The Labour Department, Ministry of Labour and Social Partnership Relations, is reminding entities operating under the provisions of the Shops Act – 2015 that Independence Day and Christmas Day are two of the four closed days stipulated by the Act. The other closed days are Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Section 4 of the Shops Act permits the occupier of a shop to apply to the Chief Labour Officer for the grant of a licence to operate on a closed day.
Shops in which only members of the occupier’s family are employed and those listed in the First Schedule to the Act, are exempt from the requirement to apply for a licence to operate on a closed day. Persons may download the First Schedule by clicking here.
The Labour Department is further reminding operators that a shop assistant who works on a closed day is entitled to be paid twice his or her ordinary rate of pay.
Applications with respect to a licence to operate on Independence Day are to be submitted no later than Wednesday, November 25, 2020 and with respect to Christmas Day, no later than Monday, December 7, 2020.
Persons may click here to download the Application For Licence To Open Shop For Business On Closed Day.
Occupiers are required to complete, sign and scan the first section of the form only and email the entire document to claudette.hope-greenidge@barbados.gov.bb.
For further information, persons may contact the Industrial Relations Section of the Labour Department, at 535-1506 to 535-1512, 535-1526, 535-1533 and 535-1566.
