Costa Rican Employment Law

[Jim S.]

I’ve recently discovered a great website for those with questions about Costa Rican employment law. Anyone who employs or is considering employing workers here is encouraged to read the information carefully.

The website is in Spanish but has English-language summaries of the frequently asked questions. It is the work of a private foundation with support of the Costa Rican Ministerio de Trabajo and the US Department of Labor, so the information is detailled and reliable although much of it is fairly technical and the English translations are not perfect.

Here’s the link: http://www.leylaboral.com/costarica/IntroCostaRica.aspx

[Andrew]

Thanks Jim – That is a great resource.

The English summaries appear at:

[ http://www.leylaboral.com/costarica/summariescostarica.aspx ]

At this time of the year especially anyone employing a Costa Rican needs to understand the laws regarding the payment of the year end bonus – the aguinaldo – which Costa Rica tax expert Randall Zamora wrote about recently at:

[https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/1263.cfm ]

Scott

[costaricabill]

if I have a part time housekeeper that works 4-6 hours per week, do I have to pay aguinaldo?

[Jim S.]

[quote=”costaricabill”]if I have a part time housekeeper that works 4-6 hours per week, do I have to pay aguinaldo?[/quote]

Yes, all employees are entitled to an aguinaldo. It doesn’t matter whether they are part-time, full-time, temporary or permanent. In most cases, it will be equal to one month’s average pay.

Although it’s often thought of as a “Christmas bonus”, it really isn’t. The easiest way to think of it is that it’s a mandatory Christmas savings plan. The money belongs to the employee and must be paid to them. There are no exceptions, even if dismissed for cause.

[Author]

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