Nestled between the Caribbean Sea and the rainforest on the eastern coast of Central America, Belize is the home of a small and diverse nation. The country, formerly known as British Honduras, was the United Kingdom’s last colony on the American mainland and still maintains strong ties with Britain. Tourism and ecotourism are major sources of foreign currency. Belize’s attractions include wildlife, Mayan ruins and one of the longest barrier reefs in the world. It also has the largest cave system in Central America. The Belizean diet is both modern and traditional. Breakfast typically consists of bread, flour tortillas, or fry jacks that are often homemade. Fry jacks are eaten with various cheeses, “fry” beans, various forms of eggs or cereal, along with powdered milk, coffee, or tea.
Persons employed under an oral or written contract on a daily basis (except time off), and for more than 2 weeks, are considered to be employed for an indefinite time. Such employees can be paid on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis.
An employment contract is required to be concluded in writing:
When the agreement is made for a period exceeding 3 months
When the contract is made in Belize and is to be executed partially or wholly outside Belize
When the contract stipulates conditions of employment that are significantly different from the usual terms of employment for similar work
Details of a written contract must include the identity of parties, duration of notice, remuneration, hours, etc. A labor officer must attest to the agreement within 7 days of signing.
The labor code in Belize does not define "temporary" in terms of time. A generally accepted approach that minimizes compliance risk is to ensure that the agreement timeframe is bound to a documented end date (i.e., a project plan, a sales season, etc.), noted in the organization's paperwork. Employers can hire casual workers for short periods. In such cases, wages must be paid immediately on the completion of the work. Employees may be paid daily, with their wages calculated based on the number of days actually worked.
Employment contracts can contain provisions for a probationary period of 2 weeks up to 6 months. The employer and employee may agree to a longer probationary period not exceeding 6 months.
The standard workweek is 45 hours (or 9 hours daily). Work done in excess of these hours is considered overtime. The employee is entitled to at least 9 consecutive hours of rest between working days. After 6 consecutive hours of work, an employee is entitled to a 1-hour break that is not counted as working time.
Employees are entitled to at least 2 working weeks of paid annual leave after completing 1 year of service with the same employer. Paid annual leave should be taken all at once, but it can be split into two periods with the agreement of both the employer and the employee. The employer and employee may also agree for the employee to take paid annual leave before completing the 1 year of service. The employer must allow the employee to take paid annual leave within 6 months of its accrual. Only in the instance of termination is payment in lieu of annual leave permissible.
When an employee takes annual leave in one period, the employer must pay the wages for the annual leave no later than the day before the leave commences. If the employee takes the leave in two periods, half of the pay will be due the day before each period begins.
Employees who have worked for at least 60 days for the same employer within the last 12 months are entitled to paid sick leave when working under that same employer. An eligible employee is entitled to 16 working days of paid sick leave in a 12-month period. The wages paid during sick leave should correspond to the employee's wages during the last 16 days of work before the sick leave began. The employer may request, in writing, a medical certificate. If the employee fails to produce the certificate within 48 hours of the request, the sick leave is not required to be paid. Nothing prohibits the employer and employee from agreeing to more than 16 days of sick leave in a 12-month period.
When the employee is also entitled to Social Security benefits, the first 3 days are to be paid at the employee's normal rate of wages, the following 13 days should be paid as the difference between the Social Security entitlement and the normal rate of wages, and after that, only the entitlements from Social Security will be paid.
Belizean labor law grants employees a total of 14 weeks of fully paid maternity leave. Maternity leave shall be taken as follows:
Up to a maximum of 7 weeks before the expected date of confinement
The remaining maternity leave balance after the expected date of confinement
2 weeks before and 7 weeks after the expected date of confinement is mandatory
Employees are eligible for this leave if they have been employed for at least 150 days with the same employer during the 12 months immediately preceding confinement.
If an employee is entitled to receive maternity benefits from Belize's Social Security Fund, the employee will receive maternity benefits from Social Security, and in addition be entitled to be paid by her employer the difference, if any. The state maternity allowance is equal to 80% of the woman's average weekly insurable earnings in the 39 weeks before maternity leave commences. The minimum weekly benefit is BZD 44 (Belizean dollars) and the maximum weekly benefit is BZD 384. Women must have paid 50 contributions to the Social Security Fund to qualify to receive this benefit.
The Social Security Fund of Belize provides a lump sum grant of BZD 300 (Belize dollars) to insured employees at childbirth if their spouses are not entitled to it and if they have paid at least 50 contributions and at least 25 contributions in the 39 months immediately preceding the maternity leave. There are no provisions for paternity leave in Belize.
The Belizean Labor Act states that employment contracts can be terminated by either party with the following notice periods, depending on the duration of service:
If the employee has worked for more than 2 weeks but less than 6 months – 1 week
If the employee has worked for more than 6 months but less than 2 years – 2 weeks
If the employee has worked for more than 2 years but less than 5 years – 4 weeks
If the employee has worked for more than 5 years – 8 weeks
There are exceptions to the notice period requirements and employers can provide pay in place of notice instead of observing the notice period.
In Belize, where an employee who has been continuously employed by any employer for a period of:
5 to 10 years, and
Their employment is terminated by the employer, or
They retire on or after attaining the age of 60 years or
They retire on medical grounds,
That employee shall be paid a severance pay of 1 week’s wages with respect to each completed year of service
If an employee has been continuously employed for over 10 years and their employment is:
Terminated by the employer for reasons, which do not amount to dismissal, or
Ended because the employee retires on or after attaining the age of 60 years or on medical grounds, or
The employee abandons the service of an employer for a good and sufficient cause, or
The employee who resigns after a minimum of 10 years is eligible for a gratuity equal to severance pay, or
The employee is terminated on the expiration of a contract for a definite period.
That employee shall be paid a severance pay of 2 weeks’ wages for each complete year of service.
