means a trainer who is accredited with the Fiji National University or other recognised local, regional or international training institutions;

means the National Employment Centre Act 2009 and includes the regulations and codes;

means a person undertaking apprenticeship under the Fiji National University Act 2009;

means an unemployed person who is registered with the National Employment Centre and undertakes skills training or workplace attachment or business attachment under Part 8 or Part 9 of this Act. An attaché is not an individual who is under a “contract of service” as defined under section 4 of the Employment Relations Act 2007 or under a “contract of service” or a “self-employed person” as defined under section 5 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1996;

means workplace or business attachment undertaken under Part 8 or Part 9 of this Act;

means a city council, town council or a rural authority;

means the National Employment Centre Board constituted under section 17 of this Act;

means an enterprise that deals with any form of manufacturing, processing, extraction, production, agriculture, horticulture, fishing, diving, agro-processing, aquaculture, eco-tourism, green technologies, eco-products, eco-services, creative arts, handicraft, carpentry and joinery services, repair services, building and construction services, marketing services, training or consultancy services, restaurant services, baking services, transport and conveyance services, cleaning services, hair dressing, tailoring services, massage services, recreational services, water sports services, rental services, wholesale and retail trade, service industries, cottage or home-based industries, export and other industrial or commercial activities. It includes any other business activities specified under the International Labour Organization Classification;

means the Fiji Business Excellence Awards Framework;

means a person who is under the age of 15 years;

means the condition (privileges, responsibilities or rights) in which an unemployed person or volunteer is engaged by an employer or a person under an Employment Creation Service constituted under this Act. A condition of engagement is not a “contract of service” as defined under the Employment Relations Act 2007 or under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1996. With the exception of the “part-time worker”, a person engaged under a condition of engagement is not a “worker” as defined under section 4 of the Employment Relations Act 2007;

means—

• (a)a period of 24 hours beginning and ending at midnight and;
• (b)in the case of a shift worker, a continuous period of 24 hours beginning at the time when a worker commences work;

means an individual whose prospects of securing, retaining and advancing in suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognised physical, sensory, intellectual or mental impairment;

means the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, the Fiji Navy, the Fiji Police Force, the Fiji Corrections Service and the National Fire Authority;

means any distinction, exclusion or preference based on the grounds set out in Part 2 of this Act;

means to use the services of a person under a contract of service or contract for service;

means a corporation, company, body of persons or individual by whom a worker is employed under a contract of service or contract for service and includes—

• (a)the Government;
• (b)other Government entities;
• (c)a local authority;
• (d)a statutory authority;
• (e)the agent or authorised representative of a local or foreign employer; or
• (f)the self-employed;

means the performance by a worker of a contract of service or contract for service;

means any activity carried out by a natural or legal person in Fiji for the enlisting, registration, recruitment or deployment of persons for employment outside Fiji, but excludes any public employment exchanges or public authority;

means a collective agreement or apprenticeship contract specified under this Act or any other written law or an oral or written contract of service between a worker and an employer;

or Court means the Employment Relations Court constituted as a division of the High Court of Fiji under section 219 of the Employment Relations Act 2007;

means matters pertaining to both the creation of formal employment and the creation of employment in the informal sector and rural areas associated with the creation of small and micro enterprises or self-employment;

means the Formal Employment Service, the Self-Employment Service, the Fiji Volunteer Service and the Foreign Employment Service constituted and gazetted under this Act;

means the Board constituted under Part 3 of the Employment Relations Act 2007;

means the acquisition of employment skills or competencies in a holistic manner, the specific characteristics of which are specified in the regulations.

means any Government taxation scheme that provides incentives for employers to train and recruit any unemployed;

or Tribunal means the Employment Relations Tribunal constituted under section 202 of the Employment Relations Act 2007;

means any individual or business entity which trades in goods or services for profit through lawful means;

means the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSS), the Centre for Appropriate Technology and Development (CATD), the Integrated Human Resource Development Programme for Employment Promotion (IHRDPEP), the Foreign Employment Unit under the Ministry of Labour, the Walking out of Poverty Projects under the Ministry of Social Welfare, the Agricultural Programmes under the Ministry of Agriculture and any other employment creation services hosted by a Government ministry or department;

means the spouse or any child of a worker;

means the university established under section 4 of the Fiji National University Act 2009;

