Références
The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code [LC], Act No. 14 of 1975 (Cap. 27)
Date:
17 Aug 1970;
voir le site internet
»
(voir dans NATLEX
»)
Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code (Amendment) Act [LCA], 1998<br/>Act No. 16 of 1998
Date:
20 Aug 1970;
voir le site internet
»
Champ d'application
Taille des entreprises exclues (≤): aucune
Catégories de travailleurs exclues: fonctionnaires, police, armée, employés de l'ONU, diplomates
See sec. A5 LC "Interpretation": the term employee does not include established employees of the Government.
Sec. A6 Employers and employees affected:
Employers and employees affected.
A6. (2) To the extent that provisions of this Code apply to employees, they shall apply to all employees of employers operating or doing business in Antigua and Barbuda, including the non-established employees of the Government; but they shall not apply to-
(a) established employees of the Government;
(b) persons in the naval, military, or air forces of the Government;
(c) the Police Force;
(d) persons holding the status of diplomatic agents; or
(e) persons employed by the United Nations or its specialised agencies.
Notes / Remarques
There have been several amendments to Labour Code in 2007, 2008 and 2011.
However, since these do not relate to termination of employment, they have not been not listed above under reference. Those amendments are available in NATLEX.
CDD reglementés: Non
Motifs autorisés de recours au CDD: aucune limitation
No provision on FTC in the legislation reviewed.
Nombre maximum de CDD successifs: aucune limitation
No provision limiting the use of FTC in the legislation reviewed.
Durée cumulée maximum de CDD successifs: aucune limitation
No provision limiting the use of FTC in the legislation reviewed.
Durée maximale de la période d'essai (en mois): 3 mois
Sec. C8 LC: The probation period may not exceed 3 months, unless there is provision for a greater period in a collective agreement.
During his probation period, an employee's employment may be terminated without any reason.
Obligation d'informer le travailleur des raisons du licenciement: Oui
Motifs autorisés (licenciement justifié):
Motifs prohibés: race, couleur, sexe, religion, opinion politique, âge, affiliation et activités syndicales
The LC does not expressly provide a list of prohibited grounds for dismissal.
However, sec. C4(1) LC prohibits discrimination with respect to hire, tenure, wages, hours, or any other condition of work on the grounds of race, colour, creed, sex, age or political beliefs.
On trade union membership or activities, see sec. K(3) and K(4) LC.
Travailleurs bénéficiant d'une protection particulière:
No provision found in the legislation reviewed.
Forme de la notification du licenciement au travailleur: aucune forme particulière requise
The LC does not specify whether the employer's notice of termination shall be written or not (see. sec. C9 LC).
The employer is however required to furnish a written statement indicating the reasons for dismissal within seven days of termination or notice thereof (see sec. C10 LC as amended by sec. 8 LCA).
Délai de préavis:
See sec. C9(3) LC.
- The period of said advance notice shall be at least equivalent to the interval of time between the affected employee's paydays. It shall not exceed 30 days unless a longer notice period is stipulated in an employment contract.
- With respect to an employee serving a probation period, an employer must give at least 24 hours advance notice of his intention to terminate that person's employment.
Indemnité compensatrice de préavis: Oui
See sec. C9(4) LC.
Notification à l'administration publique: Non
Notification aux représentants des travailleurs: Non
Autorisation de l'administration publique ou d'un organe judiciaire: Non
Accord des représentants des travailleurs: Non
Définition du licenciement collectif (nombre d'employés concernés) No number specified in the LC.
The LC only provides for a definition of redundancy without specifying the number of employees concerned.
See sec. C3 LC, as amended by sec. 7 LCA:
"'redundancy' means a situation in which by virtue of lack of customers orders, retrenchment, the installation of labour saving machinery, an employer's going out of business, a force majeure, or any other reason, work which a person was last employed to perform has ceased or substantially diminished".
Note that there are no additional requirements (such as notification or consultation) applicable to redundancy.
Notification à l'administration publique No
Notification aux syndicats (représentants des travailleurs) No
Notification aux représentants des travailleurs: No
Accord des syndicats (représentants des travailleurs) No
Accord des représentants des travailleurs No
Règles de priorité pour l'ordre des des licenciements collectifs (situation sociale, âge, ancienneté) No
Obligation de l'employeur d'examiner des solutions alternatives au licenciement (transferts, formation...) No
Règles de priorité de réembauche No
Notes / Remarques
The LC does not foresee any specific legal regime applicable to collective dismissal.
:
No severance pay upon dismissal for reasons other than redundancy (sec. C40 LC)
: 0 mois
: 0 mois
: 0 mois
: 0 mois
: 0 mois
: 0 mois
: 0 mois
: 0 mois
:
See sec. C40 and 41 LC: provided that an employee has served at least one year with his or her present and predecessor employers, he or she will be entitled redundancy pay at a rate of at least one day's pay, at the employee's latest basic wage, for each month or major fraction thereof of his term of employment with his employer and any predecessor employer.
: 0 jour(s)
: 0 jour(s)
: 12 jour(s)
: 24 jour(s)
: 48 jour(s)
: 60 jour(s)
: 120 jour(s)
: 240 jour(s)
travailleurs miniers: Oui
See sec. B12 LC, as amended by sec. 6 of LCA: In an unfair dismissal or suspension without pay matter, a decisional officer may order the payment of a sum of money equal to loss of wages sustained and, in addition thereto he may also order the re-instatement or restoration of the person dismissed or suspended, or the payment of a sum of money in lieu of such reinstatement"
directeurs /cadres dirigeants: Oui
See sec. B12 LC as amended by sec. 6 LCA.
police: Oui
Complaints of unfair dismissals shall be first brought to the Labour Commissioner who shall seek to settle the matter by voluntary adjustment or settlement within 10 days. Conciliation or mediation may be used for those purposes (see sec. C60, C61 together with sec. B5 LC).
Failing to achieve voluntary adjustment or settlement, he shall transmit the matter to the Minister in charge of Labour who shall also himself attempt to achieve voluntary adjustment or settlement of the matter by taking whatever steps he deems appropriate.(sec. C62 together with sec. B6 LC) If these attempts do not yield any results, the Minister shall take a number of steps available to him (sec. B6(2) LC) including referral of the matter to a Hearing officer (sec. C63 LC).
The Hearing Officer is competent to hear complaints of unfair dismissal (upon referral by the Minister) and impose appropriate remedies (damages or reinstatement in addition to the payment of loss wages) (see. sec. B12, and C63 LC).
It should be noted that the Industrial Relations Court has jurisdiction over trade disputes (collective disputes) and does not generally have jurisdiction over individual disputes such as disputes concerning dismissal.
However, according to sec. 10 ICA provides that in addition to its jurisdiction, in any dispute concerning the dismissal of an employee, if in the opinion of the Court, an employee has been dismissed in circumstances that are harsh and oppressive or not in accordance with the principles of good industrial relations practice, it may order the re-employment or re-instatement of the employee and/or the payment of compensation or damages, or the payment of exemplary damages in lieu of such re-employment or re-instatement.
Règlement des litiges individuels par arbitrage: Non
Dismissals complaints do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Arbitration Tribunal which is only competent to hear and determine any major trade dispute (sec. B8 LC). [A major dispute is a dispute which has led to an interruption of work which is continuing; or if there is no present interruption of work, may lead to an interruption of work: sec. K13 LC)
Définition du licenciement collectif (nombre d'employés concernés): 46
Statistics for 2007 (% of termination, suspension, redundancy, lay-off disputes), from the Labour Department of Antigua and Barbuda.