Employment
Labour Standards Act with Labour Tribunal enforcement
The Labour Standards Act sets minimum terms of employment, including hours, holidays and notice, and the Protection of Employment Act governs redundancy and severance. Unfair dismissal claims and other statutory disputes are heard by the Labour Tribunal rather than the ordinary courts, which keeps costs down but imposes short time limits. Trade union rights are protected by the Industrial Relations Act.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National labour standards enforced by the Labour Commissioner and Tribunal
- Deadline — Redundancy: notice and severance calculated on completed years of service
- Deadline — Complaint to the Labour Commissioner: promptly after dismissal, generally within three months
- Deadline — Social security contributions: remitted monthly by the employer
Governing law
- Labour Standards Act
- Protection of Employment Act
- Industrial Relations Act
- Social Security Act
In practice
Severance under the Protection of Employment Act is a statutory entitlement on genuine redundancy and is separate from any damages for wrongful dismissal, so a dismissed employee may need to plead both. The Labour Commissioner attempts conciliation before a matter reaches the Tribunal, and in practice most claims settle at that stage.