MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Sameer K Tegally, Sonia Xavier and Ashvan Luckraz, Venture Law
ers who draw a monthly basic wage or salary of not more than MUR100,000. 4.5 Employee Representations Employee representation occurs at two levels: employee representation by the employee’s rep - resentative in the event of a disciplinary hearing and employee representation at the level of trade union and collective bargaining with regard to the employer’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 disciplinary hearing, in which case the employee may be accompanied by a representative of their trade union or a legal rep - resentative. The employee may also have recourse to repre - sentation by a labour officer. Such labour officer is an officer designated by the permanent sec - retary of the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Rela - tions, Employment and Training 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 free - dom of assembly and association. An employ - ee’s representation at this level is governed by the ERA, which focuses on the right of employ - ees to freedom of association with a view to promoting good employment relations, granting of 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 assistance to a trade union of workers in order to place or maintain the trade union under their control. Union representa - tives are responsible for negotiating the rights of employees as per employment legislation and rights to participate in collective bargain - ing; that is, in relation to the terms and condi - tions of employment or rights pertaining to any procedure agreement. 5. Tax Law 5.1 Taxes Applicable to Employees/ Employers A resident of Mauritius is taxable on worldwide income, except an individual, whose foreign- source income is taxable only if it is remitted to Mauritius. Thus, income is deemed to be derived when the income is derived from Mauritius, regardless of whether that person was resident in Mauritius or elsewhere. Equally, a non-resident is taxable on income derived from Mauritius; for instance, income derived from any business carried on wholly or partly in Mauritius. Employees Currently, individuals’ incomes are taxed incre - mentally; ie, the chargeable incomes are divided into different revenue brackets. Each bracket has a specific tax rate starting at 0% and is capped at a maximum of 20%.
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