Limitation of Certain Offences

Q: A friend of mine was caught stealing at her job back in 2012, and was subsequently dismissed and forced to repay the money. S/he has made efforts to repay the money, but eventually realised that the Company was not being honest about the remaining balance, so she stopped paying. The Company is now threatening to get the police involved to have her charged for larceny.

A: According to section 42 of the Summary Offences Act 1921, as amended:

42. All cases punishable under this Act of—

(a) larceny or stealing;

(b) attempting to commit larceny, or attempting to steal;

(c) aiding or abetting or counselling or procuring the commission of larceny or of stealing; (d) receiving any chattel or money or valuable security knowing it to have been stolen or otherwise unlawfully come by or obtained;

(e) fraudulent conversion;

(f) embezzling or obtaining or attempting to obtain under false pretences any chattel or money or valuable security with intent to defraud,

may be prosecuted at any time within twelve months after the commission of the offence.

Maternity clinic visits during pregnancy

Q: My name is Neela. I wanted to find out if an employee is pregnant and she has to attend clinic will she have to take it from her sick leave or is there another type of leave allotted to this circumstance.

A: Maternity Protection Act 1998, as amended

Section 7.(4) - “An employee who is pregnant and who has, on the written advice of a qualified person, made an appointment to attend at any place for the purpose of receiving prenatal medical care shall, subject to this Act, have the right not to be unreasonably refused time off during her working hours to enable her to keep the appointment.”

Section 7.(5) - “An employee who is permitted to take time off during her working hours, in accordance with subsection (4), shall be entitled to receive pay from her employer for the period of absence.”

Unreasonably... So "reasonable" time for a "normal" pregnancy based on international standards should be:

Weeks 4 to 28: 1 prenatal visit a month
Weeks 28 to 36: 1 prenatal visit every 2 weeks
Weeks 36 to 40: 1 prenatal visit every week

Anything beyond this would be unreasonable, so the employer can refuse to pay as this would be classified as no-pay leave.

N.B. The use of sick leave in this situation would be considered fraudulent, as a clinic visit is not an illness

National Insurance Board location

Vehicle Inspections

Q: How often does a vehicle need to be inspected in Trinidad and Tobago?

A: According to Regulation 27(1) of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Regulations under the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act 1934, as amended:

v Every year for public service motor vehicles, rental cars, goods vehicles, omnibuses, tractors and trailers

v Every two years for private motor vehicles and motorcycles over five years old