A $5,000 fine served on a schoolgirl in Bermuda who carried out work experience as a hairdresser without a work permit has been quashed by the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Narinder Hargun ruled that the chief immigration officer in Bermuda was wrong to penalise Ashley Aguiar for working in an unpaid position in Tranquil Hair and Beauty without a work permit.
Mr Justice Hargun said that the minor who was a lifelong Bermuda resident but who did not have Bermudian status, was not employed or paid by the salon and was there to learn the trade. His ruling focused on the fact that she was not engaged in the ordinary business of a hairstylist but her activities were limited to that which was necessary in order for her to gain practical experience.
The fact that she worked without ‘reward, profit or gain’ was held to be crucial.
Ms Aguiar was fined in November 2017 after the immigration department found she was in breach of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 during a period when she was in full-time at education at one of the island’s secondary schools and she had been invited to shadow the owner of the salon. During her stint at the salon, Ms Aguiar styled the hair of family members and friends and assisted charitable organisations. It was also argued on her behalf that the $5,000 penalty was unreasonable and disproportionate.
Mr Justice Hargun found that the informal arrangement between the owner of the salon and Ms Aguiar did not amount to the relationship of an employer and employee, so there was no breach of the law.
