A contract for an unspecified period may be concluded when the notice period given by either party to the employment contract expires. Notice may be written or verbal and can be given at any time. If the employee has been in service for at least 3 years, then the notice period cannot be less than 3 months. In any other case, employees paid at intervals of 14 days or more must receive at least 14 days’ notice before the end of the month in which notice is given, while employees paid at intervals of less than 14 days must receive notice at least equal to their pay interval.
At the employee’s request, the employer must give the employee paid time off in order to search for new employment during the notice period. The notice does not have to be given when the employer pays the employee their wages in lieu of giving notice.
Non-citizens of Vanuatu are prohibited from working in Vanuatu without a work permit. The Commissioner may issue a work permit valid for 1 year, renewable for up to 4 years. Temporary work permits may be issued for employment of 4 months or less.
Employers must pay an annual work permit tax for employing non-citizens and pay a work permit application fee upon submitting the application for each non-citizen.
Every employee who has worked for the same employer is entitled to the following:
The rate of annual leave increases to 3 working days after 20 years, 4 working days after 25 years, and 6 working days of after 30 years of service, whether continuous or not.
Annual leave should be taken in 1 period but can be taken in no more than 2 if the employee and employer agree. Annual leave may be taken wholly or partly in advance before the employee has acquired entitlement to it.
“Hours of work” means the time an employee is at the employer's disposal and does not include rest periods when the employee is not at the employer’s disposal.
Full-time employment is not defined in Vanuatu labor law. The maximum number of hours an employee may work in a week is 44 hours. The employee may only work 6 days out of the week and up to 8 hours a day. Employers must provide work for employees according to their contracts. If the employer has no work for the employee, the employer still must pay the employee for the hours of work agreed upon in the contract.
Employees are entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave at a rate of 66% of their normal salary. An employer may not allow an expecting employee to work for the first 6 weeks after the delivery date. The employee may take up to 6 weeks before delivery. Employers may not dismiss employees who are absent due to maternity leave or because of an illness related to pregnancy and certified by a medical practitioner. Absences caused by illnesses related to pregnancy are only protected for up to 3 weeks.
The minimum wage in Vanuatu is VUV 300 per hour. This is for regular hours of work, up to 44 hours per week, or 8 hours per day.
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