KINGSTON, Jamaica — Attorney-at-law Gavin Goffe has cautioned companies that fail to grant staff the legally mandated three hours for voting, describing the practice as unlawful.

He issued the warning following a complaint from at least one employee of a company that has allegedly threatened to sanction staff who take the three hours off for voting without providing proof of participation by way of an ink-stained index finger.

“The law allows people time to vote and employers are required to give them the time to, but that’s also on condition that they are entitled to vote,” Goffe said.

He noted that while the vast majority of Jamaicans are eligible to vote and therefore benefit from this legal provision, there are exceptions—such as non-Jamaicans or others who are not on the voters’ list. In such cases, employers may not be legally obligated to grant voting time.

“It is, however, an entirely different situation where somebody has the ability and right to vote and they’re being compelled to confirm that they’re exercising that as a condition of getting the time off,” Goffe said.

He clarified that under Jamaican law, employees who are eligible to vote must be granted the three hours off, and they retain the right to choose whether or not to actually cast a ballot—even after arriving at the polling station.

“Anything can happen. A person may go to the polling station and, after standing in the sun for hours, decide they can’t be bothered to vote. In such a case, there would be no physical proof, so what happens then?” he questioned.

He said that based on the law, there is no legal requirement for an employee to prove that they have voted, only that they have the right to do so.

The Representation of the People Act (ROPA), as the legal framework that governs Jamaica’s electoral process, through its Leave and Symbols Regulations, provides that all employees whose work on election day begins before 10:00 am or ends after 2:00 pm should be entitled to three hours of time off.

“(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2), every employer shall permit each of his employees to be absent from work on polling day for three hours in addition to the normal meal hour.

“(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply to any employee whose work on polling day commences at or after 10:00 am or concludes before or at 2:00 pm,” the section states.

Goffe said that in workplaces where flexible work arrangements are used, those employers may have the liberty to design shifts that accommodate both the three-hour voting period and the full eight-hour workday—for example, 6:00 am to 2:00 pm or 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

President of the Jamaica Employers Federation, Wayne Chen, commenting on the issue ,which has been a topical one for years, also said the practice was not legal.

“How a person chooses to spend the three hours is entirely up to them. The law gives people the right to vote, but it doesn’t require them to actually do so. If someone gets to the polling station and changes their mind, that’s their right. What the law stipulates is that the time must be provided,” Chen said.

He further encouraged employers to comply with the law and to respect the rights of their workers.

The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ), in a recent notice to the public about the three-hour voting entitlement, also used the opportunity to remind voters that polling stations across the island will on Wednesday be opened at 7:00 am up until 5:00 pm.

“Persons in line after the official closing time will still be allowed to vote,” the EOJ said.

— Kellaray Miles