Employer in Tuvalu

Tuvaluan employment law defines an employer as a person who employs an employee. An employer organisation is an organisation formed for at least two employers. The main framework is the Labour and Employment Relations Act 2017, revised in 2022, which generally covers employers, employees and workplaces, including the Crown. In public service, the Public Service Commission, or PSC, handles recruitment, promotion, personnel policy, training and compliance, while the General Administrative Order, or GAO, sets government service conditions, conduct and discipline. PSC Rules may apply instead of the Act's ordinary disciplinary and dismissal provisions where the public service has its own regime. Tuvalu's labour market is small and public administration has a strong role. In 2022, the working-age population was 7,288, the labour force was 3,136 and 2,937 people were employed. Paid workers numbered 2,847, including 2,362 formal and 485 informal workers; 90 people worked without pay. Unemployment was 199 people, or 6.3 percent, and labour-force participation was 43.0 percent. Public administration, defence and social security was the largest recorded ISIC category, at 10.6 percent of people aged 15 and over. A current government-to-private employer share is not locally reported; an earlier 2012 estimate that government employed 66 percent of paid workers is historical context only. Private employment remains relatively small and fragmented across cooperatives, retail, trade and services, while offshore employment, seafaring and fishing create additional employer relationships. For employment lasting more than three months, the employer must provide a written contract of service. The contract must include the required Schedule II information, be signed by the employer and employee, and be attested by the Secretary of Labour. The employee receives a copy. If a qualifying contract is not properly attested, it is treated as indefinite. The employer must allow the employee to understand the contract and obtain legal, union or Ministry advice before signing. A recruitment or private employment agent needs written authorisation from the Secretary of Labour, and an employee must not be charged for the agent's service. The employer pays the agreed wages and provides a wage statement for each pay cycle. Employment records must be kept for six years and produced to a Labour Inspector when requested. The employer may not make unauthorised deductions. Ordinary working time is generally limited to eight hours a day and 40 hours a week, subject to reasonable exceptions. Employees receive at least 12 hours of daily rest and 48 hours of weekly rest. A working day longer than six hours includes a one-hour unpaid meal break and a 20-minute paid tea break. A nursing employee may take two one-hour breaks each day until the child is 12 months old. Paid leave includes at least 12 days of annual leave after a completed year, with pro-rata entitlement after six months, at least five days of sick leave each year, and up to three days of compassionate leave each year. Maternity and adoption leave last 12 weeks with at least full pay, while paternity leave lasts 10 days with at least full pay and must be used within four months. The exact contract and applicable public-service rules can provide additional terms. Employers must not discriminate in recruitment, training, promotion, working conditions or termination because of origin, race, gender, pregnancy, family responsibilities, age, health, HIV/AIDS, disability, religion, political opinion, union activity or participation in a dispute. Sexual harassment is prohibited, and employers must take reasonable preventive measures. Equal remuneration applies to work of equal value. Forced labour is prohibited. Children under 15 generally may not work except in permitted light work, and hazardous work is prohibited for anyone under 18. Employers must keep the required register for child employees. The employer must provide a safe workplace with limited health risks. This includes identifying and assessing hazards, eliminating or minimising them, isolating or controlling remaining risks, providing personal protective equipment, giving information and training, supervising work, and monitoring and recording health and safety matters. The Labour and Employment Relations Act provides the operational basis for these duties. A separate comprehensive occupational health and safety law was still being finalised in the available research, so employers should follow current Ministry and inspection requirements rather than assume that the Act is the only applicable source. An indefinite contract is the default where no lawful fixed arrangement applies. For incapacity or misconduct, the employer should give a warning, reasonable assistance to improve and the required notice. Serious misconduct can justify summary dismissal. Ordinary termination requires at least one week's notice or wages in lieu. Redundancy requires no comparable redeployment opportunity, compliance with any applicable collective agreement and at least four weeks' notice. Employers may also have to pay repatriation costs for an employee brought to Tuvalu, together with the employee's spouse and children. Final wages, benefits and unused leave must be settled within 14 days after termination. Termination is not lawful when it is based on protected attributes, illness or injury absence, union activity or non-membership, a complaint or proceeding, or protected maternity or paternity leave. Employees and employers have freedom of association. An employer may not prevent, discourage or influence union membership. Collective bargaining must take place in good faith, including an exchange of relevant information, unless there is a genuine reason not to disclose it. A collective agreement must be filed with the Registrar of Industrial Organisations within 28 days; registration makes it binding and enforceable. National tripartite labour discussions involve government, the Tuvalu National Private Sector Organisation, or TNPSO, on the employer side, and the Tuvalu Seafarers Union, also known as TOSU, on the worker side. Employment disputes should first be addressed at workplace level. After an unsuccessful internal attempt, a non-frivolous dispute can be taken to the Secretary of Labour within three months of the matter becoming known. Conciliation may use information exchange, letters, email, telephone discussions or meetings. A written settlement is final and binding; unresolved disputes can proceed to court. Suspected offences can be referred to a Labour Inspector or the Attorney-General. Strikes and lockouts are restricted to disputes connected with a collective agreement and must follow the statutory process. Essential services, including shipping, air services and air-traffic control, require at least 20 days' notice; other covered action generally requires at least three days. The Minimum Wage Board makes recommendations at least every three years. It includes representatives of employees, private employers, the Public Service Commission, Finance and the responsible Ministry, and the Minister may issue a rate order. The current general minimum wage rate was not located in the reviewed official sources, so an employer should verify the latest order before setting pay. A specific fishing-crew rule requires qualified crew to receive at least US$500 per month and provides for travel, insurance, occupational safety and health, protective equipment, accommodation, meals and basic needs without treating those benefits as wage deductions. Fishing crewing agencies must be Tuvaluan nationals and authorised. Employer costs include wages, statutory leave, workplace safety measures, protective equipment and training, and sometimes repatriation. The available sources do not establish a general employer compliance fee. The Secretary of Labour, Labour Inspectors, Registrar, PSC and other responsible bodies provide the relevant contract, inspection, registration, recruitment, conciliation and public-service functions.