means the Fiji Volunteer Service constituted under Part 10 of this Act;

means a contract of service made within Fiji and to be performed wholly or partially outside Fiji and any contract of service with a foreign state;

means the Foreign Employment Service constituted under Part 11 of this Act;

include any activity carried out by the Foreign Employment Service for the enlisting, registration, recruitment, training, deployment or repatriation of persons for employment outside Fiji but exclude any private employment agency or mercenary activities;

means any employment within the definition of “contract of service” under section 4 of the Employment Relations Act 2007 or under section 5 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1996. It excludes self-employment or any contract for service;

means the Formal Employment Service constituted under Part 8 of this Act;

means the National Employment Centre Trust Fund established under Part 12 of this Act;

means a company where all of the stock or shares in the capital of the company is or are beneficially owned by the State, whether such shares are held in the name of a Minister, public officer, nominee of the State or otherwise;

refers to the policy focus emphasising environmentally sustainable economic progress to foster low-carbon and socially inclusive development;

means decent jobs that contribute substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality, help to protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversity, reduce energy, materials and water consumption through high efficiency and avoidance strategies, decarbonise the economy, and minimise or altogether avoid generation of all forms of waste and pollution;

means a new paradigm of socioeconomic development aimed at the pursuit of economic and productivity growth while protecting the environment. It is a practical way to answer the challenges of sustainable development at the enterprise and organisation level;

occurs when an unwanted conduct related to a protected ground takes place with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment;

means the Higher Education Commission established under section 5 of the Higher Education Act 2008;

means any apparently neutral situation, regulation or practice which in fact results in unequal treatment of persons with certain characteristics that occurs when the same condition, treatment or criterion is applied to everyone, but results in a disproportionately harsh impact on some persons on the grounds set out in section 9 of this Act, and is not closely related to any inherent requirement of the job;

means the International Standards Organization. It includes the quality management standards specified under the ISO 9001 series and the social responsibility guidelines under the ISO 26000 series, as amended from time to time;

means the acquisition of life skills or competencies in a holistic manner, the specific characteristics of which are specified in the regulations;

is an initiative taking place within a specific local territory or area that has a strategic focus on economic potentials and builds on competitive advantages of the territory through a participatory approach that is locally owned and managed. The “local” in LED refers to some kind of territorial boundary, but not restricted to administrative boundaries. The “economic” in LED refers to the focus on economic growth, employment generation and enterprise development. The “development” in LED involves a broad range of outcomes and a broad representation of local actors to reach these outcomes;

means any person who is defined as a mercenary under the Employment Relations (Employment Agencies) Regulations 2008;

means any enterprise which has a turnover or total assets not exceeding $30,000 in Fijian currency and employs not more than 5 workers;

means the Minister responsible for employment matters;

means the Ministry responsible for the administration of this Act;

means a calendar month, or a period commencing on a date in a calendar month and expiring on the day preceding the corresponding date in the succeeding calendar month;

means the National Employment Centre established under Part 3 of this Act. Depending on the context, it may also include the National Employment Centre Board, the National Employment Centre Secretariat and all the Employment Creation Services under the jurisdictions of the National Employment Centre constituted under this Act;

means the National Employment Centre Secretariat established under Part 5 of this Act;

means the national qualification framework administered by a body established under the Higher Education Commission;

means an officer of the National Employment Centre Secretariat or any of the Employment Creation Services or a person designated by the Board to carry out certain duties under Part 6 of this Act;

means a person who is employed under a contract of service on a part-time basis for a specified number of hours a day or specified number of hours or days a week;

means the Permanent Secretary responsible for employment matters;

in relation to a hazard or risk, means practicable having regard to—

• (a)its severity;
• (b)the state of knowledge about the hazard or risk and the ways of removing or mitigating it;
• (c)the availability and suitability of ways to remove or mitigate it; and
• (d)the cost of removing or mitigating it;

means any person who applies for an employment vacancy or is considered for an employment vacancy. It includes an attaché or a volunteer;

includes a ministry or a department of Government or a local authority or a public enterprise as defined in section 2 of the Public Enterprises Act 2019 or a government company;

means any person who has been retired voluntarily or compulsorily by his or her employer, and is currently unemployed or a part-time worker or is not operating any business enterprise;

