On July 21st 2020, Minister of Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration, Hon. Vincent Wheatley, announced in the House of Assembly that businesses that are not in Good Standing will be allowed to renew work permits under the condition of presenting a payment plan to clear outstanding fees.
It was first announced on July 10th by Minister Wheatley , that effective immediately, all work permit renewals being submitted to the Department of Labour and Workforce Development are to be accompanied by the company’s good standings from the Social Security Board, Inland Revenue Department and National Health Insurance, as well as the certificates of earnings from the Social Security Board and Inland Revenue Department for the applicable employee seeking a renewal of his or her work permit. Without the mentioned documentation work permits will not be accepted by the Department of Labour and Workforce Development.
Shortly thereafter, Hon. Wheatley disclosed that it was brought to his attention that many employers, who have large outstanding balance, are actually unable to make one-time payments to qualify for Good Standing Certificates.
After the Minister took into consideration the fact that business owners were still feeling the effects of the 2017 hurricanes, the decision was then made to relax the requirements.
Hon. Wheatley explained that the government is aware of the difficulties business owners and employers face and it is not their intention to make things more difficult for these businesses.
The relevant department, in which balances are outstanding, will be mandated to assist employers with payment plans in order to pay off their balances. These plans can be attached to the renewal work permit application which the Department of Labour and Workforce Development will accept to process the renewals.
The Minister revealed plans of implementing an electronic system that would allow the various departments to respond to the requests in a timely manner.