Bermuda Employment Law: Pay, Leave, and Dismissal Rules

Bermuda employment law is built around the Employment Act 2000, which sets the minimum terms every employer must offer and every employee can rely on. Three companion statutes fill in the rest: the Human Rights Act 1981 bans workplace discrimination, the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Act 1998 requires pension contributions, and the Health Insurance Act 1970 requires coverage. The Employment Act reaches every employer and employee on the island, with two exceptions: workers who put in fewer than 15 hours a week, and workers who put in no more than three months a year for the same employer, fall outside its protections.¹

The Written Statement Every Employee Should Receive

Within one week of a person starting work, the employer must give them a written, signed and dated statement of employment. A 2021 amendment extended the requirement to casual workers, temporary employees, part-time staff, students, and volunteers, so almost no one is left out.

The statement has to cover the names of both parties, the start date, job title, and a description of the work; gross wages or how they are calculated, and how often pay is issued; normal working days and hours, shift patterns, rest days, and meal breaks; vacation, public holiday, sick leave, and overtime entitlements; the notice period each side must give; pension details; the existence of the employer’s bullying and sexual harassment policy, and any tips policy; and, for permit holders, the work permit’s issue date, expiry, and conditions.¹

An employer who does not provide the statement can be fined up to $5,000 by the Director of Labour Relations, or up to $10,000 by the Employment and Labour Relations Tribunal.

Minimum Wage and Pay

The statutory minimum wage rose to $17.13 per hour on September 1, 2025, up from $16.40. The rate covers every sector, hospitality and retail included. Future adjustments follow a two-year review cycle, are tied to the Consumer Price Index, and are capped at 2.5 percent per year. The framework sits in the Employment (Minimum Hourly Wage Entitlement) Act 2022 and the Employment (Minimum Hourly Wage) Order 2023, and paying below the rate violates both.²

Bermuda has no personal income tax, but employees pay tiered payroll tax that the employer withholds. For the April 2026 to March 2027 tax year, the employee portion runs from 0.25 percent on income up to $48,000, 7.75 percent between $48,001 and $96,000, 10.75 percent up to $200,000, 11.50 percent up to $500,000, and 12.50 percent up to $1 million. Remuneration above $1 million is not taxed. Employers get relief on the first $24,000 paid to Bermudians aged 65 and over.³ Separately, employees pay a fixed weekly social insurance contribution of $35.92, matched by the employer; workers over 65 pay nothing while the employer still contributes.⁴

Working Hours, Overtime, and Public Holidays

The Act does not cap total weekly hours, but time worked beyond 40 hours in a week triggers overtime. The employer must either pay one and a half times the normal hourly wage or pay the regular rate and give an equivalent number of hours off in lieu. The Minister of Labour can adjust the 40-hour threshold for particular kinds of work after consulting the Labour Advisory Council.

No employee can be required to work more than five continuous hours without a meal break of at least 30 minutes, and the employer cannot assign work during that break without consent.

Bermuda observes 10 public holidays a year: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Bermuda Day, National Heroes Day, Emancipation Day, Mary Prince Day, Labour Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day.⁵ When one falls on a weekend, the following Monday is the observed holiday. An employee required to work on a public holiday must receive at least the overtime rate, or their regular pay plus a compensatory day off at a mutually agreed date.

Leave Entitlements

Vacation

After six months of continuous employment, an employee earns one week of vacation. After a full year, the entitlement becomes two weeks per year. The one-week early entitlement is not extra; any vacation taken before the one-year mark comes off the annual two weeks. Vacation does not carry over.⁶

Sick Leave

Employees with at least one year of continuous service get eight days of paid sick leave per year. A contract can give more, never fewer. If an absence runs two or more consecutive days, the employer can require a medical certificate. Additional time off after the eight days is unpaid.

Maternity and Paternity Leave

Employees who have completed one continuous year of employment by the expected date of birth get 13 weeks of paid maternity leave. Those who have not reached the one-year mark still get 13 weeks, but unpaid. Fathers with a year of service get five paid days of paternity leave; those with less get five unpaid days. The same entitlements apply to adoptive parents and legal guardians, and time off for antenatal appointments must be paid.⁷⁸

Bereavement Leave

When an immediate family member dies, an employee can take up to three consecutive days off, or up to five if they need to travel overseas for the funeral. Immediate family is defined broadly: spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, great-grandparent, grandchild, great-grandchild, or anyone sharing the household other than a landlord or employer. Bereavement leave is unpaid unless the contract provides otherwise.¹

Health Insurance and Pension

The Health Insurance Act 1970 requires every employer to provide coverage for employees who work at least 15 hours a week and at least two months a year. Coverage must also extend to a non-employed spouse.⁹

Under the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Act 1998, employers must enroll all eligible employees in a pension plan regardless of immigration status. The exceptions are work permit holders employed for less than 12 aggregate months and U.S. citizens participating in a qualifying 401(k). Employer and employee each contribute 5 percent of pensionable earnings, for a combined 10 percent, and the pension arrangement has to be described in the written statement of employment.

