BAHAMAS Law and Practice Contributed by: Judith Whitehead KC, Michaela Sumner-Budhi, Sean McWeeney Jr., Charisma Romer-Cartwright and Hubert Edwards, GrahamThompson
4.4 Termination of Employment Contracts Contracts of employment may be terminated by either party upon giving the other party reasonable notice of the termination, by the employer without notice as detailed previously or by the employer “for cause” when an employee commits a fundamental breach of the contract such that the nature of the breach is repugnant to the interests of the employer. An employment contract may also be terminated on the grounds of redundancy. An employee’s position is lawfully made redundant in the following circum - stances: • where the employer has ceased or intends to cease to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed; • where the employer has ceased or intends to cease to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed in the place where the employee was employed; and • where the requirements of the business for employ - ees to carry out work of a particular kind, whether in the same place where they were employed or at all, have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish. Except where an employee is terminated for cause, the employer is required to either give notice or pay in lieu of notice (see 4.2 Characteristics of Employ- ment Contracts ). Before the employer can lawfully terminate an employ - ee or employees on the grounds of redundancy, the employer must: • inform the relevant trade union, if applicable, or the employees’ representative of the grounds for the redundancy and provide a written statement con - taining the reasons for the dismissal, the number and category of persons likely to be affected, and the period over which such dismissals are likely to be carried out; • consult with the trade union, if applicable, or the employees’ representative on the prescribed mat - ters concerning the dismissal and the particulars of the grounds for the redundancy; and
Where notice is not properly given or is insufficient, an employee is entitled to claim damages for wrong - ful dismissal. Where the employment contract confers a greater benefit on the employee regarding the duration of the notice period or the value of the pay in lieu of notice, then such provisions and/or benefits will apply. Where no notice period is provided for under the contract of employment, the calculation set out in the Employ - ment Act will apply. The Employment Act also mandates that employees have a right not to be unfairly dismissed. Whilst the question of whether the dismissal of an employee was fair or unfair is to be determined in accordance with the substantial merits of each case the Employment Act provides instances in which a dismissal will be deemed to be unfair which include dismissal: • due to trade union membership, involvement in trade union activities or the refusal to become involved in a trade union/engage in trade union activities; • due to pregnancy; and • due to redundancy, but other employees were not similarly dismissed. These categories are not closed and it is important to note that the rules of natural justice should be applied when seeking to terminate an employee. 4.3 Working Time Under the Employment Act, the maximum number of daily work hours is eight, and weekly work hours is 40, except for employees who hold managerial or supervi - sorial positions or work in any industrial, construction, manufacturing or transhipment enterprise, or essential service. Employees are also entitled to 48 hours of rest, with at least 24 of such hours being consecutive. Where the relevant employee is required or is permit - ted to work in excess of their daily work hours, they are entitled to overtime pay, which is calculated at 1.5 times their regular rate of wages and two times the regular rate of wages if the overtime is performed on a holiday.
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