Employer in Vanuatu

A formal employer in Vanuatu can be a company, business house, undertaking or another organisation that engages employees. Self-employed work does not by itself create an employer-employee relationship. Self-employed people may voluntarily access the Vanuatu National Provident Fund, known as VNPF, but that arrangement is different from employing staff. The Department of Labour and Employment Services, or DOLES, provides labour-market information, forms, employment services, industrial-relations support and occupational-health-and-safety guidance. The Commissioner of Labour and labour officers can inspect workplaces, investigate complaints, require information and enforce labour rules. DOLES may also require annual or statistical returns. A 2025 return requested information such as the business, opening date, workforce, nationality, position, employment status, wages and visa category. Employment Services Vanuatu helps connect employers and Ni-Vanuatu jobseekers. The Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Vanuatu Council of Trade Unions provide functional employer and worker representation, while the Tripartite Labour Advisory Council supports consultation among government, employers and workers. An employment contract may be oral or written. A written contract is required for a fixed term exceeding six months or for work performed away from the employee's home. It should state the parties, work, pay and payment method and, where relevant, accommodation, rations, transport and repatriation. A contract may last up to three years. An open-ended contract can include up to three months of probation; during that period either party may end the relationship without notice, and the probation period cannot be extended or renewed. The employer has to provide the contracted work, except in an emergency, or pay the employee as for a working day. When a business changes ownership as a going concern, existing contracts continue. A different transfer of a contract requires the employee's consent. The current minimum wage referred to in judicial material is VT300 per hour. The official DOLES gazette rate was not clearly confirmed in the available research, so an employer should verify the current official rate before preparing payroll. Wages are due no later than eight days after the end of the payment period. Employee wages have priority over supplier claims. Deductions are allowed only on the statutory basis. Normal working time is limited to 44 hours over six days per week and eight hours per day, excluding breaks. Employees receive at least 24 hours of weekly rest. Emergency work and continuous shifts can allow an average of up to 56 hours per week under the applicable rules. An employer may recover lost working time for up to 30 days in a year by adding no more than one hour per day, with notice to a labour officer. Overtime above the weekly limit is paid at 125% for the first four hours and 150% thereafter. Sunday and public-holiday work is paid at 150%, while night work from 20:00 to 04:00 above the weekly limit is paid at 175%. Exceptions can apply to domestic service, management, confidential roles and family-only undertakings. After 12 months of continuous employment, annual leave accrues at 1.25 working days per month during years one to six and 1.75 working days per month during years seven to nineteen, followed by the statutory scale in section 29. The employer sets the leave period while considering the employee's preference where practicable. Annual leave can be split into no more than two periods by agreement. After more than three months of continuous employment, an employee receives 21 paid working days of sick leave per year. The employee should report sickness as soon as possible and provide a medical certificate when sickness lasts more than two days in Port Vila or Luganville, or more than four days elsewhere. Maternity leave lasts 12 weeks at 66% of pay, with six weeks before and six weeks after childbirth. An employer may not end employment because of pregnancy or a pregnancy-related illness. Women and men receive equal pay for equal work. No statutory paternity leave was directly established in the available research. Employment of children under 12 is prohibited, and special rules apply to young people aged 12 to 14, 14 to 15 and under 18. Employers should keep the Young Persons Register where required. Forced labour, child labour and discrimination are prohibited standards, supported by Vanuatu's ratification of ILO Conventions C087, C098, C100, C111, C138 and C182. For a non-citizen, the employer applies for a labour work permit. Employment Services Vanuatu checks whether a Ni-Vanuatu worker is available and whether localisation requirements are met. The process may require a fee, photographs, qualifications, a written contract, business or VFSC or VFIPA evidence, a job advertisement, a job description and a local counterpart or training plan. From 1 July 2025, a temporary work permit for up to four months costs VT60,000, while an exemption for up to one month costs VT30,000. The employer also coordinates the required employment visa through MIDAS and the relevant immigration process. An employment visa for more than two months requires sponsorship, is valid for 12 months and costs VT257,500; a short-term employment visa for one to four months costs VT51,500. A permit or visa authorises only the approved work. An employer should register the business with VNPF within seven days of starting operations and register an employee within 14 days of hiring. In 2026, the VNPF contribution rate is 12%, divided equally into 6% paid by the employer and 6% by the employee, for covered people aged 14 to 55 with monthly earnings of at least VT3,000. Expatriate employees are included unless an approved alternative overseas superannuation arrangement or diplomatic-mission exception applies. Contributions are due by the end of the following month, and late payment attracts a surcharge of 5% per month. Changes to closure, location, headcount or principal activity should be reported through the VNPF process. The VNPF Employer Portal supports schedules and payments. The Health and Safety at Work Act applies broadly to businesses. Employers are responsible for safe working conditions, safe equipment and work systems, sanitation, drinking water, first aid, medical aid and safe transport, without charging employees for these protections. Dangerous conditions should be corrected promptly. A workplace accident or work-related illness should be reported promptly to a labour officer. The Health and Safety Unit can inspect, provide guidance and issue notices. Workmen's compensation insurance is compulsory. Compensation for death or total disability can reach three times annual wages, subject to a maximum of VT8,640,000. These duties have particular practical weight in construction, tourism and hospitality, transport, agriculture and remote or island workplaces exposed to cyclones or earthquakes. Vanuatu has no directly evidenced national statutory works-council equivalent. Registered trade unions, the Vanuatu Council of Trade Unions, the DOLES Industrial Relations Unit and the Tripartite Labour Advisory Council provide functional alternatives. An employer may not exclude or force union membership. A registered union representing less than half of the workforce can request reasonable meeting and operating space where practicable, and reasonable time off for training can be agreed. Industrial-relations support can progress from mediation to conciliation and arbitration. An employee can submit a complaint form to DOLES. DOLES registers the complaint, and a labour officer may summon the parties and arrange a meeting. The Industrial Relations guidance indicates about seven days for conciliation or mediation in the ordinary process. If the matter remains unresolved, the parties may use the Employment Tribunal, the Public Solicitor, a private lawyer or the conciliation and arbitration process under the Trade Disputes Act. Serious misconduct can justify dismissal without notice or notice pay, but the employee should receive an adequate opportunity to answer. A good-faith complaint or participation in proceedings cannot lawfully be used as the reason for dismissal or retaliation. Redundancy, restructuring and downturn are treated by the courts as termination under Part 10 rather than as a separate proven redundancy scheme. Notice and severance therefore matter. For an open-ended contract of less than three years, notice follows the pay interval, with at least 14 days before the end of a month when the pay interval is 14 days or longer. After three years, at least three months' notice applies. Pay in lieu of notice is possible. After at least 12 months of continuous employment, severance is one month's pay for each completed 12-month period, subject to statutory exceptions including serious misconduct and some employees recruited outside Vanuatu who are not ordinarily resident there. A going-concern transfer preserves employment contracts. Changes in business operations should also be reported to VNPF, and a non-citizen who changes employer or occupation may need a new permit process. Employers affected by disasters can use DOLES and VCCI guidance; the December 2024 Port Vila earthquake prompted a business survey and post-earthquake employer guidance. The National Employment Policy 2025-2030 focuses on decent work, skills, safety, inclusion, labour mobility and resilience. Ongoing employer costs can include wages, overtime, leave, maternity pay, the 6% employer VNPF contribution, safety and first-aid measures, medical support, insurance and work-permit or visa fees. Formal access is available through DOLES or the nearest labour office, the VNPF Employer Portal, MIDAS and VCCI services. The exact process depends on the workforce, industry, location, contract, citizenship and operational risks.