Employer

Employer

An employer is a person or  corporate body with whom an employee has entered into a contract of service or apprenticeship expressed or implied whereby such a person or corporate body is liable to pay salary, wages or other remuneration for services performed by the employee.

All employers must register with the NIS and pay contributions on behalf of their employee(s). An employer must ensure that every employee is registered with the NIS within four days of commencing employment. The employer’s contribution is 6.75% of the employee’s insurable earnings (5.75% must be deducted from the employee’s salary). The maximum insurable earnings on which contributions are payable are: $5,200 per month / $1,200 per week.

Employers are required to pay 1% of insurable earnings for employees under the age of 16.

The following are taken into consideration for the purpose or determining the earnings of an employee;

  • Overtime wages/payments
  • Cost of living bonus
  • Additional Payments in respect of dependants
  • Supplements for long service in industry efficiency
  • Commission on sales or similar payments
  • Gratuities paid by employer
  • Payment for night or shift work
  • Service charges
  • Any of an employee’s liabilities paid on behalf by the employer
  • Holiday Pay
  • Danger or dirt money or similar payments

Every Employer is required to submit the insurable earnings of their employees via the NIS Web Portal my.nisgrenada.org.  The e-remittance form must clearly show:

  • The name and registration number of the employer
  • The name and registration number of each employee
  • In the case of weekly paid employees the amount earned each week
  • The insurable earnings and total 12.5% contribution
  • The total contributions to be paid

The total 12.5% contribution payment must be remitted to the NIS at the end of each month. The National Insurance Laws allow for a grace period of 14 days from the end of the month within which contributions must be paid. Employers failing to do so will be charged a 10% surcharge and an additional 1% interest for every month or part of a month that the contribution payment remains outstanding.

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FAQs

Every employee/self-employed person in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique (including non-nationals) must register with the NIS, and must pay contributions.

The normal age is 16-65. However all employed persons regardless of age must register (this includes temporary and part-time workers and students with summer or part-time jobs). The contribution rate for person below or above the normal age is 1%. It is paid by the employer only.

 A total of 12.5% of insurable earnings should be made on behalf of each employee age 16 to 65; 5.75% should be deducted from the employee’s wages or salary and matched by 6.75% from the employer.

Employees under the age of 16 , your employer contributes 1% of your gross earnings on your behalf.

In the case of self-employed contributors it is 12.5% of your earnings.

That is the maximum salary on which NIS contributions must be deducted. Currently it is $5,200 for monthly paid workers. This includes:

  • Overtime payment;
  • Cost of living bonus;
  • Commission on sales or similar payments;
  • Gratuities
  • Payments for night or shift-work
  • Production bonus;
  • Service charge
  • Holiday pay etc.

Self-employed persons can qualify for all the benefits offered by the NIS.

Under the CARICOM Reciprocal Agreement on Social Security, if a person works in more than one member country and paid sufficient contributions in each country to qualify for a pension then, each country is required to pay him a separate pension based on its local Regulations. However, if he did not pay sufficient contributions to qualify for a pension in each country, the contributions paid in each member country is combined to assist him/her in meeting the qualifying conditions for such a pension. If upon combining his contributions he qualifies for such a pension, each member country where he worked is required to pay a proportional amount of the pension payable. Grenada is a party to the CARICOM Reciprocal Agreement on Social Security,

 Grenada also has a Reciprocal arrangement with the Canadian Social Security.