Section 96
of Labour Act
Section 96
(1)
Every worker who is a party to an agreement or contract under this Act and who has been brought to the place of employment by an employer or by any person acting on behalf of the employer shall have the right to be repatriated at the expense of the employer to his place of origin or
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to the place of engagement, if the latter be nearer to the place of employment and the laws of the place of engagement permit, in the following cases —
(a)
on the termination of the agreement or contract by expiry of the period for which it was made;
(b)
on the termination of the agreement or contract by reason of the inability of the employer to fulfil the agreement or contract;
(c)
on the termination of the agreement or contract by reason of inability of the worker to fulfil the agreement or contract owing to sickness or accident;
(d)
on the termination of the agreement or contract by notice but in the case of a contract subject to the provisions of the particular contract and Chapter V of this Act;
(e)
on the cancellation of the agreement or contract under section 15 or 28;
(f)
on the termination of the agreement or contract by agreement between the parties, unless the Commissioner otherwise decides.
(2)
Every immigrant worker who is ordered to leave
Brunei Darussalam under or in accordance with any provision of any written law for the time being in force relating to immigration shall be repatriated at the expense of the employer to his place of origin or to the place of engagement, if the latter be nearer to the place of employment and the laws of the place of engagement permit.
(3)
Where any dependant of the worker has been brought to the place of employment by the employer or by any person acting on behalf of the employer such dependant shall be repatriated at the expense of the employer whenever the worker is repatriated or in the event of his death.
(4)
The expenses of repatriation shall include —
(a)
travelling and subsistence expenses during the journey;
(b)
subsistence expenses during the period if any, between the date of termination of the agreement or contract and the date of repatriation; and
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(c)
provision of decent interment and the payment of the reasonable expenses of burial in the event of death of a worker occurring during the course of, or pending, repatriation.
(5)
The employer shall not be liable for subsistence expenses in respect of any period during which the repatriation of the worker has been delayed —
(a)
by the worker’s own choice; or
(b)
for reasons of force majeure, when the employer has been able during the said period to use the services of the worker at the rate of wages stipulated in the expired contract.
(6)
If the employer fails to fulfil his obligation in respect of repatriation the said obligation shall be discharged by or under directions of the Commissioner and any sums so expended may be recovered from the employer or employers by civil suit as a debt due to the Government.
Exemption from obligation to repatriate.