Guide To The Minimum Hourly Wage Rate
The Government has released a 14-page guide about the new minimum wage which came into effect on June 1st 2023, marking the first time in Bermuda history that the island has had a minimum wage.
The document notes, “If you are working in Bermuda, you are entitled to receive a minimum hourly wage rate of $16.40″ and explains that “the following persons are not considered employees entitled to receive the minimum hourly wage rate:
- Persons under the age of 18 years;
- Casual workers who pack groceries;
- Voluntary workers;
- Apprentices employed for the first 12 months of a training program that is registered with a Government department; and
- Persons working in family businesses who are immediate family members of the proprietor or owner of the business.
The document also notes, “If you are an employee, under the Act you are entitled to receive a minimum hourly wage rate of $16.40. This is the gross figure that you are entitled to receive per hour before deductions are taken from your wages.
“If you receive payment in the form of gratuities and service charges or are a personal service employee, your employer is entitled to set a basic wage and use the gratuities, services charges and/or commissions received to make up the difference in your wage to ensure that you receive at a minimum, the minimum hourly wage rate of $16.40.
“If the combination of your basic wage along with gratuities, service charges and/or commissions does not amount to the minimum hourly wage rate $16.40, your employer will be responsible for covering or making up the difference.”
The full Guide to the Minimum Hourly Wage Rate follows below [PDF here]:
Nobody has ever asked where the extra money to pay the increase is coming from. Keep your eye on the ball. The answer is on the left side. While Mr. Commissiong, the lead goat on this, has never told us, so we will continue to kill free enterprise in Bermuda by a bunch of lefties who hate capitalism but are always first in line to borrow from capitalists. As he takes his bow to numerous positive rewards …it will be the same head they look for in 9 months time.