s.2Interpretation
2
Section 2Part 1 — INTRODUCTORY

Interpretation

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In this Law —
"adjudicating authority" means the Grand Court, a court of summary jurisdiction or Employment Tribunal;
"arrangement" in relation to anything that is to be agreed between an employer and an employee means something that the Law does not require to be stipulated in the contract of employment but arises from it;
"authorised officer" means the Director or any officer from the Department of Employment Relations generally or specifically authorised to do the things in relation to which the expression is used, including employment inspectors and conciliation officers;
"average daily wage" means the daily wage of a wage-earning employee derived from multiplying his basic hourly wage by the average number of hours worked per day during the preceding twelve months or since his date of hire if he has been employed for less than twelve months;
"best employment practice" means the internationally accepted practice regarding any aspect of employment;
"basic wage" means the ordinary wage due to an employee and does not include gratuities;
"basic salary" means the ordinary salary due to an employee and does not include gratuities;
"child" means a person under the age of fourteen years;
"casual employee" has the meaning assigned to it in section 3;
"complaint" means a formal complaint regarding any employment-related matter made to the Director by —
an employer, employee, employers' group or employees' group; or
any government authority or department, or any agent thereof, having an interest in enforcing any employment-related Law;
"constructive dismissal" means a form of unfair dismissal by which the employer does not expressly dismiss an employee but creates or allows the creation or continuance of circumstances in the workplace which do not make it reasonably practicable for the employee to remain in employment;
"contract of employment" means a written agreement made between an employer and an employee by which a contract of service is instituted;
"court", except where the context indicates otherwise, means a court of summary jurisdiction, established by section 3 of the Summary Jurisdiction Law (1995 Revision);
"Department" means the Department of Employment Relations established by section 73;
"Director" means the Director of Employment Relations appointed under section 73;
"disability" means a mental or physical impairment;
"discrimination" means the unreasonable disadvantaging of any person;
"employee" means a person who is or should be under a written contract of employment with an employer, and includes a person whose services have been interrupted by a suspension of work during a period of leave or temporary lay-off;
"employee of managerial level" means a person who plans, organises, controls, co-ordinates or directs the business of an employer or part of that business, and who is paid a salary rather than wages,
and includes a person whose job is concerned with the formulation of policy and decision-making regarding that policy;
but does not include a lower and middle-level supervisor or a supervisor who does not substantially contribute to policy formulation or interpretation and who does not have substantial decision-making responsibilities;
"employee of professional level" means a person who performs professional functions and is paid a salary rather than wages;
"employer" means a person who has entered into, or should have entered into, a written contract of employment with an employee and includes an employment agency or other agent, representative or manager of such person, who is placed in a position of authority over an employee and includes a predecessor-employer and successor-employer;
"employment-related Laws" means
this Law and regulations made hereunder;
any written laws relating to pensions, workers' compensation, trade and business licensing, or trade unions;
any other written laws directly or indirectly relating to employment;
"employment-related matter" means a matter relating to an employment-related Law;
"essential services" means persons engaged in the police service, prison service or other government security services, fire services, medical services and such other services as the Governor may by regulation prescribe;
"Governor" means Governor in Cabinet;
"gratuity" means money paid to one who renders service to a patron, customer or client in appreciation for good service or as an additional charge levied by or on behalf of an employer in excess of the basic contractual obligation of that patron, customer or client;
"household domestic" means a person employed in a private home or residence as a maid, child minder, gardener or similar household help;
"juvenile" means a person who has attained the age of fourteen years but has not attained the age of eighteen years;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for the administration of this Law;
"Monthly Record" means a Monthly Record of Gratuities referred to in section 38;
"national minimum basic wage" means the wage prescribed as such under section 23;
"notice to remedy" means a notice issued under section 68;
"operator of a workplace" means one or more persons responsible for operating, managing or supervising a workplace, and includes any person with actual, apparent or ratified authority to act on behalf of that person and, for clarification purposes, includes the employer and owner of a business;
