Rules for hiring casual labourers
Are there any rules regarding hiring Caymanians as casual labour? Specifically, my gardener is Caymanian and he comes twice a month and I pay ‘him’ monthly, not a business, but I don’t pay pension or health insurance. Am I doing anything illegal? Same goes for my cleaner.
Auntie’s answer: I took your question to the Department of Labour and Pensions and a very kind officer dealt with it, with the caveat that you should seek further legal advice since the answer can only cover generalities and not specific cases.
According to the officer, the Labour Law (2011 Revision) does not cover the rules for hiring Caymanians as casual labourers but does offer relevant definitions. A casual employee is “a person who is employed upon an irregular or intermittent basis” and a part-time employee is a worker “whose contract of employment requires him to work less than the standard work week”. The officer recommended you seek the advice of the Department of Immigration on any relevant regulations.
As for pension, the National Pensions Law (2012 Revision) says that, with some exceptions, all employees between 18 and 60 years old have to be members of a pension plan. The exceptions deal with employees who do not have Caymanian status, or are not permanent residents, and have been working continuously for nine months or fewer, or who are employed to do housework in private residences. Self-employed people have to be a member of an approved pension plan or contribute to an individual retirement account.
The officer explained that while all Caymanians in the age group mentioned are eligible for pension contributions to be paid immediately, “who will be responsible for the contributions will be determined by the employment relationship. In this regard, the reader should seek independent legal advice taking into consideration all of the available facts”.
However, health insurance is mandatory. For more information and advice on whether you are responsible for providing that in your specific case, you can contact the Health Insurance Commission at 946-2084 or go to the Department of Health Regulatory Services website.
Category: Ask Auntie
For yout to engage your Caymanian gardener to lawfully provide their services to you without you being potentially responsible for their health insurance and pension they should be an independent contractor. They will need a Trade and Business License (available at a very nominal cost) and will need to establish health insurance and pension arrangements for themselves.
If you engage them without these arrangements in place exposes you to risk of a finding that you are an employer operating in breach of the health insurance and pensions laws – although enforcement of this legislation in the circumstances you describe may be unlikely. The real danger may be, for example, if your gardener requires medical attention and does not have health insurance.
You should also take care to ensure that they are in fact Caymanian to avoid any risk of being accused of employing a person without a work permit.
Amazing that someone has apparently found a gardener who is Caymanian.
Just have to look of course you know exactly where to find expat workers
You should ask the “born” “generational” Caymanians who own and run the “lawning services” about their experiences trying to (a) find and (b) hire and keep in employment their fellow Caymanians. Like many other Caymanian employers, they will tell you the God’s truth in private but will never say anything publicly for fear of being cursed off/bad mouthed. So maybe, 11:03, you have a mysterious source of reliable Caymanian gardeners but you the onliest one I ever hear of.