In Papua New Guinea, a contract of service for a specified time or for specific work terminates when the contract expires or when the work specified in the contract is completed. Where there is no provision in a contract of service for notice of intention to terminate, the length of the notice cannot be less than the following:
Notice of termination should be provided either in writing or orally, depending on the type of employment agreement. An employer and an employee may mutually agree to terminate an employment agreement with or without notice.
Papua New Guinea offers 3 types of work permits: general, volunteer, and bridging. General work permits are for commercial industries that operate for financial gain, while volunteer work permits are for those who perform work of a voluntary nature. Bridging work permits apply to non-citizens who want to change their employment and have applied for a new work permit. Work permits can be short-term (up to 6 months), long-term (1-3 years), or bridging (up to 60 days).
Permanent residence visas are issued to the following 8 categories of individuals: business owners, skilled professionals, CEOs, spouses of citizens, religious workers, retired persons, adult children of citizens, and dependents of permanent residents. It is issued to those above 18 years of age and who have lived for more than 5 years in Papua New Guinea.
For each year of continuous service, employees are entitled to a period of 14 consecutive days of paid leave, including non-working days. If a public holiday falls within an employee's period of paid leave and is observed on a day that would have been a working day, 1 extra day should be added to account for the public holiday.
Employees who are not engaged in shift work are allowed a rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours every week from Monday to Sunday. Shift workers are allowed rest periods which cannot be less than 24 consecutive hours and must total less than 96 hours every 28 days.
In Papua New Guinea, female employees are entitled to unpaid maternity leave. Those employed for at least 12 months are entitled to 108 days, and those employed for no less than 6 months are entitled to 90 days of maternity leave.
Effective January 1, 2026, the national minimum wage increases to PGK 5.00 (Papua New Guinean Kina) per hour. The minimum wage will increase to PGK 5.25 in 2027 and to PGK 5.50 in 2028.
Employees must be paid at least once every 2 weeks, or once a month if agreed upon by an agreement between the employer and employee. Causal employees must be paid at the end of every day. Piece-rate employees can be paid at an interval of 2 weeks or on completion of the work. Salary must be paid on work days during working hours at or near the place of employment.
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