A proposed new sports law would give employees selected to represent Anguilla in recognised sporting events a right to take authorised time away from work.
The Bill for the Sports Act, 2026 says such an absence would not breach an employment contract or constitute misconduct, and provides protection against dismissal or other penalties.
The proposed law allows employers to treat the time off as unpaid leave and also says employers would be protected where an absence could cause undue hardship to their business.
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Businesses and key stakeholders learned more about the act during a consultation session held in the Atlin Noraldo Harrigan Parliamentary Building on 18 September.
Sports minister Cardigan Connor, permanent secretary Karim Hodge and sports director Delano Mussington presented sections 57 to 60 and answered questions from attendees.
National sports duty
Section 57 of the act would require employers to allow employees to take leave to represent Anguilla in officially recognised sporting events, subject to certification and reasonable notice.
If enacted, the minister will specify through regulations which sporting competitions and events qualify, including regional and local competitions, the bill says.
Section 58 states that sporting leave would be unpaid, unless otherwise agreed, and not breach an employment contract, be considered misconduct or a ground for disciplinary action.
Section 59 would protect employees from dismissal or penalties for authorised sporting leave, unless the absence would cause undue hardship to the business or the employee fails to meet the requirements.
Section 60 would require the minister within 12 months to issue guidelines to set out how sporting leave is certified, its duration and frequency, and how undue hardship should be assessed.
The provisions would be applied proportionately, taking into account the size and nature of the employer’s operations and Anguilla’s resources and labour conditions, the bill says.
‘Best possible chance’
Asked if leave, under the law, would include time off for training, Connor said that choice remains with the employer and depends on their relationship with the employee.
When questioned about past disagreements between employers and employees, the minister said: “I‘m certain that in the past there has been some challenges.”
He said that what business owners had asked for in the past was “something in black and white”, adding that is where the new law comes in.
“What we have to do, obviously, as a government, is to make sure that we give our athletes the best possible chance to become professionals,” Connor said.
Asked what penalty will be in place for employers who do not follow the rules, Hodge said regulations are being developed to address that element.
He added that the act has already passed its first reading in parliament, and the aim is to proceed with the second and third reading and have it passed as a act before the end of the year.
