Finance Act 2024: An Overview For Businesses

OL
Orison Legal

Contributor

Orison Legal
The Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 was gazetted on 27 July 2024. It legislates the measures announced in the Minister of Finance's Budget Speech 2024-2025.
Mauritius Finance and Banking
To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com.

INTRODUCTION

The Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 was gazetted on 27 July 2024. It legislates the measures announced in the Minister of Finance's Budget Speech 2024-2025. While this summary document does not cover every aspect of the legislation, it aims to highlight the key provisions that affect the business community. This note does not amount to legal or other advice.

EMPLOYMENT

The right to disconnect during unsocial hours

The Finance Act introduces a worker's right to disconnect, i.e. to disengage from work and work-related communications (including emails, telephone calls, video calls or other means of sending and receiving messages) during unsocial hours when they are not working. These "unsocial hours" are (i) between 1 p.m. on a Saturday and 6 a.m. on the ensuing Monday, and (ii) between 10 p.m. on a weekday and 6 a.m. on the ensuing day.

However, the worker may be required to work during those unsocial hours due to situations of emergency or where those hours correspond to the working hours in the market country served. In those circumstances, the worker will be entitled to a disturbance allowance in addition to their normal remuneration. The disturbance allowance is equivalent to the worker's hourly wage for every hour of work performed during the unsocial hours. These provisions would apply irrespective of a worker's level of salary.

The disturbance allowance is not a new measure. It is already provided for in regulations made by the Minister of Labour in September 2020, except that those regulations provide that "unsocial hours" do not include the working hours of a worker in the ICT/BPO sector whose working hours correspond to the working hours in the market country served. However, the amendment brought by the Finance Act suggests that the disturbance allowance will henceforth be paid even to workers in the ICT/BPO sector.

Vacation leave

The Workers' Rights Act came into force on 24 October 2019. Starting from that date, a worker who remains in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of at least 5 consecutive years is entitled to a vacation leave of not more than 30 days, for every period of 5 consecutive years. This is already provided in the legislation since 2019. As such, a number of workers who have stayed with their employer since then may be eligible to the vacation leave in October 2024. This provision applies to workers earning not more than MUR 600,000 in annual basic salary.

The Finance Act has amended the Workers' Rights Act by adding the following provisions regarding vacation leave.

  • The vacation leave must be for a minimum period of 6 consecutive days.
  • A worker must apply for the vacation leave at least 3 months in advance, except in special circumstances.
  • An employer must approve the application for the vacation leave, except if there are reasonable business grounds, i.e. (a) the inability or impracticability to reorganize working arrangements of existing workers, and (b) a detrimental effect on the ability to meet customers' demand.

Where an employer rejects an application on reasonable business grounds, the worker and the employer may agree on another period when the vacation leave is to be taken. Failing such an agreement, the employer must pay remuneration in lieu of the vacation leave. Such payment is to be made in the month in which the leave was due to start.

Work from home in extreme weather conditions

The Finance Act introduces specific conditions in the Workers' Rights Act for an employer to require a worker to work from home during a period of extreme weather conditions such as cyclonic conditions where a warning class III or IV is issued, an order is issued to remain indoors during a period of heavy or torrential rain or a safety bulletin is issued by the Mauritius Meteorological Services. In those situations, the employer may require the worker to work from home if there is no (i) risk to their life or that of their family, (ii) risk of injury, (iii) risk of their residence being damaged or (iv) electricity or communication breakdown.

Further, prior to the amendment brought by the Finance Act, the Workers' Rights Act required employers to pay an allowance equal to 3 times the hourly wage of a worker when they work from home during these extreme weather condition. The Finance Act has reduced that remuneration to twice their hourly wage. This requirement to pay additional remuneration applies in respect of workers earning less than MUR 600,000 in annual basic salary.

Time off in lieu of remuneration for overtime

The Finance Act has also amended the Workers' Rights Act to allow a worker to opt for paid time off in lieu of remuneration due for overtime and working on public holidays. For that purpose, the number of hours of time off is computed in accordance with the same rate as for overtime payment (i.e. 1.5 times the number of hours of overtime on a weekday, twice the number of hours worked on a public holiday and three times the number of hours of overtime worked on a public holiday).

