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Employ Candidates Compliantly in Trinidad and Tobago

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  1. Overview: Trinidad and Tobago
  2. Global PEO and Payroll
  3. Global HR Compliance
  4. Work permit for hiring expats via PEO
  5. Expand without a company set up
  6. Contractor vs. employee: which is better?
  7. Global Payroll Calculator
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Global HR Compliance in Trinidad and Tobago

If you hire international workforce, or plan to hire, then Hiring and Firing Workforce in Trinidad and Tobago Guide below will help you understand the nuances of labor legislation in the country.

There are two main reasons for companies hiring foreign workforce:

  • Expanding into foreign markets to sell company product or products there. In this case, companies hire sales representatives who would exclusively represent their product in the target market and sell it to their local client base.
  • Hiring the right foreign talent with a unique expertise, often related to IT sphere that cannot be found in the home country or that costs less compared to local specialist with similar skills.

After you have found the right candidate, the question is how to hire and provide compensation to this person so you as a business remain 100% compliant when working with global workforce. Another thing to consider is whether you want to keep the talent long-term and how you can do that.

If you need to hire foreign workforce in Trinidad and Tobago so you can expand there, then our Global Employer of Record solution may be of help. We help you legally hire and reward your foreign workforce by making them employees via a global employment outsourcing service. This is simple as employ your in-house workforce with the only difference that workers can live anywhere in the world and Acumen International would be their legal employer on your behalf. This means we would bear all employment risks, not you. Also, we manage bonuses, vacations, sick leave and can rent the office and a car for your foreign sales representatives if that is what you need.

With our solution, you can test new foreign markets before deciding whether you are going to get established there. You gain flexibility and expand with reduced costs, and easily withdraw from the unattractive countries.

We are experts in global workforce employment in Trinidad and Tobago, and our goal is to become your single provider. Instead of working with numerous local staffing agencies and legal advisors, Acumen International can solve your global business challenges and save you time, costs, and resources.

Our team of English-speaking professionals frees you from working through language nuances. Acumen International works 24/7 and can assist you whenever you need, regardless of time zones. Our goal is to create tailored labor solutions for you that are managed legally and in full compliance with the local employment laws.

With our knowledge and deep understanding of local nuances, you easily satisfy your need for skilled professionals in your global industry. With our qualified local partners, you can trust that your global workforce satisfies all local tax, social security, and immigration requirements in Trinidad and Tobago.

See Hiring and Firing Workforce in Trinidad and Tobago Guide below for a general overview of labor rules and regulations in the country. Or contact us if you need to employ workers in Trinidad and Tobago or would like to get more details.

Hiring and Firing Workforce in Trinidad and Tobago Guide

# Employment contracts
A contract of employment in Trinidad and Tobago may be oral or written, express or implied. Common law is applied by the Industrial Court when determining the question of whether a contract of or a contract for service exists between a person and an employer.

As a result of structural adjustment of the economy over the past twenty years the pattern of employment in Trinidad and Tobago has veered towards an increasing emergence of fixed term contract employment. This is true in both the public and private sectors. Employers are more willing to sub-contract tasks or projects and to hire on a fixed term basis rather than to employ persons for an indefinite period, which is what prevailed in the past. Employers now want the ability to change labour quickly without much difficulty. This is one aspect of flexibilization of the workforce which is gaining ground in Trinidad and Tobago.

# Minimum (Statutory) Employment Rules and Regulations in Trinidad and Tobago

# Hours of work:
The hours of work for State employees is provided for by legislation. In the private sector hours of work may be settled in a collective agreement. For employees in general, other than shift workers, the normal hours of work are eight hours a day, usually from 8:00am to 4:00pm, five days a week. The normal working day shall not exceed eight hours, exclusive of meal and rest breaks, and the normal working week shall not exceed forty hours. Where workers work only four days in the week the normal work day shall not exceed ten hours.

# Probation period:
Periods of probation and suspension are only statutorily set down in legislation dealing with the Defence Force, the Civil, Prison, Police and Fire Services. Generally private sector employers are free to determine their own probationary terms and suspension provisions. Where there is a recognized majority union, that union may negotiate these terms for inclusion into the collective agreement.

# Annual leave:
Leave entitlements for Government daily rated workers are provided for in the Collective Agreement between the Chief Personnel Officer and The National Union of Government and Federated Workers, 1999-2001. In both the public and private sectors employees are only eligible for paid vacation leave after having twelve months continuous service. The State also provides for no pay leave to be granted to employees who wish to further their education and leave where the employee holds a post in a trade union.

# Parental leave:
Female employees are entitled to thirteen (13) weeks maternity leave (six weeks prior to confinement, 7 weeks after) and one month’s pay during such leave. An employee on maternity leave shall have the right to return to work. To qualify for maternity leave, employees must have worked for an employer for a period of no less than 12 months. The employee shall also submit a medical certificate stating the probable date of confinement, as well as a written expression of her intent to return to work after maternity leave.

# Sick leave:
State employees have leave entitlements set out in legislation which deals with each Service. This includes usually fourteen days paid sick leave.

# State minimum salary:
Trinidad and Tobago’s minimum wage rate is TT$15.00 per hour for all workers. Trinidad and Tobago’s minimum wage was last changed in January 2015.

# Employee dismissal:
Whether a contract of employment is for a fixed term or for an indefinite period it may be terminated by either the employer or the worker. There is no legislation governing termination of contract in general in Trinidad and Tobago, and Common Law applies in the absence of termination provisions in a collective agreement. There may be termination by performance, by expiry of a fixed term, by agreement of the parties or by breach. An employer has the right to dismiss an employee for just cause. The Common Law on summary and constructive dismissal also applies.

Acumen International can help you fast-track your possibilities of entering and expanding your business in Trinidad and Tobago by providing you with our Employer of Record services. Our unique mix of PEO/EOR solutions will enable you to jumpstart your global operations almost immediately, cost-effectively and compliantly without any need to set up a legal entity first or afterwards.

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