A company licensed under the International Trade Zone Act, 1995 (ITZ Act) is considered as ex-territorial i.e a company outside of Seychelles. Therefore, some specific laws listed in the Non-applicability schedule of the Act do not apply to these companies.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is mandated to license, regulate and supervise all the activities performed within the demarcated trade zones in Seychelles.
The Employment Act, 1995 as amended, is one of the five legislations that does not apply to International Trade Zone (ITZ) licensed companies. It is important to note that the framework has its own regulation since its inception, namely the International Trade Zone (Employment) Regulations, 1997 and the International Trade Zone (Conditions of Employment) Order, 1997. The FSA regulates and administers employment matters within the framework.
The rationale behind the separation of the employment regulations are that given that the FSA is already regulating the framework and understands the needs of those companies, the government took the decision to allow the authority to regulate employment matters within the zones to streamline and reduce stress imposed on the manpower of the relevant ministry. Furthermore, the decision to have a separate employment regulation from that of the Seychelles territory is that it is a common competitive advantage practice in other free trade zones around the globe.
ITZ work permits application for non-Seychellois
Given the type and nature of business activity conducted by ITZ companies within free zones, they are in constant demand for more skilled and unskilled labour. As such, all work permit applications for non-Seychellois are submitted to the FSA.
Applications endorsed by the FSA are exempted from payment of the gainful occupation permit (GOP) fee. Note that the exemption only applies to ITZ licensed companies.
Upon receipt of the documents, the FSA verifies and submits the same to the employment department for approval of post which is judged on merit and the non-availability of skilled Seychellois employees. As per the normal procedure, the immigration division issues the work permit.
Employment visit and Health and Safety checks
The authority as the regulator of all matters concerning the ITZ also conducts employment visits and health and safety checks on the premises of ITZ licensed companies upon which employees are asked questions about their working conditions and treatment at the workplace. The conversation between the employees and the authority are treated as highly confidential.
Based on the findings of the visit, the authority assesses the employer and makes recommendations for improvement. Follow-up visits are regularly conducted to assess the compliance with the FSA’s recommendations.
Grievance procedure
In the event that a worker is terminated in one of the ITZ companies, the worker may initiate a grievance procedure with the FSA free of charge.
However, the worker has 14 days to register his/her grievance with the authority. Upon registration and submission of all necessary documents by the complainant, the authority has 42 days to give its determination.
Source: Seychelles Nation
