Byline: Kisha Caddle Lutchman, Director – Accounting & Corporate Services
Trinidad and Tobago’s severance framework has been frozen in time. The law governing how workers are retrenched and compensated has remained largely unchanged since 1986 — nearly 40 years during which our economy transformed, industries collapsed and emerged, and the very nature of work shifted beyond recognition. Yet the legal baseline and core calculation framework stayed static.
That is about to change.
The Retrenchment and Severance Benefits (Amendment) Bill, 2026 is set to introduce sweeping reforms to how redundancy and severance are handled. But beyond the headlines, what do these changes really mean for employees and for employers managing cost, compliance, and workforce stability? There is no confirmed date for enactment, but the Government is advancing the Bill with clear urgency. While there is no confirmed timeline for enactment, the pace of progress suggests that implementation could be imminent.
To fully understand how significant these proposed changes may be, it is important to first understand how the law currently operates.
Employees with one to four years of service receive approximately two weeks’ pay per year. Those with five or more years receive three weeks. That’s it. A framework designed in the mid-1980s, applied to a 2026 workforce.
Beyond the numbers, the existing law sets out procedural requirements — notifying employees, unions, and the Minister of Labour — but these processes have, over time, become inconsistently applied and, in some cases, easily navigated around.
The Bill intends to close those gaps, modernise the language, and bring Trinidad and Tobago in line with contemporary international labour standards.
For employers, this means understanding not just what is changing, but why it matters now — and beginning the internal review process before the legislation lands.
At Moore TT, we work alongside businesses to assess compliance exposure, review workforce cost structures, and prepare organisations for legislative shifts before they become operational crises.
Don’t wait for enactment to start the conversation. Connect with Moore TT today.
