Employment rights

The Department of Economic Development has responsibility for employment law policy and for bringing forward new employment legislation. This section aims to provide information on Isle of Man employment law and best practice to both employers and workers.

Do you have a problem at work?

In most cases the Manx Industrial Relations Service (MIRS) should be your first port of call.

Industrial Relations Officers who are independent of the Government perform the following roles:

• providing advice to both employers and workers;
• providing individual and collective conciliation services;
• arranging voluntary arbitration and mediation services.

In any dispute relating to individual employment rights, either party may request an Industrial Relations Officer to promote a settlement of the dispute, either before or after a complaint is made to the Employment Tribunal. Please note, however, that discussions with the MIRS do not extend the statutory time limits for bringing any claim to the Tribunal.

Employment Services Inspectors

In addition, the Department of Economic Development’s Employment Services Inspectors enforce certain aspects of employment law. Inspectors can:

• offer guidance to employers and workers; and
• deal with various types of complaint.

Inspectors enforce the following:

• the requirement for persons who are not Isle of Man workers to have work permits under the Control of Employment Act 2014;
• the requirement for employers to provide their employees with a written statement of their terms and conditions of employment and also with itemised wage statements under the Employment Act 2006;
• the requirement for most workers other than those of compulsory school age to be paid at least the minimum wage under the Minimum Wage Act 2001;
• the requirement for employment agencies, and employment businesses to be licensed under the Employment Agencies Act 1975;
• the requirement for employers to insure their employees under the Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1976.

See Sources of Help for contact details of the Inspectorate and also for details of other relevant organisations such as the Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate.

Permission to work on the Isle of Man

For the law on working in the Isle of Man, for workers from the UK, Ireland and the rest of the European Economic Area, see Work Permits. For the law on work based migration routes including Tier 2 of the Points Based System, for  workers from outside the European Economic Area, see Immigration. 

Recent and forthcoming changes to employment law

Information about recent and forthcoming changes to employment law can be found here.

UK Employment Issues

The information on this website concerns Isle of Man employment law. This differs from UK employment law in a number of important ways. Information about UK employment law can be obtained from the UK Government website. The site contains guidance for both employers and workers. In addition, guidance can also be found on the ACAS website; ACAS has a role in the UK which is broadly equivalent to that of the Manx Industrial Relations Service.

Page last updated: 12 September 2017