Defaults for All Employees
Defaults for All Expectant Female Employees
Vacation Leave Policies
An employee begins to accumulate leave once he has worked for 110 days. Vacation leave earned in any given year of employment is normally granted in the following year of employment, unless there is an agreement with the employer that allows for leave to be taken in the year it is earned. In other words, leave earned in year one may be taken in year two and leave earned in year two may be taken in year three, and so on.
In businesses that don't allow workers to carry over vacation leave from one year to the next, they ought properly to grant the worker both the first year's entitlement and the second year's as well in year two. If this is not done, the result will normally be that vacation leave will always be taken in arrears and consequently, when the employment contract is terminated, the worker will always be carrying a balance. It is very important for an employee to know whether he's taking leave that was earned in the current year as opposed to the preceding year.
It's also very important for business owners to know the accurate amount of vacation leave that their workers are entitled to at any given time. Not only does this help with proper strategic planning, but it also minimizes the risk of unexpected costs at a later date.
If an employment contract (whether in writing or not) is terminated before an employee has taken all of his vacation leave, the employer is obliged to pay the employee an amount equal to the salary that would have been paid in respect of that period. This is irrespective of who terminates the contract.
The minimum amount of vacation leave that an employer must grant is two weeks for each year worked by an employee with fewer than 10 years' service and three weeks for each year worked by an employee with more than 10 years' service. For purposes of calculating vacation leave, a worker is treated as having worked for a full year if he has worked for more than 220 days. These are minimums only and can be increased by agreement between the employer and employee. Although vacation leave is a statutory right, it should generally be exercised only with the approval of the employer. This approval should not be unreasonably withheld.
If an employer breaches the Holidays with Pay Act, he may be fined up to a maximum of $250,000 or up to three months in prison.
Sick Leave Policies
- Any worker, other than a casual worker, who becomes ill during the first twelve months of his employment shall, if he has worked for his employer on not less than 110 days be entitled to be granted, during those twelve months, sick leave with pay of a duration of 1 day for every 22 days on which he so worked.
- Any worker, other than a casual worker, who becomes ill after the first twelve months of his employment shall be entitled to be granted, in each period of twelve months after the first, sick leave with pay of a duration of 2 normal working weeks.
- Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) a worker shall not be entitled to be granted sick leave with pay under this Order for any period of illness-
- (a) in respect of which he is entitled to be paid sick benefit or employment injury benefit under the National Insurance Act or compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Act; or
- in respect of which he fails to satisfy any condition relating to the granting of sick leave with pay contained in an agreement of kind described in sub-paragraph
- He fails to notify his employer of his illness during the first working day after its occurrence and, if the period exceeds three days, to furnish his employer with a certificate from a registered medical practitioner stating that he is ill and specifying the period during which he will, by reason of such illness, be unable to perform his duties.
Maternity Leave
The Jamaican Maternity Leave Act provides female employees with the right to take maternity leave if they have been working with the same you for at least a year.
According to Section 3, employers must grant employees a period of 12 weeks’ maternity leave, with an additional 14 weeks upon receipt of a certificate from a medical practitioner. During maternity leave, employers must pay female employees maternity pay for a period of eight weeks. Section 4 provides female employees with the right to return to work following maternity leave on the same terms and conditions as before.