Employment
Public-sector dominated employment with limited private-sector statute
Most formal employment is with government or the phosphate and processing operations. Public service employment is regulated by statute, while private-sector terms rest largely on contract.
Key rules
- Deadline — Public service grievances follow the Public Service Act procedures
- Deadline — Employment and services tax is withheld and remitted monthly
Governing law
- Public Service Act 1998
- Employment Services Tax Act 2014
- Workers Compensation Act 1956
- Nauru Superannuation Scheme provisions
In practice
Nauru has no comprehensive private-sector employment relations statute comparable to Kiribati's 2015 Code or Samoa's 2013 Act, so the position resembles Tonga's: the contract and the general law do most of the work, and there is no broad statutory unjustified-dismissal jurisdiction. Because government and government-linked entities are the dominant employers, the Public Service Act and its disciplinary and grievance machinery govern most of the workforce in practice. Employment of foreign workers, historically substantial in the phosphate and regional processing operations, is regulated through immigration permits rather than labour legislation.