means an unemployed person who is not under the age of 15 years and is not enrolled in any primary school, secondary school or tertiary institution on a full time basis and is under the age of 35 years;

means a person who is self-employed or starts or owns his or her own small or micro enterprise for gain or reward otherwise than under a “contract of service” as defined under section 4 of the Employment Relations Act 2007 and under section 5 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1996;

means any employment where a person or a group of persons operates a small or micro enterprise business including social enterprise or “Local Economic Development (LED) Programme”;

means the Self-Employment Service constituted under Part 9 of this Act. It includes the Centre for Appropriate Technology and Development (CATD), the Integrated Human Resource Development Programme for Employment Promotion (IHRDPEP) and other forms of small or micro enterprise business creation activities including social enterprises and Local Economic Development (LED) programmes;

means when an attaché or volunteer is sexually harassed by any person during the period of his or her engagement with the National Employment Centre or any of the Employment Creation Services or at the workplace where he or she undertakes workplace training or attachment, or places where workers are gathered for work related purposes including social activity, when the person or a workplace employer—

• (a)makes a request of an attaché or volunteer for sexual intercourse, sexual contact or any other form of sexual activity which contains an implied or overt—
  • (i)promise of preferential treatment during that attaché or volunteer’s period of engagement;
  • (ii)threat of detrimental treatment to the attaché or volunteer’s condition of engagement; or
  • (iii)threat about the present or future engagement status or future employment status of that attaché or volunteer;
• (b)by the use of a word (whether written or spoken) of a sexual nature or materials of a sexual nature;
• (c)by physical behaviour or gestures of a sexual nature; or
• (d)creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating work environment by conduct, word or both on the basis of gender,

that subjects the attaché or volunteer to behaviour which is unwelcome or offensive to that attaché or volunteer (whether or not that is conveyed to the employer, its representative or the perpetrator) and which is either repeated or of such a nature that it has a detrimental effect on the attaché or volunteer’s condition of engagement. In this context, detrimental effect includes the creation of an environment which affects an attaché or volunteer’s physical, emotional or mental health and well-being;

means a boat, vessel, hovercraft or craft of any kind;

means any enterprise which has a turnover or total assets between $30,000 and $100,000 in Fijian currency and employs between 6 and 20 workers;

means people and organisations behaving and conducting business ethically and with sensitivity towards social, cultural, economic and environmental issues. Striving for social responsibility helps individuals, organisations and governments have a positive impact on development, business and society;

means a legally married wife or husband;

means a person who enrols under the National Employment Centre and undertakes life skills or employment skills or entrepreneurship skills training or workplace attachment or business attachment under the Formal Employment Service or the Self-Employment Service or the Fiji Volunteer Service or the Foreign Employment Service;

means a person who—

• (i)is not under 15 years of age;
• (ii)is not self-employed or engaged in any “contract of service” as defined under section 4 of the Employment Relations Act 2007 or under section 5 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1996;
• (iii)is not presently undergoing a course of education or training; and
• (iv)is a legal resident in Fiji;

mean persons who are registered under the National Employment Centre and—

• (i)have successfully graduated with Certificates, Diplomas, Degrees or Postgraduate qualifications;
• (ii)are not under 15 years of age; and
• (iii)are not self-employed or engaged in “contracts of service” as defined under section 4 of the Employment Relations Act 2007 or under section 5 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1996;

mean persons who are “unemployed” and are registered under the National Employment Centre. They include the school leavers, unemployed graduates, unemployed apprentices, attachés, volunteers, retirees and part-time workers;

means a person who is registered under the National Employment Centre and enrolled as a volunteer with the Fiji Volunteer Service. A person who is engaged as a volunteer under the Fiji Volunteer Service is considered as an individual whose terms and conditions of engagement do not constitute a “contract of service” as defined under section 4 of the Employment Relations Act 2007 or under section 5 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1996;

means a period of 7 consecutive days;

means a person who is employed under a “contract of service”, and includes an apprentice, domestic worker, part-time worker or casual worker. It excludes an attaché or volunteer or trainee;

means any place, whether or not in a building or structure, including a ship, vehicle or aircraft, where workers are required to perform their “contracts of service”;

means a “contract of service” which, under this Act, is required to be made in writing; and

includes a period commencing on a date in a calendar year and expiring on the day preceding the corresponding date in the following calendar year.