Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis [Press Secretary’s Office]: The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis will be introducing a new payroll system for the civil service. All monthly paid civil servants will soon be paid on a twice-monthly or on semimonthly basis.
Semimonthly means that employees will be paid two times per month on specific dates. If one of those stipulated pay dates falls on a weekend, the payroll is instead paid out on the preceding Friday. The semimonthly payroll process is an initiative utilized by several private sector companies including the hospitality industry and has proven to be beneficial to both employees and employers.
A committee comprised of executive members from the Human Resource Management Department, Prime Minister’s Office and the Accountant General Department, Ministry of Finance has been formulated to assess and implement the initiative. The Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Marcus Natta will be heading the committee and overseeing the process.
A meeting was held earlier this week to discuss the necessary changes and execution method, including the required systems upgrades at the Treasury Department, in addition to the formulation of a public relations and sensitization process to inform and advise all stakeholders.
Several meetings will follow within the upcoming months to inform and educate the civil servants on the new payment schedule and benefits of the semimonthly payroll.
Government Auxiliary Employees (GAEs) will continue to receive wages weekly.
More details will be forthcoming as the process is finalized. Currently, there is no set timeline for implementation, but it is expected to be completed within the first half of the year.