BARBADOS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Debbie Fraser, Joanna M. Austin and Makela Harrison-Yarde, Fraser Law
Conclusion With Barbados’ economy projected to continue with its steady growth, coupled with its improved compli - ance and regulatory status, it is anticipated that the current trend towards locally driven M&A will continue as Barbados becomes more attractive to investors.
industry M&A to determine what approvals, permits or licences are required. Regulators are embracing tech - nology as a way of doing business, interacting with the public and facilitating applications electronically. In future, it is also anticipated that regulators may find a way to incorporate AI and exploit its benefits to facilitate key functions such as conducting searches of public records as part of due diligence by the pur - chaser. This will have to be approached cautiously given the data held by regulators. Human Capital Employment and labour factors are significant con - siderations in local M&A. It is common for parties to have early discussions with trade unions for employee considerations. The Employment Rights Act of Barba - dos (ERA) generally provides that where a business is acquired and staff are not made redundant by the out - going employer they will continue to be the employ - ees of the acquired business. All rights and calcula - tions for any severance and benefits will continue to be calculated from the date of original employment. In recent times, no significant labour disputes have arisen from M&A due to the parties having early dis - cussions, with many giving employees voluntary sev - erance packages or taking on the employees with the continuation of the business.
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