MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Sameer K. Tegally, Sonia Xavier and Ashvan Luckraz, Venture Law
4.5 Employee Representations Employee representation occurs at two levels: employee representation by the employee’s repre - sentative in the event of a disciplinary hearing and employee representation at the level of trade union and collective bargaining with regard to the employ - er’s management. Representation in the Event of a Disciplinary Hearing An employee must, prior to the termination of his/her agreement, be given the opportunity to answer and explain any charge that has been levelled against him/ her. This opportunity may take the form of a disci - plinary hearing, in which case the employee may be accompanied by a representative of their trade union and/or a legal representative. The employee may also have recourse to representa - tion by a labour officer. Such labour officer is an officer designated by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations, Employment and Train - ing, whose main role is to look into labour complaints and disputes. Employee’s Representation at the Level of Trade Union in the Employer’s Management An employee’s representation at the level of trade union is a constitutional right insofar as, except with his/her own consent, he/she shall not be hindered in the enjoyment of his/her freedom of assembly and association. An employee’s representation at this level is governed by the ERA, which focuses on the right of employees to freedom of association with a view to promoting good employment relations, granting negotiating rights to employees through their union representatives and assisting employers and union representatives to bargain effectively. According to the ERA, an employer cannot interfere with the establishment, functioning or administration of a trade union of workers or promote or give assis - tance to a trade union of workers in order to place or maintain the trade union under their control. Union representatives are responsible for negotiating the rights of employees as per employment legislation and rights to participate in collective bargaining; that
proceedings). In such cases, the employer needs to provide the employee with an opportunity to answer any charge that has been levelled against the employ - ee within the statutory timeline. Moreover, a notice of termination not less than 30 days must be given to the employee. Alternatively, the employee may be paid remuneration in lieu of said notice. The employee, on the other hand, may treat the employment agreement as terminated if they have been ill-treated by the employer, in cases of non-pay - ment of remuneration under the agreement, where the employer fails to provide work and to pay remunera - tion under an agreement or if the employee is made to resign by fraud or duress – or is made to sign a letter of resignation or such document in writing. Collective redundancies are implemented in cases of economic, technological, structural or any other simi - lar reasons. The Redundancy Board (the “Board”) is the entity that deals with all cases of reduction of the workforce and closure of enterprises. Where the Board finds that the reasons for the reduction of the work - force or the closing down are unjustified, the Board shall order the employer to pay the worker severance allowance at the rate of three months’ remuneration per year of continuous service. The employee may, however, consent to be reinstated in his/her former employment with payment of remuneration from the date of termination of his/her employment to the date of his/her reinstatement. The Social Contribution and Benefits Act of 2021 has repealed the Contribution Sociale Genéralisée Regulations, which were introduced in 2020. These contributions, which are now called “social contribu - tions”, are calculated on the monthly remuneration of the employee, and self-employed people are now required to contribute in accordance with their income level instead of the flat rate that was originally appli - cable. The mandatory end-of-year bonus section in the WRA now applies exclusively to those workers who draw a monthly basic wage or salary of not more than MUR100,000.
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