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Can someone share insight on the cost of having a caretaker who can help with gardening, tending to a pool, handyman work? Is there any “usual” way this is done? Is it common to have the person live on my property if I have a little Casita? Or if the person lives in the area and comes over daily to take care of the pool, gardening, etc., what might those costs be?
Also, what might it cost to maintain a pool on a monthly basis? Having one is really important to me, not just a little pool but not giant either. I’ve had one here in the States and am not up to managing this myself. What would I pay for someone to take care of this for me in Costa Rica? I’m honing in on the areas of Arenal, Manuel Antonio and the southern zone (Ojochal, Uvita, etc.).
Thanks as always:)
You can see the 2015 minimum salaries by downloading this from my [url=https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/programs/fileinfo.cfm?id=141&action=display]Download Library here.[/url]
The minimum salary for a Gardener would be c10,531.09 per day which at 526:$1 works out to about $20. Add about 40% more ($8) for the various social contributions and you get about $28 per day…
If I were you, I would NOT have anyone living on my property unless 1. I knew them extremely well and B. I had a rock solid written agreement with them.
Your land and construction costs will vary dramatically between Arenal, Manuel Antonio and the southern zone (Ojochal, Uvita, etc.).
Scott
Suggest you read the article that was posted [url=http://www.amcostarica.com/monday.htm]yesterday, 11 May, on amcostarica[/url]
Note: when you provide accommodation and utilities, this ‘amount’ is taken into consideration for the annual [i]aguinaldo[/i](extra months pay) and is part of the package they receive when they [url=http://www.costaricalaw.com/Labor-Law/]leave or are terminated.[/url]
In the rainy season, especially in the wetter areas of the country in which all your choice locations are part of, many empty the pools due to run off from ground water.We have a caretaker living in a casita on our property. He maintains the lawn (there is a lot of lawn maybe 3 acres) and watches the animals when we are away. He pays his own electric and gas. He does NOT have a key to the main house. We have a gardener for about 30 hours a week and we pay him c2000 an hour which is above the usual wage because he is excellent and speaks English.
[quote=”VictoriaLST”]We have a caretaker living in a casita on our property. He maintains the lawn (there is a lot of lawn maybe 3 acres) and watches the animals when we are away. He pays his own electric and gas. He does NOT have a key to the main house. We have a gardener for about 30 hours a week and we pay him c2000 an hour which is above the usual wage because he is excellent and speaks English.[/quote]
When you say you pay your gardener 2000 col. x hour, are you paying social security and insurance policy based on that ?
Really informative article this morning, on amcostarica [url=http://www.amcostarica.com/052515.htm#31]”Expats can be blindsided by injuries to employees”[/url] By Garland M. Baker on important details regarding which insurances must be paid for employees.
Worth saving!Link now included.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]Really informative article this morning, Mon. May 5th “Expats can be blindsided by injuries to employees” By Garland M. Baker (no separate link at this time, so will add it later) on amcostarica.com details what insurances must be paid for employees.
Worth saving!
[/quote]Anyone who wants or needs to hire staff should ask their lawyers for information regarding labor laws. There is a book called “Codigo de Trabajo” where you find all necessary information. Ministerio de Trabajo (online) provide information about current minimum wages and other labor related issues.
On top of the hourly or weekly wages, employers have to pay Social Security (CCSS seguro social, enfermedad, maternidad, vejez), Insurance policy (INS riesgos de trabajo), Christmas bonus, Vacations (12 days per year time off or paid), Cesantia and Preaviso (unemployment benefits if the worker gets fired). Some employers agree with their worker to pay him a little more but the worker pays his own social security. This is ILLEGALso is an issue maybe hiring a company to take care of certain services rather than an individual and then the service company hired takes on the risk of employee needs/benefits?
Unfortunately, the ‘companies’ that may/could provide the services, don’t want to pay these fees either…
thanks, costaricafinca. i guess the interesting question is how much it costs to insure workers. i’m guessing most employers try to evade this, but it comes down to cost. if anyone is taking the time to pay these expenses for a worker, what do costs tend to be?
As an example at the farm, for one worker…not the main one…we paid approx $500+ a month,(above the minimum wage) plus his CAJA & INS which was an additional $200+ a month. This was a few years ago, so minimum wages have risen since then. In fact, just this week the [url=http://qcostarica.com/government-decrees-0-94-increase-in-minimum-wage-for-second-half-of-the-year/]public factor wage increase have been approved[/url].94% starting in July. This happens twice a year.
According to the article I previously posted , you would be required to pay a similar amount for a worker who may only work, part-time. In fact, the insurance can cost more than the salary.
We have an acquaintance who hired a worker and paid a similar amount per month, then after another worker left, he took over some of the work and received a pay increase. So, when he, too, was ‘let go’ the employer paid his severance package, he thought ‘it was finished. Now, two years later it is still before the courts, as the employee said, ‘that he had been promoted to ‘property manager, so he was entitled to [i]much[/i] more money’…which he hadn’t been.
You would be advised to go to the local Labor Relations office and the CCSS who will tell you what expenses you will incur. CAJA will also tell you if the employee is ‘up to date’, on his CAJA payments. This is very important to know, because if you are unaware of his lack of payment, and you sign him on as an employee, a few months later, you will receive a bill from the CAJA/CCSS office, hand delivered by the local police which you will [b]have[/b] to pay. 😯 We were once caught in this scenario.
You will usually see when ýou see a ‘help wanted’ ad in the community and it states that as well as bringing in your resume, you are required to bring a recent CAJA receipt.
This webpage says it all [url=http://www.costaricalaw.com/Labor-Law/labor-law-in-a-nutshell.html]’Labor Law in a nutshell'[/url]
***If you buy a property or business. make sure that the previous owner legally [u]terminates all staff,[/u] even if you wish to rehire them. This means that the previous owner will be responsible for all outstanding claims, and ask for your lawyer to check the paperwork…:twisted:
34% for SS with 9.5% taken out of the salary of the employee. So 24.5% net.
Insurance – approximately 4.2% of their gross wage.
johnr, the costs you quote are for a full time worker….and unfortunately for a part time worker, insurance costs are not determined in this way.
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