The amendment, however, does not clarify whether the employer is required or may refuse to grant the time off in lieu of remuneration. Nor does it provide until when the worker is entitled to take such time off. By contrast, when the legislator provided in 2020 that an employer could grant paid time off to a worker in lieu of remuneration for overtime and public holidays during the COVID-19 period, the legislation clearly provided that (a) where the worker is not granted the paid time off, it would be accumulated up to the date the worker ceases employment or 31 December 2021, and (b) the worker would be paid remuneration in lieu of the time off if they are unable to avail themselves of such time off. In the absence of such statutory provisions, employers might wish to introduce internal policies to inform their staff of the circumstances in which time off in lieu of remuneration for overtime may be granted or refused, whilst ensuring that such policies do not infringe any of the workers' statutory rights.

Benefits to parents

  • Maternity leave has increased from 14 weeks to 16 weeks with full pay (including at least 8 weeks to be taken following confinement).
  • Additional 2 weeks' paid maternity leave to a mother who gives birth to twins, triplets or multiple births, or to a premature baby.
  • Paternity leave has increased from 5 continuous working days to 4 consecutive weeks.
  • Affording different treatment to workers on maternity or paternity leave, which has the effect of impairing their career development or their opportunity of promotion, will be considered as unlawful discrimination.
  • Childcare facilities – In 2023, the legislator introduced the requirement for employers with more than 250 workers to provide free childcare facilities, either on the premises of the workplace or within a distance of one kilometre from the workplace. These facilities apply in respect of children under the age of 3 years. The Finance Act amends the Workers' Rights Act by removing the requirement for these childcare facilities to be provided on the premises of the workplace or within a distance of one kilometre. It has instead delegated powers to the Minister of Labour to issue regulations to provide for how these facilities are to be provided.

Occupation permits under the Immigration Act

  • The minimum threshold salary for eligibility to an occupation permit in has been reduced from MUR 30,000 to MUR 22,500, presumably in an effort to target entry level employees from abroad.
  • Introduction of the 'Expert Occupation Permit' for experts with at least 10 years' experience in Wealth Management, Family Office, Virtual Assets and Virtual Tokens, and earning a monthly basic salary of MUR 50,000.

Work permits under the Non-Citizens (Employment Restriction) Act

Prior to the amendment brought by the Finance Act, the Non Citizens (Employment Restriction) Act provided that an application for work permit made through the National Electronic Licensing System is deemed to have been granted if it is not determined within 30 working days from the date of the complete application, unless the Ministry of Labour has notified the applicant that the application is still under consideration.

The Finance Act amends this provision by reducing the timeframe from 30 working days to 21 working days.

Recruitment of migrant workers

The Finance Act has introduced a new legal framework for the employment of migrant workers by "labour contractors", who recruit and supply those migrant workers to other businesses (the "hirer employers") for a specific period of time. These migrant workers are non-citizens holding work permits issued by the Ministry of Labour. They do not include non-citizens with the status of resident such as those holding Occupation Permits. The salient features of this framework are as follows.

  • The labour contractors will not be required to hold a private recruitment agency licence pursuant to the Private Recruitment Agencies Act 2023. Instead, they will need to register with the Ministry of Labour.
  • The labour contractors will be allowed to supply migrant workers in specific economic sectors and job categories as the Minister may prescribe.
  • The contract of employment will be between the migrant worker and the labour contractor (as employer), irrespective of whether or not the migrant worker is supplied to a hirer employer for a given period.
  • The labour contractor and hirer employer will be jointly liable for the payment of remuneration and the migrant workers' conditions of employment, as well as the payment of statutory contributions in respect of the employment of those workers. However, the hirer employer's liability will be limited to the sum payable by the hirer employer to the labour contractor under their contractual agreement. Nevertheless, the hirer employer cannot set up as defence to a claim from a migrant worker seeking to recover remuneration, the fact that they have already paid to the labour contractor any sum due under their agreement.
  • The hirer employer will be liable for any act of violence at work and for any accident, injury or death sustained by the migrant worker out of, or in the course of, their employment.

Termination of employment of migrant workers

An employer who intends to terminate the employment of a migrant worker and to repatriate him must, before the date of the repatriation, (i) give at least 20 working days' written notice to the supervising officer of the Ministry of Labour, (ii) pay the worker any unpaid remuneration and (iii) ensure that the worker has been paid all benefits to which he is entitled to.

To read this article in full, please click here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Mondaq uses cookies on this website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Learn More