Minimum Wage: Where is the Law About a Trainee's Pay?

A person must be an employee¹ in order to be entitled to the minimum wage (MW).

In 2025, the Government agreed to the Minimum Wage Board's recommendation that 85% of the MW should be paid to persons on certain training programmes that do not exceed three months.

But where is the law that implements the recommendation? Such a law is not mentioned in any Minimum Wage Order (MWO). Is the law mentioned in an amendment to the Minimum Wage Act 2017 (MWA) or any other labour law? 

Please note that it is unlawful to pay 85% of the MW to an employee¹ - if there is no legal basis for doing so.

MW Increased by 2% on 21 January 2026

On 21 January 2026, the hourly rate of the MW increased by 2% from $10.50 to $10.71². History has proven that it is a futile exercise to object to any increase of the MW - as per section 7 of the MWA.

Changing the Terms of a Contract of Employment

If the MW increases - can an employer lawfully reduce an employee's working hours?

The answer to this question will depend on whether the working hours are contractual or non-contractual².

The 2nd Schedule of the Minimum Wage (National and Sectoral Minimum Wage) Order 2026 states that - 

"For the avoidance of doubt, this Order does not affect the normal working hours of Security Guards"

There is no statutory definition of normal working hours in the MW legislation. However, such a definition can be found in the Employment Rights Act 2012 (ERA). Section 13(3) of the ERA states that - 

“The expression “normal working hours”, in relation to an employee, means those hours which are stated in his contract of employment to be his normal working hours”.

For example, if a contract of employment states that an employee’s normal working hours are 40 hours per week. But the employee usually works 60 hours per week (i.e. 40 hours plus 20 overtime hours). The employer may lawfully reduce or remove the overtime hours without the agreement of the employee or a recognised trade union - if the overtime is non-contractual.

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1. The definition of an employee can be found in section 2 of the Minimum Wage Act 2017 (MWA). The MW applies to an hourly-paid employee. But the MWA is silent about other types of work, e.g. piecework, where an employee is not hourly-paid.

2. A contract of employment or staff handbook will usually contain terms that are contractual and non-contractual. Whether a term is contractual or non-contractual may depend on how the term is written, e.g. a bonus or overtime may be contractual or non-contractual. If a term (e.g. normal working hours or rate of pay) is contractual - it can only be lawfully changed with the agreement of an employee or a recognised trade union (RTU). If a term is non-contractual - an employer may change or remove the term without the agreement of an employee or a RTU. It may be implied that an unwritten term (e.g. a bonus or overtime) is contractual via custom and practice.

Disability Discrimination (Barbados)

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2025 (RPDA) came into force on 6 February 2025. However, the Employment (Prevention of Discrimination) Act 2020

(E(PD)A) has provided discrimination rights for persons with disabilities in relation to their employment from 21 September 2020. For example, under section 7 of the E(PD)A, an employer has a legal duty to make a reasonable adjustment for a person with a disability in relation to their employment.

Surprisingly, there is a significant difference between the statutory definitions of a disability. Under the RPDA, a disability (e.g. a mental disability) must be "certified by a registered medical practitioner". But, under E(PD)A, a disability (e.g. a mental disability) does not have to be certified by a registered medical practitioner.