Employ in Barbados with ease.
Whether you want to hire one person or a whole team, Remote's guide to hiring employees and contractors in Barbados can help you get started. Note that Remote's employer of record services are not yet live in Barbados.
Capital city
Bridgetown
Currency
Barbadian dollar
($, BBD)Languages spoken
English and Bajan Creole
Facts & Stats
The island nation of Barbados has been inhabited since the 13th century by the indigenous Kalinago people, prior to the arrival of European explorers, after which the territory rapidly changed hands as a Spanish, Portuguese, and finally a British colony.
In recent times, Barbados holds a place as a popular tourist haven with its pristine beaches, classical architecture, and Caribbean cuisine that draws over a million visitors annually.
Capital city
Bridgetown
Currency
Barbadian dollar
($, BBD)Languages spoken
English and Bajan Creole
Population size
287,371 (2020)
Ease of doing business
Medium
Cost of living index
81.49 (2021)
Payroll frequency
Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly
VAT - standard rate
17.5%
GDP - real growth rate
19.0% (2020)
Grow your team in Barbados with Remote
You can pay contractors now in Barbados with Remote in some currencies (talk to an expert now for full details).
Note that we are busy building our own entity in Barbados to provide you with the best possible employment solutions for your employees, but our employer of record service is not yet live in this country.
To employ in Barbados, companies must own a local legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solution. Developing the processes required to manage payroll, benefits, taxes, and onboarding in countries like Barbados can get complicated fast, especially without localized expertise.
If you're looking to start hiring in a country like this, partnering with a global employment solution like Remote makes it easy for your company to employ workers quickly, cost-effectively, and in full compliance with all local legislation.
In the countries where we do offer our EOR services, Remote takes on the responsibility and legal risks of international employment so you can focus on hiring great talent and growing your business.
Employing in Barbados
Provisions for employee protections and workers’ rights are spelled out in the Barbadian Constitution and across several government statutes, such as:
- the Employment Rights Act,
- the Trade Unions Act,
- the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and
- the Severance Payments Act.
Employees in Barbados generally enjoy protection against discrimination based on age and race.
Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include the minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Barbados.
Minimum wage
The Barbadian minimum wage is currently fixed between BDS$ 6.25 - BDS $8.5 per hour, or roughly $3.12 - $4.25 hourly.
Competitive benefits package in Barbados
At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practicing “fair equity”, which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).
We are still busy building our own entity in Barbados, but our benefits packages for all countries are tailored to fulfill the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Mental Health Support
- Pension or 401(K)
- Life and Disability Insurance
Calculate the cost to hire an employee
in Barbados
Taxes in Barbados
Learn how employment taxes affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Barbados.
Employer
6.75%: National Insurance Fund
2%: Non-contributory Fund
0.75%: Unemployment contribution
0.75%: Employment Injury
0.5%: Severance contributions
0.5%: Training Levy
1.5%: Health Service Contribution
Employee
6.75%: National Insurance Fund
2%: Non-contributory Fund
0.75%: Unemployment contribution
0.5%: Training Levy
0.1%: Catastrophe Fund
1%: Health Service Contribution
Types of leave
Paid time off
After working with an employer for five months, employees are entitled to three weeks of paid time off, although this can be postponed by an employer for up to six months.
In practice, this means that employees might end up taking their first vacation after a year of employment.
Public holidays
There are 11 public holidays and employees are entitled to double pay if they’re required to work on a public holiday.
Sick leave
There’s no statutory sick leave specified under Barbadian law and employers are only required to adhere to whatever provisions laid down in the employment contract.
Maternity leave
Female employees who have been employed for at least a year are entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave, starting six weeks before delivery.
Paternity/parental leave
There’s no statutory paternity leave provided under Barbadian law.
Other leave
Jury duty leave: Employers are obligated to permit employees to take paid leave off work for jury duty.
Employment termination
Termination process
Employee contracts can be terminated with written notice provided a reasonable justification is provided. Otherwise, an employee who is deemed by a labor tribunal to have been terminated unfairly might have to be reinstated.
Notice period
Employees should be informed of a termination anywhere from a week to ten weeks in advance — depending on their tenure, otherwise payment can be made in lieu of notice.
Severance pay
The Barbadian Severance Payments Act states that employees who’re laid off for reasons other than misconduct are entitled to severance benefits, provided they have been employed for at least 104 weeks.
In such circumstances, an employee would be owed two and half weeks’ wages for each year worked, for the first ten years of employment.
This rate increase to three weeks’ pay for the 11th to the 20th year of employment, and finally, three and half weeks’ pay for the next 13 years of employment, i.e., years 21 to 33 of an employee’s tenure.
- Years 1 - 10: 2.5 weeks’ pay per year
- Years 11 - 20: 3 weeks’ pay per year
- Years 21 - 33: 3.5 weeks’ pay per year
Probation periods
There are no statutory probation periods and employees can generally be dismissed at will until after they’ve completed a year of service.
