Labor law in Vanuatu

The Department of Labour and Employment Services (DOLES) handles labour-law enforcement, inspections, wages, occupational health and safety and industrial relations. The Commissioner of Labour and Labour Officers receive complaints, investigate workplace issues and assist with conciliation. The Trade Dispute Tribunal determines formal employment disputes, while the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal handle court claims, appeals and some dismissal disputes. Public-sector employment can also be subject to rules administered by the Public Service Commission and Government Remuneration Tribunal. An employment contract may be oral or written. A written contract is required for a fixed-term arrangement lasting more than six months and for work performed outside the employee's ordinary residence. Such a contract should state the parties, duties, pay and payment method and, where relevant, housing, rations, transport and repatriation. A contract may last no more than three years. Probation may last three months, cannot be extended or renewed, and either party may end it without notice during that period. Employers must pay wages no later than eight days after the end of the relevant pay period. Waged, hourly and daily workers are generally paid every 15 days, while salaried workers are usually paid monthly. The current minimum wage is 300 VT per hour. The statutory monthly equivalent is 52,800 VT, calculated using 22 working days of eight hours, but Vanuatu does not have a single general statutory monthly wage. Exceptions can apply to groups such as seasonal copra cutters, students and children. Employers may make deductions only when the law or the worker authorizes them, and some deductions are capped at one third of wages. A wage claim generally has a three-year limitation period from the end of the relevant pay period. Wage claims take priority over supplier claims in the circumstances provided by law. The Vanuatu National Provident Fund (VNPF) provides compulsory employment-related retirement savings. Coverage generally applies from age 14 until age 55. The current contribution rate from January 2026 is 12% of remuneration, divided equally between employee and employer at 6% each. An employer must register within seven days after starting a business, and an employee must be registered within 14 days after employment begins. Contributions are due by the end of the following month. Late payment attracts a surcharge of 5% per month. Older VNPF pages may still show the former 8% rate, so the latest official VNPF information governs the current rate. Normal working time is limited to 44 hours per week and six days per week, with no more than eight hours per day excluding meal and tea breaks. After more than six consecutive hours, the worker receives a one-hour meal break and a 20-minute tea break, or two 10-minute tea breaks. Workers generally receive 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest, normally on Sunday. Sunday and public-holiday work is generally voluntary and requires equivalent time off when performed. Overtime pay is at least 125% for the first four overtime hours and at least 150% afterwards. Work on Sundays and public holidays attracts at least 150% pay. Annual leave with full pay accrues at 1.25 working days per month during years one to six, 1.75 days per month during years seven to 19, three days per month from year 20, four days per month from year 25 and six days per month from year 30. Agricultural undertakings may follow a different accrual rule. Leave is normally taken in one period or in no more than two parts. Leave pay must be at least the worker's average remuneration during the previous 12 months. If employment ends before the full entitlement accrues, the allowance is calculated proportionately. After more than three months of continuous employment, a worker may receive 21 working days of sick leave with full pay per year. The worker should notify the employer as soon as possible. A medical certificate is required when illness lasts more than two days in Port Vila or Luganville, and more than four days elsewhere. The employer may require a second medical examination at the employer's cost. Maternity leave covers six weeks before and six weeks after confinement, for a total of 12 weeks, with pay at 66% of the usual wage or salary. A medical certificate is required when the expected confinement falls within six weeks. Restrictions apply to night work by women, subject to statutory exceptions, and sex discrimination and unequal pay for like work are prohibited. Forced or compulsory labour is prohibited. Employers must provide safe working conditions, address dangerous conditions, notify the responsible authorities about accidents and work-related illness, and provide first aid and medical facilities as required. The Health and Safety Unit within DOLES supports enforcement under the Health and Safety Act. Industrial work and work on ships are generally prohibited for children under 15. Night work by people under 18 in industrial undertakings is restricted, and work by someone over 16 may require the written consent of a Labour Officer under the applicable rules. Workers may form and register trade unions under the Trade Unions Act. Registration, union rules, returns and union rights are regulated by that Act, and the registration fee is 500 VT. Collective bargaining and union grievance procedures provide channels for workplace representation. Dismissal protection can apply when a worker joins or participates in a union, acts as an employee representative, makes a good-faith complaint or takes part in proceedings. The Trade Disputes Act covers individual and collective disputes. A worker may seek assistance from a Labour Officer or the Commissioner of Labour, attempt settlement or conciliation and obtain a Memorandum of Conciliation. Collective disputes may proceed through a conciliator and then to an arbitration board and award. Strike notices generally require 30 days, and the Minister may require industrial action to stop or be deferred for up to 60 days. Essential-services orders may impose additional limits. An application to the Trade Dispute Tribunal uses the prescribed form and may involve registration, scheduling, payment of a fee, a conference or trial and a decision. The official process target is approximately three months, although actual timing can vary. Court proceedings may concern contractual or statutory claims, unjustified dismissal or public-service judicial review and appeals. There is no direct equivalent of a German labour court; DOLES conciliation, the Trade Dispute Tribunal and the ordinary courts perform the relevant functions. Tribunal fees and court filing costs depend on the procedure, and legal advice is particularly useful where public-service or other statutory rules apply. A fixed-term contract ends at the agreed date, and a contract for piece work ends when the work is completed. An indefinite contract requires notice. After at least three years of continuous employment, the minimum notice is three months. In other cases, where the pay interval is at least 14 days, notice is at least 14 days before the end of the month; where the pay interval is shorter, the notice period is at least that interval. Pay in lieu of notice may be allowed. The worker must receive reasonable time off to seek another job. Serious misconduct can justify dismissal without notice or notice pay, but the worker must have an adequate opportunity to answer the allegation. Failure to provide that opportunity can make the dismissal unjustified. A worker may end the contract immediately because of ill-treatment or a serious breach and may claim notice remuneration. Severance generally requires at least 12 months of continuous employment. It may arise after employer termination, retirement at age 55 or older, employer retirement, or medically certified illness or injury. A worker who resigns in good faith may qualify after at least six years. The basic allowance is generally one month's wage for each year of continuous employment, including a proportional amount for a fraction of a year. Exceptions include a worker recruited outside Vanuatu who is not ordinarily resident there and a worker dismissed for serious misconduct. For unjustified termination, a court may award up to six times the basic severance amount. Annual leave, notice pay, VNPF contributions and repatriation must be checked separately. Repatriation can arise where the worker's ordinary residence is more than 50 kilometres from the employment place and the employer or agent arranged transport to that place. Labour-law rules apply nationally. Port Vila, Luganville and other locations mainly differ in the time allowed before a medical certificate is required for sick leave. Remote-island access can affect practical access to DOLES, hearings and medical services. Seasonal work, private employment and the division between private and public service can therefore change the practical pathway, even though the national statutory framework remains the same. Work permits, immigration, recruitment pathways, taxation and benefits outside the employment relationship belong to other legal areas unless they are needed to explain an employment-law consequence.