"overtime pay" means pay referred to in section 29;
"parental leave" means maternity leave or paternity leave;
"part-time employee" means
an employee whose contract of employment requires him to work less hours than the standard work week adopted by the employer;
a seasonal employee;
"pension benefits" means the benefits referred to in the relevant law relating to pensions;
"physical disability" means physical incapacitation due to illness, injury or birth defect;
"predecessor-employer" means an employer who has transferred his business to a new or different owner such that an employee of the first employer continues to be employed by the new owner;
"probation period" means a period of employment referred to in section 8;
"pro-rata basis" means, in reference to the benefits accruing to part-time and seasonal employees, the proportional relationship between the average number of hours worked per week by such employee during the preceding twelve months, or since his date of hire if he has been employed for less than twelve months, and the standard work week adopted by the employer for all of his wage-earning employees;
"public holiday" means a day declared to be a Public Holiday under the Public Holiday Law (1995 Revision);
"redundancy" means a situation where the tasks an employee was hired to perform no longer exist and the employee is as a result severed from employment whether the cause is
lack of, or substantial reduction in, customers or orders;
retrenchment;
installation of labour-saving machinery or the employer's going out of business;
a hurricane, earthquake or other Act of God; or
any other reason similar to the above;
"remuneration" means wages or salary;
"salary" means an amount of money paid to an employee by an employer on a regular basis, such as fortnightly or monthly, and not paid on an hourly, daily or piece-work basis;
"seasonal employee" means an employee engaged in an activity which does not take place all-year round or one which is substantially reduced during certain times of the year to such an extent that it is necessary or expedient to lay-off some or all employees temporarily;
"service employee" means an employee of a service employer, which employee works in the Islands, is a wage-earner as opposed to a salaried employee, and actively provides services to patrons on behalf of a service employer, either directly or indirectly, and whose job is not of managerial or professional level;
"service employer" means an employer carrying on the business of a hotel, condominium, restaurant, place of entertainment or other licensed premises, employing service employees, whether or not gratuities are received in respect of the services provided by his business;
"severance pay" means severance pay referred to in section 43;
"sick leave" means leave referred to in section 17;
"standard work week" means the number of hours adopted by an employer as a standard work week and applied to all wage-earners of that employer;
"successor-employer" pay means a person who takes over the business, or a part thereof, of a predecessor-employer and continues to employ an employee hired by the predecessor-employer;
"summary court" means a court of summary jurisdiction, constituted under the Summary Jurisdiction Law (1995 Revision);
"terms of employment" means the terms stated in a contract of employment or which are applied as a matter of law;
"wage" means an amount of money paid to an employee by an employer for the services rendered by that employee and paid on an hourly, daily or piece-work basis;
"workers' compensation" means the provision offered by an employer to his employees to ensure their compensation in the event of injury to their person, damage to their property or occupational diseases, where such injury, property damage or occupational disease occurs in or in relation to the workplace, or otherwise in the service of the employer;
"workplace" means premises in which an employee is employed to work and includes a shop, office, factory or other licensed premises, as well as a household employing a domestic or such other place as the Governor may, under section 61 (2), designate as a workplace.
Wherever in this Law reference is made to an agreement in relation to terms of employment, such reference means agreement in writing as part of a contract of employment and, for the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that anything that constitutes an "arrangement" as defined in subsection (1) does not, unless otherwise stated, have to be agreed in writing but the parties may make it part of the contract of employment if they so wish.

Defined Terms

adjudicating authorityarrangementauthorised officeraverage daily wagebest employment practicebasic wagebasic salarychildcasual employeecomplaintconstructive dismissalcontract of employmentcourtDepartmentDirectordisabilitydiscriminationemployeeemployee of managerial levelemployee of professional levelemployeremployment-related Lawsemployment-related matteressential servicesGovernorgratuityhousehold domesticjuvenileMinisterMonthly Recordnational minimum basic wagenotice to remedyoperator of a workplaceovertime payparental leavepart-time employeepension benefitsphysical disabilitypredecessor-employerprobation periodpro-rata basispublic holidayredundancyremunerationsalaryseasonal employeeservice employeeservice employerseverance paysick leavestandard work weeksuccessor-employersummary courtterms of employmentwageworkers' compensationworkplace

Cross References