The Portable Retirement Gratuity Fund is one of the more distinctive features of Mauritian employment law, and its central idea is worth understanding.
What it does
The PRGF was established under the Workers' Rights Act 2019 to provide for the payment of a gratuity on the death or retirement of a worker, while recognising the worker's terms of service irrespective of the number of employers served.
That last part is the point. In most systems, changing employers resets your gratuity clock. Under the PRGF, your service is recognised across your whole working life.
The contribution
Employers contribute 4.5% of the employee's monthly remuneration.
The obligation took effect from January 2022, with a transitional arrangement for small and medium enterprises with an annual turnover not exceeding MUR 50 million between January 2022 and December 2024.
Who is eligible
Most employees, with defined exclusions. The exclusions are:
- Employees whose retirement benefits are payable under the Statutory Bodies Pension Funds Act or the Sugar Industry Pension Fund Act
- Employees whose retirement benefits are payable under a private pension scheme, provided the employer holds a certificate from the Financial Services Commission certifying that scheme
- Employees drawing a monthly basic wage or salary of more than MUR 200,000
If a private scheme fails
There is a protection worth knowing: if an employer-sponsored private pension scheme fails to pay an employee's retirement benefit, the employer must pay the employee a lump sum equivalent to 15 days' remuneration per year of service.
The interaction with severance
Severance allowance can be reduced by contributions the employer has made to a fund or scheme, including to the PRGF.
That matters when a settlement is being calculated — it is not a straightforward addition of everything.
What to check
Whether your employer is contributing to the PRGF or whether you fall into an exclusion, and if a private scheme applies, whether the FSC certificate is in place.