Mauritius: Special vacation leave coming soon

Employer Action Code: Act

The Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. X of 2024) implements a variety of measures announced in the Minister of Finance's Budget Speech 2024 – 2025. The bill’s provisions are broad in scope and include amendments to several employment-related laws, most notably increasing the duration of paid maternity and paternity leave and regulating the special “vacation leave” established by the Workers’ Rights Act in 2019 that will first become available for use by eligible employees in October 2024. The act took effect on July 27, 2024 (unless otherwise noted below).

Key details

The main provisions impacting employment include:

• Effective June 7, 2024, employer-paid maternity leave increased from 14 to 16 weeks (18 weeks for multiple or premature births). Employer-paid paternity leave increased from five workdays to four consecutive weeks. Employees on maternity or paternity leave are protected against workplace discrimination and termination (while on leave).
• With respect to the entitlement to 30 calendar days of employer-paid vacation leave for employees earning up to 600,000 Mauritian rupees (MUR) (about $13,000 U.S. dollars) annually after five consecutive years of service with the same employer, which is provided in addition to the minimum annual leave entitlement of 22 workdays: Employees are required to apply at least three months in advance of the start of vacation leave, which the employer is expected to accommodate. Vacation leave may be taken as a single block or in increments during a five-year period, subject to a minimum of six-day blocks. In the event an employer prevents an employee from taking vacation leave (such as due to specific business needs), the employee must be compensated for any scheduled leave not taken. Unused vacation leave cannot be carried forward beyond five years.
• A “right to disconnect” was introduced for all staff during nights and weekends (as defined by the act). When business circumstances require staff to work, they are entitled to a “disturbance allowance” equal to 200% of normal hourly pay.
• Employees entitled to overtime and holiday work compensation (of 150% and 200% of normal pay, respectively) are able to opt to receive paid time off in lieu. Separately, employers are able to require staff to work from home during extreme weather conditions only if specified conditions apply. In such cases, staff are entitled to 200% of normal pay (currently 300%). Staff earning MUR 600,000 or more annually are exempt from the enhanced pay requirement for extreme weather.
• The 2023 mandate for companies with more than 250 employees to provide onsite or nearby (within one kilometer) childcare facilities for the children of employees under the age of 3 will be revised based on new regulations still to be determined from the Ministry of Labor, with the expectation that the new regulations will offer more flexibility.

Employer implications

In addition to reviewing their family leave policies, companies with employees becoming eligible for vacation leave should review their leave policies. Given the substantial amount of annual and vacation leave available to claimants, accommodation of both vacation and annual leave may be challenging. The option for employees to accept pay in lieu of unused vacation leave of up to 24 days may be more attractive for both employees and employers.