Employment in Vanuatu

Vanuatu's labour market includes company jobs, public service, agricultural and service work, casual work and overseas labour mobility. The 2025 Labour Force Survey recorded 211,922 working-age people, a labour-force participation rate of 49.8% and unemployment of 4.5%. Informal employment accounted for 58.5% of employment, while 60.3% of people were involved in subsistence production. Formal paid employment is therefore not the only way people work, and informal work may not provide the same records or benefit coverage. The Department of Labour and Employment Services, commonly called DOLES, provides public employment services through Employment Service Vanuatu and its Employment Services Unit. The free Leba Konect service allows workers to register, review vacancies and receive contract guidance. It covers agricultural, craft, service, professional, part-time, casual and civil-service opportunities. Offices operate in Port Vila, Luganville, Lakatoro and Lenakel. The service does not guarantee placement. A dependent employment relationship can use an oral or written contract. A written contract is required for a fixed term longer than six months or when the worker lives away from the place of ordinary residence. The contract should identify the parties, nature of the work, remuneration and payment method, and any housing, food, transport or repatriation arrangements. A fixed-term contract can last up to four years. A probationary period for open-ended employment lasts three months; either side can end it without notice during that period, and the employment becomes permanent when the period ends unless it has lawfully ended. Pay must be made in legal tender within eight days after the end of the pay period. Deductions require a legal or approved basis. The latest official judicial confirmation identified for the minimum wage is VT 300 per hour, equivalent to VT 52,800 per month using 22 days and eight hours per day. Older Department of Labour and VCCI material still shows VT 220 per hour, so the current Gazette or the responsible labour office should be checked before relying on the rate. The Vanuatu National Provident Fund, or VNPF, generally covers workers aged 14 to 55 whose remuneration reaches at least VT 3,000 per month. A VNPF press release states that the total contribution became 12% from 1 January 2026, divided equally between worker and employer, while an employer page still shows 8%; payroll records should be checked directly with VNPF because the published sources conflict. Normal working time is up to 44 hours per week, eight hours per day and six days per week. A worker who works more than six consecutive hours receives a one-hour meal break and two ten-minute tea breaks. Weekly rest is 24 hours. Overtime is paid at 1.25 times the normal rate for the first four weekly excess hours, 1.5 times after that, and 1.5 times for Sunday or public-holiday work. Sunday and public-holiday work is generally voluntary or approved according to the sector. Annual leave starts at 1.25 working days per month during years one to six, giving 15 days per year. It rises to 1.75 days per month during years seven to nineteen, giving 21 days per year, and increases after 20, 25 and 30 years of service, subject to the agricultural exception. Sick leave can provide 21 working days at full pay after more than three continuous months of service. The worker should notify the employer as soon as possible and normally needs a medical certificate after more than two days of absence in Port Vila or Luganville, or more than four days elsewhere. Maternity leave lasts 12 weeks, with 66% pay, normally divided into up to six weeks before and six weeks after confinement. Ni-Vanuatu citizens can use domestic employment and overseas programmes. The overseas pathway may involve Employment Service Vanuatu, the Work Ready Pool, the In-country Recruitment Database, licensed agents or direct recruiters. Recognised programmes include New Zealand's Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme and Australia's PALM programme. Recruitment agents or employers must not demand payments or gifts to obtain a place; suspected recruitment-fee demands can be reported to the Employment Services Unit. Return support can include skills recognition, financial literacy and enterprise or other reintegration pathways. A non-citizen generally needs employer sponsorship, a DOLES work permit and an Immigration Employment Visa. The approval is tied to the named employer and occupation, and changing either normally requires new approval. A visa holder cannot work outside the approved activity. The employer bears the foreign-worker costs. From 1 July 2025, the researched fee schedule lists VT 30,000 for employment of up to one month, VT 60,000 for one to four months, and VT 200,000 for a long-term work permit consisting of VT 20,000 plus VT 180,000 tax. The long-term permit lasts one year, can be renewed yearly and has a four-year maximum. The Employment Visa is listed at VT 257,500 for 12 months and the Short-Term Employment Visa at VT 51,500 for one to four months. No current processing-time guarantee is evidenced. Employment ends when a fixed term or piecework period ends, or through resignation or termination. For indefinite employment, three months' service or more generally requires three months' notice. With shorter service, the notice follows the pay interval: at least 14 days requires notice before the end of the month, while a shorter interval follows that interval. Pay in lieu may be used. Workers should receive reasonable paid time during notice to seek other work. Serious misconduct can justify ending employment without notice after the worker has had an adequate chance to respond. Severance may apply after at least 12 months when the employer terminates employment, when the worker retires at 55, or in specified illness or injury situations. The general amount is one month's remuneration per completed year plus a proportional amount for completed months, subject to exclusions such as serious misconduct and certain foreign workers recruited outside Vanuatu who are not ordinarily resident. A court can award up to six times the severance for unjustified termination. Repatriation may apply where the worker lived more than 50 kilometres away and the employer or agent brought the worker to the job; the claim or use period is six months. A worker can take a labour complaint to a DOLES labour officer for settlement or conciliation. If it remains unresolved, the Commissioner of Labour normally refers it to the Trade Dispute Tribunal after seven days. The Tribunal fee is VT 10,000 for a claim and VT 5,000 for a counterclaim; its target decision time is three months, lawyers are barred from appearing, and a final decision can be enforced through the court. The researched material does not evidence a separate direct worker-filing path outside the Commissioner, Minister or court referral process.