Employment in the Bahamas

The online employment portal (Online Skills Portal) of the labour and public employment service (Department of Labour/Public Employment Services) is intended for Bahamian citizens and people of working age who have lawful access to the labour market. Registration requires valid Bahamian identification, an email address and a telephone number. After creating a profile with a résumé, users can search for jobs and apply; placement is not guaranteed. Direct applications to companies are also a usual route. The portal lists areas including accounting, project management, nursing, information technology, lifeguarding, ship welding, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, kitchen management, electrical work, and skilled carpentry and craft occupations. These listings indicate demand on the portal, but they are not national shortage rates. An employment contract in the Bahamas may be formed orally, implicitly or in writing. Before work begins, the position, basic wage, payment schedule, working hours, overtime, leave, contract duration, notice period, deductions, National Insurance status and, where applicable, the work permit should be clarified in writing. A contract or collective agreement may provide more favourable conditions. The statutory minimum wage has been B$6.50 per hour or B$260 per week since 1 January 2023; the current order on minimum wages (Minimum Wages Order) must be consulted for its scope and exceptions. Regular working time is limited to eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. For irregular work, working time may be averaged over a period of no more than four weeks. Certain activities in industry, construction, production, handling, critical services and policing may involve up to twelve hours per day; the standard working-time rules do not apply in the same way to managerial or supervisory positions. Employees receive at least 48 hours of rest within seven days, including at least 24 consecutive hours. Overtime is generally paid at no less than 1.5 times the normal wage; work on public holidays or days off is generally paid at twice the normal wage. Special rules for calculating normal wages apply in tipped areas of tourism and hospitality. After at least six months of employment, employees are entitled to one week of paid sick leave per year. A one-day absence is generally unpaid unless a medical certificate is provided; a certificate may be required from the second day of illness or for payment from the first day. Sick leave does not accumulate. After each twelve months of employment, employees are entitled to at least two weeks of leave. Leave pay is one, two or three weeks of basic wages depending on the length of employment; after at least seven years of employment, it is three weeks. A public holiday during leave extends the leave by one day. On leaving employment, accrued or proportionate leave may be payable after at least 90 days of continuous employment. Maternity leave is at least twelve weeks, including at least one week before and eight weeks after delivery. Wage payments require, among other things, at least twelve months of employment with the employer, an employer contribution of at least 33.33 percent up to the National Insurance Board limit, and an additional maternity benefit if contribution requirements are met. After at least six months of employment, up to one week of unpaid family leave per year may also be available because of the birth, illness or death of a child, spouse or parent. The social-insurance authority (National Insurance Board) generally covers all employed persons, including part-time, probationary, fixed-term and permanent employees. Registration takes place before or shortly after work begins, and the NIB number remains the same when the employer, island or name changes. Since 1 July 2024, the employee contribution has been 4.65 percent and the employer contribution 6.65 percent, up to an insurable ceiling of B$810 per week. The employer remits contributions by day 15 of the following month. Contributions that were not deducted on time may not later be recovered from the employee by the employer; outstanding contributions remain the employer's responsibility. The NIB provides benefits including sickness, maternity, employment injury, invalidity and retirement benefits. When an employee resigns, the usual notice period is two weeks after one to less than two years of employment and four weeks from two years onward. Employers generally give one week's notice after six to less than twelve months and two weeks from twelve months onward; supervisors and managers may be subject to one month's notice. Payment in lieu of notice is possible. Summary dismissal requires a fundamental breach of contract or gross misconduct, and wages already earned remain payable. In cases of unfair dismissal, the labour department (Department of Labour) and the employment tribunal (Industrial Tribunal) may have jurisdiction; possible outcomes include compensation, reinstatement or re-employment. Special rules apply to redundancy concerning consultation, notice, selection and possible alternative employment. Different participation and notification steps apply to fewer than 20 and to at least 20 affected employees. Seasonal and hospitality exceptions may matter for lay-off or short-time work. The specific payment depends, among other things, on status, length of employment and classification and should be assessed using the current law, the contract, any collective agreement and guidance from the labour department. Non-Bahamian workers generally need a work permit from the immigration department (Department of Immigration) to work. Short-term permits are valid for up to 90 days, while long-term permits cover longer periods. For a long-term permit, a labour certificate (Labour Certificate) from the Department of Labour and a vacancy notice (Notice of Vacancy) are part of the process before applying to the Immigration Department. Typical documents include an employer application, a passport valid for at least six more months and two passport photographs; depending on the application, a police certificate no more than five years old, a medical certificate no more than 30 days old, employer references, proof of qualifications and evidence of advertising and an interview may also be required. A residence permit alone does not authorize work, and work may begin only after a valid permit has been issued. The sources reviewed did not reliably state fees or fixed processing times. The labour-force survey of the Bahamas National Statistical Institute recorded a labour force of 233,575 in the second quarter of 2024, including 213,210 employed and 20,365 unemployed people. The participation rate was 73.4 percent and the unemployment rate was 8.7 percent. New Providence had 160,185 employed people and an unemployment rate of 8.6 percent; Grand Bahama had 24,520 employed people and unemployment of 9.8 percent. The survey series began in this form in 2023 and is not directly comparable with older series. New Providence is more important for quantitative job searches, while the reviewed sources do not provide reliable, uniform employment rates for the other islands. The apprenticeship law (Apprenticeship Act) has been in force since 6 August 2024 and establishes structured, paid or otherwise financially compensated training both on and off the job. The national apprentice board (National Apprentice Board), national apprenticeship unit (National Apprenticeship Unit), sector skills councils (Sector Skill Councils), and public and private providers may be involved. The technical and vocational institute (Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute) offers internships, apprenticeships and industry certificates, among other programmes. Access, duration and compensation depend on the occupation and programme. The reviewed pages do not state fees for submissions to the NIB or the Online Skills Portal; filing an employment-related dispute with the labour department is described as free of charge.