Ending Employment

Notice Periods

When either side ends the relationship, the minimum notice depends on how the employee is paid. Weekly-paid employees get one week; those paid every two weeks get two weeks; monthly and other arrangements require one month. A contract or collective agreement can require longer notice, but not shorter. An employer cannot issue a termination notice while the employee is on vacation, maternity or paternity leave, bereavement leave, or the first six weeks of sick leave.¹ Summary dismissal without notice is only permitted for serious misconduct, and the burden of justifying it falls on the employer.

Severance Pay

Severance is owed when employment ends because of redundancy, the winding up or insolvency of the employer, the death of the employer, or the employee’s death from an occupational disease or workplace accident, provided the employee has at least one year of continuous service. The formula gives two weeks’ wages for each of the first 10 completed years and three weeks’ wages for each additional year, capped at 26 weeks in total. Nothing is owed if the employee unreasonably refuses a comparable offer of re-employment from the same employer or, in a partnership dissolution, from one of the partners.⁶¹⁰ Before placing an employee on layoff, the employer must explain the reason for the redundancy, the conditions behind it, and how long it is expected to last.

Unfair Dismissal

Some reasons for dismissal are automatically unfair. They include race, sex, religion, color, ethnic origin, national extraction, social origin, political opinion, disability, and marital status; age, subject to any retirement provisions in the contract or a collective agreement; pregnancy, unless the absence exceeds allocated leave; union activity; temporary illness, unless absences are frequent and exceed allocated leave; performance of public duties like jury service or volunteer firefighting; removing oneself from a situation reasonably believed to pose imminent danger; lawful industrial action; filing a complaint or taking part in proceedings against the employer under the Act; and making a protected disclosure.

The employer bears the burden of proving the reason for any dismissal. If it cannot, the dismissal is presumed unfair. Where the Employment and Labour Relations Tribunal upholds a complaint, it can order reinstatement, re-engagement in comparable work, or a compensation award set at whatever is just and equitable, taking into account financial losses and any contribution by the employee to the dismissal.¹

Discrimination and Workplace Harassment

The Human Rights Act 1981 prohibits workplace discrimination on the grounds of race, place of origin, color, ethnic or national origins, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, family status, religion or beliefs, political opinions, and criminal record.¹¹ Age is protected in areas like housing and services but is not currently a protected ground in employment. The Human Rights Commission has been consulting the public on extending age protection to the workplace, with mandatory retirement in view.¹² Discrimination complaints go to the Human Rights Commission, which investigates and can refer matters to a Human Rights Tribunal.¹³

Since June 1, 2021, every employer must maintain a written zero-tolerance policy against bullying and sexual harassment. The policy must state that every employee is entitled to a workplace free of these behaviors, explain how to report complaints, and set out the measures the employer will take against offenders, including disciplinary action. Employers have to give the policy to each employee at the start of work and keep it accessible. Not having a compliant policy can draw a Tribunal penalty of up to $10,000.¹⁴

Where Employment Disputes Go

Disputes that cannot be resolved internally go to the Employment and Labour Relations Tribunal. It can order reinstatement or re-employment, award compensation, and impose civil penalties of up to $10,000 for breaches of the Employment and Labour Code.¹⁵ An employee has six months from the date of the violation to file a written complaint with a labour inspector. That window was doubled from three months by the 2021 amendments, which matters if you are weighing whether to come forward about a past incident.

Work Permits for Non-Bermudians

Anyone who is not Bermudian, the spouse or widow/widower of a Bermudian, a Belonger, or a Permanent Resident Certificate holder needs a work permit to take a paid job in Bermuda. The employer sponsors the permit and must certify that it is current on payroll tax, health insurance, social insurance, and pension contributions before the Department of Immigration will process the application.¹⁶ Standard permits run one to five years, short-term permits up to six months, and some job categories are closed to new permits or restricted to one-year terms.¹⁷ Permit holders generally cannot change employers during the first two years, and cannot change roles within the first year of a new permit or six months after a renewal.

1
Bermuda Laws Online. Employment Act 2000
2
Government of Bermuda. Public Reminder: Minimum Wage Increase to Take Effect September 1, 2025
3
Government of Bermuda. Calculating Payroll Tax for the Period April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027
4
Government of Bermuda. Social Insurance Contributions
5
Government of Bermuda. Public Holidays 2026 and 2027
6
International Labour Organization. Bermuda Employment Act 2000
7
Government of Bermuda. Maternity Leave Extension and Paternity Leave Fact Sheet
8
Government of Bermuda. The Employment Amendment Act Ensures Parental Leave Protections for Adoptive Parents and Legal Guardians
9
Government of Bermuda. Health Insurance
10
Government of Bermuda. Employer’s Obligation Regarding Redundancy and Severance Payments
11
Bermuda Laws Online. Human Rights Act 1981
12
Human Rights Commission. Public Consultation: Age Discrimination
13
Human Rights Commission. Your Rights
14
Government of Bermuda. Employment Amendment (No2) Act Policy Statement on Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
15
Government of Bermuda. Employment and Labour Relations Tribunal
16
Government of Bermuda. Work Permit Policy
17
Government of Bermuda. Update on Restricted and Closed Job Categories