Labor law in Fiji

The Employment Relations Act 2007, usually called the ERA, applies to employers and workers throughout Fiji, including Government, statutory authorities, local authorities and the sugar industry. It does not cover the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, the Fiji Police Force or the Fiji Corrections Service. The ERA provides statutory minimums, while an employment contract or collective agreement may give better terms. An employment relationship may be based on an oral or written agreement. When the parties use a written contract, both sides should sign it. The document should identify the employer and worker, workplace, type of work, working days and hours, wages, leave, other entitlements, disciplinary and grievance procedures, and the duration of employment. A contract must not require HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infection or pregnancy screening as a condition of employment. Employers must retain wage, working-time and leave records for at least six years. A common working pattern is eight hours per day over six days, giving 48 hours per week, or nine hours per day over five days, giving 45 hours per week. The 48-hour limit excludes overtime, and managerial or executive roles may be treated differently. Overtime rates come from sectoral wage regulations rather than one single ERA rate. Several wage orders provide 1.5 times the ordinary rate for the first four overtime hours and twice the rate afterwards. Work on a rostered day or public holiday is often paid at twice the ordinary rate, but the applicable sectoral order must be checked. The national minimum wage is FJD 5.00 per hour from 1 April 2025. Fiji also has 10 sectoral wage orders administered through Wages Councils. The researched wage changes include an increase of FJD 0.50 per hour from 1 August 2024 and another FJD 0.50 per hour from 1 April 2025 under the relevant orders. An employer may deduct money only when legislation permits the deduction or the worker has authorised it. Final wages and other amounts due should be paid no later than the end of the next working day. After one year of service, annual holiday entitlement is at least 10 working days. If employment ends after more than one month, annual leave is generally paid on a pro-rata basis. After more than three months of continuous service, sick leave is at least 10 working days per year and normally requires a medical certificate. The same service threshold applies to at least five working days of family care leave and three paid working days of bereavement leave per year. Maternity leave lasts 98 days. For the first three births it is paid at normal remuneration, while the fourth and later births receive 50 percent. Paternity leave is at least five working days, with the same first-three-birth and later-birth payment distinction. Public holidays follow the applicable Gazette notices and ERA rules. Fiji law prohibits forced labor and protects equal opportunity and equal pay. Protected grounds include race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, HIV/AIDS status, marital status, family responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1996, known as HASAWA, requires a safe workplace, safe access and exit, welfare facilities, worker consultation and an occupational health and safety policy. Employers must provide required personal protective equipment without charging workers. Children may generally work only from age 15. Hazardous child work is restricted, and employers must keep the required registers for working children. Workplace injuries are addressed through the Accident Compensation Act 2017 and the Employment Accidents Regulations 2018. Employers have reporting and payment duties. The National OHS and Workers Compensation Service operates at Ministry level, following the operational transfer from the Accident Compensation Commission Fiji that began in 2024/25. Workers may join a trade union, and a union registers through the Registrar of Trade Unions. Employers and unions must bargain collectively in good faith. A collective agreement becomes binding after valid conclusion and registration. Peaceful picketing is protected, while a strike or lockout must satisfy statutory conditions. The 2023 amendment restored the essential-service definition to Schedule 7 and permits later designation. Earlier restrictions affecting finance, telecommunications, civil aviation, public utilities and public service work were removed or reduced, but essential-service disputes still follow mediation and special procedures. A workplace grievance normally begins with the contract or internal grievance procedure and then proceeds to Mediation Services. A general employment grievance should be raised within six months of the action or the date on which the worker learned of it, whichever is later. A party may attend mediation personally or through a representative; a legal practitioner is not admitted to that mediation process. If mediation does not resolve the matter, the Mediator must refer the grievance or dispute to the Employment Relations Tribunal, known as the ERT. The ERT can decide grievances, employment disputes, wage and entitlement recovery, contract breaches and interpretation, equal-opportunity matters, union issues, and appeals involving Labour Inspectors or workplace safety. Its claim jurisdiction reaches FJD 40,000, while non-legal Tribunal members may handle claims up to FJD 10,000. The Employment Relations Court handles court-level matters and appeals. Judiciary filing fees vary, submissions are free, and a workers-compensation filing fee is FJD 45.00. Labour Inspectors can inspect workplaces and issue demands, fixed-penalty notices or compliance notices. A general workplace safety inspection through the Ministry costs FJD 90.00 and has a stated turnaround of three working days. For an indefinite employment contract, notice must normally be given in writing. If the contract does not set a different period, the default depends on the pay interval: less than one week gives no notice, one to less than two weeks gives seven days, two weeks to less than one month gives 14 days, and a monthly pay interval gives one month. The employer may make payment instead of requiring the notice period. Summary dismissal is limited to grounds such as gross misconduct, wilful disobedience, lack of a warranted skill or qualification, habitual or substantial neglect, or continual or habitual unauthorised absence. The employer should give the dismissal reasons in writing and provide an employment certificate when employment ends. Redundancy concerns an economic, technological or structural reason rather than misconduct. The employer must give workers or their representatives and the Permanent Secretary information at least 30 days before termination and consult them. After at least one year of service, redundancy pay is at least one week of wages for each completed year of service. A worker considering a claim should preserve the contract, wage records, leave records, termination letter, pay slips and any internal grievance correspondence.