Costa Rica Labor Laws Provides Superior Job Protection To Employees.

Costa Rica offers a far greater level of job protection for the working man and woman than most developed nations.

With the Código de trabajo and the Ley de proteccíon del empleo en momentos de crisis it’s easy to see that an employee’s working hours and other terms of their contracts are well protected, new working mothers in Costa Rica have tremendous benefits and it can be ‘complicado’ to fire staff with or without cause.

This is great for the employee but some employers probably don’t like it as much and we do have some very large US corporate employers here.

Hewlett Packard has 6,500 employees here, Intel has 3,200 employees – and with the drop in exports to the USA and lower domestic demand, there are a few companies in Costa Rica who are struggling to keep in step with the Labor Laws and are juggling to keep their employees.

In Costa Rica you must have cause to fire an employee at will. If you don’t have cause you may still fire the employee but it will trigger severance payments to the employee by the employer.

Because of this it’s often cheaper for an employer NOT to let trained employees go during tough times and then have to hire and train new ones when business improves.

Intel’s Manager for Corporate Affairs, Karla Blanco confirmed that last week in the El Financiero newspaper when she said; “It’s more expensive to fire someone because over the long term, demand will turn around and we cannot lose that experience.”

It may also be important to note that while Intel has closed manufacturing plants in Malaysia and the Phillipines (which meant firing more than 2,000 people), Intel’s Karla Blanco spoke of how: “The company has great confidence in Costa Rica… ” And that with the closing of plants elsewhere this will generate more work in Costa Rica.

Sure we have some problems, what country doesn’t? But we also have “great confidence in Costa Rica.”

Written by Scott Oliver, author of How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa and Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.