Wages & Minimum wages

Wage

Wage is part of the labor contract that covers the monetary compensation of labor. Employer and employee are free to determine the wage by means of an individual labor agreement or a collective labor agreement, if it complies with certain legal conditions.

These conditions are amongst others:

• The agreed upon wage by the employer and the employee must be equal to or higher than the legal minimum wage, including the agreed amount of working hours;
• The wage amount should preferably be established in writing.
   

Wage is calculated by period of time (for example, hourly, weekly or monthly wage), and is due from the time the employee starts working until the end of employment.

No wages are due by employer during the time the employee does not work, unless one of the following situations applies:

In case of illness or accident, the employee is entitled to full pay for a relatively short period (average 6 weeks) when he/she is unable to work. Exemption hereof is only allowed by a written agreement or regulation. Employees covered by the Social Insurance Bank (employees with a monthly income of less than Awg. 4,550.00) are entitled to a sickness compensation for a period of maximum two years. This compensation amounts to maximally 80% of earned salary during illness and 100% in case of accident, if the employee is the breadwinner.

In compliance with legal obligations, the employee is entitled to full pay, for a short time (a few hours), if reasonable, if he / she is unable to work due to an obligation imposed by the government (e.g. declaration of birth).
These special circumstances include among others: wife’s labor, death and funeral of family members or blood relatives. In such cases, the employee is entitled to continued payment of full wage, during a short period, to be deemed reasonable.
The employee is entitled to full pay in case of absence of the employer, as long as the employee is willing to work, but the employer does not make use hereof.

Minimum wage

When entering into any labor contract, that regards employment, an employee aged 18 or older is entitled to a salary for the work done by him/her, for an amount of at least equal to what is legally contained in the Minimum Wage Ordinance.
For the minimum wage, Aruban law has two categories. The first category "industry, construction and commerce" can be classified into:

1:40 hour workweek;
2:44 hour workweek;
3:45 hour workweek;
4:48 hour workweek.

The minimum wage as per January 1, 2024 amounts to:

• Monthly Awg.  1.986,20;
• Weekly Awg.      463,25.

Converted per hour:

To find out how many hours you work per week, check the work list displayed in the business where you work and what you have agreed with.

Some employers also have a "commission" or "points" system as an addition to the salary of the employee.

The basic wage in such companies should be supplemented by the commission to be equal or above the minimum wage. If this is not the case the employer must supplement the wages to be equal to the minimum wage.

For the second category, namely domestic services, the minimum wage is Awg.  926,65, if it regards a live-in employee who works over 22 hours a week and otherwise Awg. 10,30 per hour.

Overtime

The employer must pay overtime for work performed in excess of the standard working hours of the employee.

The compensation for overtime amounts to:

1. At least one and a half times (150%) for work that falls outside the normal working hours of the employee, but not on a rest day (day off).
2. At least twice (200%) for work done beyond the normal working hours of the employee, if it falls or days equivalent to Sundays (such as New Year's Day and Good Friday).
3. In accordance with Article 31 of the Labor Regulation Ordinance, the employer must submit an overtime register of overtime worked at his company’s by maximum the past twelve months.
4. The employer must record overtime of his/her employees based on the attached form.

For additional information regarding above mentioned amendments, consult the website of CATC aruba: http://www.catcaruba.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/201304-amendments-to-labor-legislation.pdf.