NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE

Citation

1. This Order may be cited as the Minimum Wages Order, 2014.

National minimum wage

2. (1) Subject to clause 8, on the coming into force of this Order, the national minimum wage for workers in Trinidad and Tobago shall be at the rate of fifteen dollars per hour exclusive of gratuities, service charges and commissions.

(2) A worker who completes a normal working day normal working week, or a normal working month shall be paid no less than the amounts set out in the First Schedule.

(3) An output or piece worker who works at the employer’s premises or whose hours are otherwise recorded and whose hours are controlled by the employer, shall receive no less than the rate of fifteen dollars per hour.

(4) Where the hours of an output or piece worker are not controlled by the employer and those hours are not otherwise recorded, the worker shall be paid according to a written agreement between the worker and the employer which should state–

(a) a fair estimate of the average number of hours the worker is likely to perform on a normal working day; and

(b) an agreed output or piece rate.

(5) The written agreement referred to in subclause (4), shall be maintained by the employer as part of the worker’s pay record and the rate agreed shall not be less than the equivalent of the national minimum wage.

Normal working hours

3. (1) The normal working day shall not exceed eight hours, exclusive of meal and rest breaks.

(2) The normal working week shall not exceed forty hours, exclusive of meals and rest breaks.

(3) The normal working month shall not exceed one hundred and seventy-three and three, three, three, four over ten thousand hours, exclusive of meals and rest breaks.

(4) Notwithstanding subclause (1), the normal working day for businesses which schedule workers to work only four days in the week shall not exceed ten hours, exclusive of meal and rest breaks.

(5) Where a worker continues to work for two hours after his normal working day, he shall be entitled to a paid break of no less than fifteen minutes and to a further paid break of no less than twenty minutes for every additional two-hour period.

Meal and rest breaks

4. (1) A worker is entitled to a meal break of not less than three-quarters of an hour after no more than four and one-half consecutive hours, calculated from the scheduled time of commencement of duty and an additional rest break of no less than a quarter of an hour after a subsequent period of no more than three hours.

(2) A worker on continuous or non-continuous shift work is entitled to a paid break of no less than twenty minutes after no more than four and one-half consecutive hours calculated from the scheduled time of commencement of duty and an additional paid break of no less than the ten minutes after a subsequent period of no more than three hours.

Overtime rates

5. (1) Subject to subclause (2) and clause 6, a worker who works overtime–

(a) on his normal working day or on off-days, Sundays or public holidays; or

(b) for each additional hour or part thereof beyond forty hours in any one week exclusive of meal and rest break, shall be paid at the rates set out in the Second Schedule.

(2) A worker, whose work schedule requires him to work in continuous or non-continuous shifts in a normal working week, in which every day of the week including Sunday is a normal working day, shall be paid the overtime rates set out in the Second Schedule for work performed beyond eight hours on a working day, on off-days and on public holidays.