A National Insurance Board (NIB) Taskforce has been established as NIB goes after employers who are still non-compliant with bringing their employees contributions up-to-date.

Nicola Virgil-Rolle, NIB director, told The Bahama Journal that NIB inspectors are seeking out those employers who are still in arrears.

“Over the process, what we’re doing now is making contact with any employers who may be delinquent,” Mrs. Virgil-Rolle said.

“We have set up a serious arrears taskforce for employers with a substantial amount owing, and so, our inspectors will be contacting them regularly in order to ensure that they are becoming current.

 
“So, we’re working with those files now as our compliance inspectors identify cases in order to ensure that they are targeted inspections wherever necessary so that we can come up with the amounts owed, agreed with the employers and therefore we hope to come to an amicable solution.”

Just recently, minister responsible for NIB Brensil Rolle revealed that some $17 million is owed to the board in contributions. 

Mr. Rolle also previously stated that the deadline had passed for companies owing and warned that those employers, if they fail to comply, would be prosecuted. 

Mrs. Virgil-Rolle said since then, the board has set up an easy pay process with opportunities for installment arrangements. 

“Generally, we accept 40 percent payment which is the employee’s portion to be paid and then the remainder can be worked out in installment arrangements with the employer,” Mrs. Virgil-Rolle said. 

“Our last resort, and really we say this, our last resort is to use the legal system in order to secure those payments.

“We have through the National Insurance Act both criminal mechanisms and also civil mechanisms to pursue outstanding payments.

“Of course, the motive and the goal is to ensure that benefits can be paid in a timely manner to the employees of The Bahamas.”

Employers who fail to make employee NIB contributions can face jail time, a fine or both.