MALDIVES Law and Practice Contributed by: Hassan Maaz Shareef, Aminath Amathulla, Aishath Shifala, Mohamed Azmee, Nazahath Ahmed, Maaisha Mohamed Musthafa, Aifa Shareef and Noorul Hudha Ahmed, Premier Chambers LLP
employer is granted discretion to pay the employee’s salary in lieu of the required notice. Based on the employment duration, the minimum notice period or payment in lieu of notice period is as follows. • Less than one year: two weeks. • Between one year and five years: one month. • More than five years: two months. Collective Redundancies In the Maldives, the laws and regulations do not dif - ferentiate between collective and individual redundan - cies. The same procedure laid down in the relevant laws and regulations needs to be followed for both. The Maldives High Court has set a precedent on the matter, stating that as there are no laws or regulations that provide that redundancy procedures are differ - ent for individual and collective redundancies, unless limited by a law or by the employment agreement, the procedures laid out in the laws and regulations need to be fulfilled regardless of the number of persons being affected by the redundancy. Before terminating any employees for redundancy, the employer must notify the employees that there may be circumstances in which one or more employees may have to be made redundant or that the decision to make the employees redundant has already been made. This notification will include the policy relating to the determination of which employees will be dis - missed. Before dismissing any employees for redun - dancy, the employer must take measures to avoid termination or minimise the number of employees affected, as far as circumstances allow. The employer must establish a policy outlining the cri - teria for determining which employees will be made redundant and this policy must be communicated to employees. This policy, at the very least, has to con - sider: • the service duration of the employee; • the employee’s skills, education and experience required for the job;
• the employee’s attendance and disciplinary records; and • the criteria for the fulfilment of job duties or staff appraisal. The employees who will be made redundant must be determined according to the policy and in good faith and in a fair manner. 4.5 Employee Representations There is no law in the Maldives that states it is manda - tory for employees to be represented in employment- related matters. However, the Industrial Relations Act provides that employees can register trade unions and that they have the right to participate in or refrain from participating in the activities of the trade unions, including the implementation of collective bargaining or strikes through trade unions. Trade unions have the right to commence collective bargaining with employers and initiation will not be aimed at securing rights or gaining advantage for a particular individual in the union. Unions are generally restricted from utilising unions in ways that are not in the interests of members or where members have conflicting interests. Employers must commence collective bargaining negotiations if the union making the request repre - sents a majority of the employer’s employees. The Employment Act only mandates that employees be informed by the employer in the event of redun - dancy. The Occupational Safety and Health Act mandates that the employer inform employees in the following circumstances: • any health and safety policy amendments; and • regularly updating employees on safety measures related to machinery, equipment, plants and other instruments used in the workplace. There are no circumstances in which employers are mandated to consult employees.
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