Mauritius - Working time - 2011

13 October 2011.

The Employment Rights Act 2008. ACt N. 33 of 2008.

Public Holidays in Mauritius, Document from the Embassy of Mauritius in Germany.

Domestic Workers (remuneration) Regulations 2010.

"worker", subject to section 33 or 40:
(a) means a person who has entered into, or works under an agreement or a contract of apprenticeship, other than a contract of apprenticeship regulated under the Industrial and Vocational Training Act, whether by way of casual work, manual labour, clerical work or otherwise and however remunerated;
(b) includes:
(i) a part-time worker;
(ii) a former worker where appropriate;
(iii) a shareworker;
(c) does not include:
(i) a job contractor;
(ii) except in relation to sections 4, 20, 30, 31 and Parts VIII, IX, X and XI, a person whose basic wage or salary is at a rate in excess of 360,000 rupees per annum;

"employer", subject to section 33:
(a) means:
(i) a person, enterprise or body of persons, who or which employs a worker; and
(ii) is responsible for the payment of remuneration to the worker;
(b) includes:
(i) a job contractor;
(ii) a person, other than another shareworker, who shares the profit or gross earnings of a shareworker.

"part-time worker" means a worker whose normal hours of work are less than those of a comparable full-time worker;

"shift work" means work on which 2 or more persons are alternately employed at different times;

"young person" means a person, other than a child, who is under the age of 18.

The normal day’s work of a worker, other than a part-time worker or a watchperson:
(a) shall consist of 8 hours’ actual work; and
(b) may begin on any day of the week, whether or not on a public holiday.

A normal working day for every domestic worker, other than a watchperson and a garde-malade, shall be of 8 hours to be performed between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
The normal working day for a watchperson and a garde-malade shall consist of 12 hours.

A normal working week for a domestic worker, other than a watchperson and a garde-malade, shall be of 48 hours.

Subject to subsection (3) -
(a) a worker and an employer may agree on the number of hours of work to be performed in excess of the stipulated hours where the exigencies of an enterprise so require;
(b) no employer shall require a worker to perform work in excess of the stipulated hours unless he has given, as far as is practicable, at least 24 hours Acts notice in advance to the worker of the extra work to be performed.

Subject to subsection (5), where a -
(a) worker works on a public holiday, he shall be remunerated at twice the notional rate per hour for every hour of work performed;
(b) worker, other than a watchperson, performs more than 90 hours of work or such lesser number of hours as may be specified in an agreement in a fortnight, not being the hours of work referred to in paragraph (a), he shall be remunerated at one and a half times the notional rate per hour for every hour of work performed; or
(c) watchperson performs more than 144 hours of work in any fortnight, not being the hours of work referred to in paragraph (a), he shall be remunerated at one and a half times the notional rate per hour for every hour of work performed.

Subject to subsection (3) -
(b) no employer shall require a worker to perform work in excess of the stipulated hours unless he has given, as far as is practicable, at least 24 hours Acts notice in advance to the worker of the extra work to be performed.

A worker who does not wish to work in excess of the stipulated hours on a particular day shall notify his employer, at least 24 hours in advance, of his intention not to work on that day.

A domestic worker, other than a watchperson or a garde-malade, shall
be remunerated at -
(a) one and a half times the basic rate for work done in excess of 8 hours or after 10 p.m. on any day other than a public holiday;
(b) twice the basic rate for the first 8 hours’ work performed on a public holiday before 10 p.m.;
(c) three times the basic rate for work done in excess of 8 hours or after 10 p.m. on a public holiday.

Every employer shall, unless the employer and worker agree otherwise, grant to the worker on each working day:
(a) a meal break of one hour not later than 4 consecutive hours of work; and
(b) one tea break of at least 20 minutes or two tea breaks of at least 10 minutes each.

Every domestic worker shall be entitled on every working day to a lunch break of one hour.

A worker shall not be required to resume work before a lapse of 11 hours after he has ceased work.

Every worker shall be entitled to a rest day of at least 24 consecutive hours in every period of 7 consecutive days, and the rest day shall at least twice a month be a Sunday, or any other day as may be agreed between the worker and the employer.

A watchperson or a garde-malade who works regularly on Sundays shall be entitled to 3 days’ leave without pay in every month, one of the days being a Sunday.

Subject to subsection (7), every worker, other than a part-time worker, who remains in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of 12 consecutive months shall be entitled, during each subsequent period of 12 months while he remains in continuous employment, to 20 working days’ annual leave or such similar leave under any other name.

Subject to subsection (7), every worker, other than a part-time worker, who remains in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of 12 consecutive months shall be entitled, during each subsequent period of 12 months while he remains in continuous employment, to 20 working days’ annual leave or such similar leave under any other name.

