrued Benefits in Montserrat

Why use Global Expansion to hire in Montserrat

Establishing a branch office or subsidiary in Montserrat 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 Montserrat labor laws are complex.

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

Global Expansion makes it easy for you to expand into Montserrat. 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 Montserrat 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.