If you’re looking to expand your business presence globally, you need strategic tools to help you grow. At G-P, our goal is to help aspiring businesses develop anywhere in the world with no barriers. Build a team in Saint Kitts and Nevis with us at your side. Let us handle legal compliance, HR requirements, and other critical considerations throughout the process so you can focus on doing business.
When you work with us, you’ll get solutions that help you establish your company worldwide while benefitting from our insights into local market standards and requirements. From setting up your business to managing visas to following best hiring practices, we’re here to help optimize your business growth overseas.
Hiring in Saint Kitts and Nevis
Officially known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, the dual-island country of Saint Kitts and Nevis offers dynamic business opportunities with its thriving economy. The island nation is located in the West Indies and offers booming tourism and other market sectors for wide-ranging growth opportunities.
If you’re considering hiring workers and establishing operations in the country, G-P can simplify the process for you with on-the-ground expertise and resources. We have more than 180 entities globally, and our team can help you seamlessly do business, engage with local economies and hire the right professionals for your vacancies. Trust us to protect your company’s interests anywhere you want to go in the world.
In many ways, negotiating, conducting business, and hiring will be similar in any country. Ensure you’re following best practices to show professionalism and courtesy as you begin to work with local companies and employees. A polite, formal greeting and respectful engagement with your counterparts can help you establish a strong business relationship in any work environment.
Employment Contracts in Saint Kitts and Nevis
To hire employees in Saint Kitts and Nevis, it is best practice to draw up a contract that lays out requirements, expectations, and stipulations that both parties involved must meet. Developing an employment agreement allows you to begin your professional relationship with a clear establishment of what employees can receive from you and what you will expect from them.
Your contract may establish either fixed or indefinite terms for employment. It should be in written form, and any changes to the agreement will also need to be outlined in writing.
You should include some essential information in the employment agreement:
- Employer name and address
- Local business location name and address
- Employee name and address
- Employment commencement date
- Description of the employee’s position
- Outline of employee’s duties and responsibilities
- Duration of the probationary period
- Work hours
- Wage rate and time intervals for payment
- Overtime pay rates
- Length of notice required for either party to terminate the employment contract
- Leave entitlement
Working Hours in Saint Kitts and Nevis
Employees should work standard hours of eight hours per day and 40 hours each week. They are entitled to a weekly rest period of 24 hours each week.
Any work over 40 hours per week is considered overtime and should be compensated at time and a half. Work on Sundays, rest days, and public holidays should have twice the compensation rate. As an employer, you are required to register any overtime hours your employees complete.
Holidays in Saint Kitts and Nevis
Along with various forms of personal leave, employees are also entitled to paid leave during holidays. Your employees may be absent from work for each of the country’s 13 public holidays:
- New Year’s Day
- Carnival Day
- Good Friday
- Easter Monday
- Emancipation Day
- Labor Day
- Whit Monday
- National Heroes’ Day
- Culturama Day
- Independence Day
- Christmas Day
- Boxing Day
Vacation Days in Saint Kitts and Nevis
For each year of employment, your employees are entitled to 14 days of annual paid leave in addition to Sundays and holiday leave.
Saint Kitts and Nevis Sick Leave
The country’s social security system will cover payments for sick leave of up to 26 weeks. Employees must be examined by a physician and receive their attestation that the worker must take sick leave. If they are insured and submit a claim within 10 days of a doctor’s examination, they will receive 65 percent of their regular wages through the Social Security Fund for the duration of the leave.
Maternity/Paternity Leave in Saint Kitts and Nevis
Female employees may receive up to 13 weeks of maternity leave with pay, and they are entitled to obtain leave for up to six weeks before giving birth. The country’s social security system will cover 65 percent of the employee’s average weekly wages if she claims maternity benefits with the appropriate department.
Saint Kitts and Nevis Supplementary Benefits
The country’s Social Security Fund covers health insurance, disability, unemployment, and disability contributions for your employees. However, you can consider providing additional benefits, such as relocation assistance, performance awards, or travel stipends to your employees to ensure they receive competitive advantages for their hard work.
One market standard to be aware of is the December bonus, which most employers provide workers at the end of the year. The reward may be subject to a levy depending on the employee’s regular earnings.
Termination/Severance in Saint Kitts and Nevis
According to national labor laws, you may terminate employment under specified conditions:
- At any time during the probationary period without notice
- Due to serious misconduct by the employee without notice
- Due to lack of satisfactory performance of duties, if the employee has received at least two warnings in the past six months, without notice
- Due to a permanent infirmity certified by a physician that has lasted at least three months
- Due to an employee redundancy because of cessation of relevant operations, modernization or automation, reorganization, material shortages, or change in market
- Due to employer death and cessation of the business
- Due to the company going into bankruptcy
Outside of the specified conditions during probation or due to misconduct, you are responsible for providing advanced notice of termination to your employees. The required amount of notice depends on how many years they have worked for your business. You may also be responsible for severance payments based on their length of service with your company.
Paying Taxes in Saint Kitts and Nevis
Employees do not need to pay a personal income tax in Saint Kitts and Nevis, so you are not responsible for withholding income funds. Employers are required to pay a social security tax of 5 percent of each employee’s income.
As an employer, you may be responsible for paying a corporate income tax. You are also required to contribute 1 percent of employee earnings to a Severance Payment Contribution and an additional 1 percent tax to cover employment injury.
Why G-P
At G-P, we’re here to help you pursue global expansion in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Work with us to discover how we can streamline your processes and find trusted solutions for growth in new countries. Contact our team to learn more about how we can help.