Notwithstanding subsection (1), every worker shall be entitled to 2 days’ leave in every year, in addition to the leave specified in:
(a) subsection (1);
(b) any other enactment;
(c) any agreement;
(d) any collective agreement; or
(e) any award following arbitration.

Where a worker has not taken or been granted all the leave to which he is entitled under this section, he shall be paid a normal day¿s wage in respect of each day’s annual leave still due at the end of the period of 12 consecutive months.

Where an employer and a worker are unable to agree as to when the leave under this section is to be taken, half of the leave period shall be fixed by the employer and the other half by the worker.

Where a domestic worker is required to work not less than 6 days in a
week and has been in continuous employment with the same employer for 12 consecutive months, that worker shall be entitled during the following 12 months to -
(a) 14 days’ annual leave.

Where a part-time worker is required to work less than 6 days in a week, that domestic worker shall be entitled to leave computed in accordance with the following formula -
N/W x number of days of leave granted under subparagraph (1), where
"N" means the number of days that worker is required to work in a week, and "W" means the number of working days in a week of a comparable full-time worker.

Where a part-time worker remains in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of 12 consecutive months, he shall be entitled during each subsequent period of 12 months, to the number of days of annual leave on full pay computed in accordance with the following formula:

N/W x 20 normal working days, where "N" means the number of days of work he is required to perform in a week and "W" means the number of working days in a week of a comparable full-time worker.

Holidays in Mauritius in 2011: 16 days

- New Year
Saturday 1 January
- New Year
Sunday 2 January
- New Year (special)
Monday 3 January
- Thaipoosam Cavadee
Thursday 20 January
- Abolition of Slavery
Tuesday 1 February
- Chinese Spring Festival
Thursday 3 February
- Maha Shivaratree
Wednesday 2 March
- National Day
Saturday 12 March
- Ougadi
Monday 4 April
- Labour Day
Sunday 1 May
- Eid-Ul-Fitr*
Wednesday 31 August
- Ganesh Chaturthi
Friday 2 September
- Divali
Wednesday 26 October
- All Saints Day
Tuesday 1 November
- Arrival of Indentured Labourers
Wednesday 2 November
- Christmas
Sunday 25 December

A daily paid worker who remains in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of 12 consecutive months shall be entitled during each subsequent period of 12 months while he remains in continuous employment, to a normal day’s pay in respect of every public holiday, other than a Sunday, on which he is not required to work that occurs while he remains in the continuous employment of the employer.

Where a worker, other than a daily paid worker, is required to work on a public holiday, other than a Sunday, he shall be paid, in addition to his normal wage, any remuneration due under section 16.
Subject to subsection (5), where a -
(a) worker works on a public holiday, he shall be remunerated at twice the notional rate per hour for every hour of work performed;

Domestic Workers:
A watchperson or a garde-malade who -
(a) performs more than a normal day’s work on any day, other than a public holiday, shall be remunerated at one and a half times the basic rate;
(b) works on a public holiday shall be remunerated -
(i) for the first 12 hours, at twice the basic rate;
(ii) thereafter, at three times the basic rate.

Where a domestic worker, other than a monthly paid worker, remains
in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of 12 consecutive months, that worker shall be entitled, in the following 12 months, to a normal day’s pay in respect of every public holiday, other than a Sunday, that occurs while he is in the service of the employer and on which he is not required to work.

Where a domestic worker who would otherwise have been entitled to a
normal day’s pay under subparagraph (1) or a monthly paid domestic worker is required to work on a public holiday, other than a Sunday, that domestic worker shall be paid at the end of the next pay period one normal day’s pay in addition to any remuneration due under paragraph 2.

A worker, other than a part-time worker or a watchperson, and an employer may agree that the worker works in excess of the stipulated hours without added remuneration, if the number of hours covered in a fortnight does not exceed 90 hours, or such lesser number of hours as may be specified in an agreement.

Where a part-time worker remains in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of 12 consecutive months, he shall be entitled during each subsequent period of 12 months, to the number of days of annual leave on full pay computed in accordance with the following formula:

N/W x 20 normal working days, where "N" means the number of days of work he is required to perform in a week and "W" means the number of working days in a week of a comparable full-time worker.

No person shall employ a young person in an industrial undertaking between 10.00 p.m. and 5.00 a.m.

A worker on shift work may work in excess of the stipulated hours, without added remuneration, provided -
(a) the worker and the employer agree on the number of hours of work to be performed in the shift; and
(b) the average number of hours covered in a fortnight does not exceed 90 hours or such lesser number of hours as may be specified in an agreement.