Grenada’s Employment Act speaks to temporary lay-offs for customary seasonal employment. Otherwise, unless contracted for, including force majeure provisions, there is no general right to institute temporary lay-off.
Subject to the above stated, if COVID-19 measures require the employer to shut or scale down its business, the employer needs to assess whether the contract has been frustrated or merely interrupted by force majeure.
To conclude whether frustration has occurred, the question which must be asked is: has the core of each employee’s contract been so substantially eroded by the COVID-19 measures or their impact that the employer can no longer offer a job, not necessarily the job, to the employee.
If the contract is frustrated, the employer may be able to terminate the contract without paying any sums otherwise due by law, except payments due up to the date of termination. If COVID-19 is allowed under an express force majeure clause, temporary lay-off may be an option.