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We have been here less than a year and are trying to decide on a wage increase for the people we employ part-time when their employment anniversary arrives.
We have heard from many people locally, and from some on this forum, that they have paid the same hourly wage for years.
This doesn’t seem to trouble them as there are always unemployed people who are happy to accept a low wage if the help they have complains about wages.
For those of you who have been in CR for a while, how have you handled this?
We employ only a gardener and whomever he decides to bring on any given day to help. We began by paying them the daily rate that they requested for the first couple of years. Then, without any discussion, we have voluntarily increased that rate two or three times.
I’m sure we’re now paying well above the legal minimum daily wage for a gardener, but they do good work and come regularly, and we’ve become friends.
David –
If you “employ” your gardner, are you obligated to pay him the aquinaldo?
We have a housekeeper that comes 1 or 2 days a week. We share here with 2 other homes in our neighborhood, and we also split what she asked us to pay for her insurance.
I keep a log of the days she comes and what we pay her and for the past 2 years I have paid her a calculated sum and had her sign a receipt for the “aquinaldo”. I don’t mind paying her and the amount would be the same if it was only a “bonus” instead of a legally mandated “13th month”.[b]Victoria[/b] there will soon be a notice published with the mandatory increase for January, for your employee. There will be another ‘raise’ due in July, so there is no need to give a raise in salary on their anniversary date…. unless you want to, of course.
When you intend to employee someone, prior to hiring them, ask to see there [b]up to date[/b], CAJA receipt, else you will be responsible for any ‘lapse’ in payments from a previous employer. If you don’t and just start paying their CAJA, in a few months you may get a nasty surprise ….
[quote=”VictoriaLST”]We have been here less than a year and are trying to decide on a wage increase for the people we employ part-time when their employment anniversary arrives.
We have heard from many people locally, and from some on this forum, that they have paid the same hourly wage for years.
This doesn’t seem to trouble them as there are always unemployed people who are happy to accept a low wage if the help they have complains about wages.
For those of you who have been in CR for a while, how have you handled this?[/quote]
Victoria
I used to employe people here BUT now it is only as a contractor.
and even then you need to be sure that
they have caja insurance in the event something happens.
or you have additional insurance policy because if something happened like they hurt them selves in any way and this happened on your property
guess who is responsible???
if you employ them there is also Liquidation to consider when its time for them to be let go.
the laws here are very pro employee which puts the total burden on you.
the very last employee I had got into a car accident and totaled my car and although he showed me a drivers license
it was fake.
he also did not have caja although he stated he was covered.. this cost me close to $6000 in damages and disability and liquidation.
his hospital bill came to $15000 which he has tried to get me to pay
and I refused. why?? because even though he was supposed to be working he was making side money and using the car for transport and he got into the accident during this time and all the lies.
still in courts
thank goodness I always paid him cash with no recipt. this saved me.
[quote=”costaricabill”]David –
If you “employ” your gardner, are you obligated to pay him the aquinaldo?
[/quote]Bill, because the gardener decides when to come, whom to bring, and what to do when they’re here, and because we pay much more than the minimum on a daily basis, we consider them to be contractors who are not eligible for the [i]aguinaldo[/i]. In effect, we pay it daily throughout the year.
Now, the Ministry of Labor might dispute that, but there’s no question that they benefit financially from their labor at a much higher rate than the Ministry would expect. Too, they are enrolled in the CAJA via some other avenue. I expect that they’re paying their CAJA fees independently.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”][quote=”costaricabill”]David –
If you “employ” your gardner, are you obligated to pay him the aquinaldo?
[/quote]Bill, because the gardener decides when to come, whom to bring, and what to do when they’re here, and because we pay much more than the minimum on a daily basis, we consider them to be contractors who are not eligible for the [i]aguinaldo[/i]. In effect, we pay it daily throughout the year.
Now, the Ministry of Labor might dispute that, but there’s no question that they benefit financially from their labor at a much higher rate than the Ministry would expect. Too, they are enrolled in the CAJA via some other avenue. I expect that they’re paying their CAJA fees independently.
[/quote]David
make sure they have caja coverage because if they have an accident on your property
you will have to pay!!!
CAJA [b]does not cover accidents[/b] on your property. You are required to get INS coverage.
A CAJA clinic or hospital, will not touch, and I mean touch, a possible ‘work related injury’ and will direct you to the nearest INS facility, to be ‘evaluated’.Good stuff all! And thanks for the extra info on injuries. We will try to play it safe with aquinaldo, vacation, and CAJA.
Sounds to me that in the end, might as well do all the work yourself, health and abilities depending of course. Too much headache otherwise….
[quote=”camby”]Sounds to me that in the end, might as well do all the work yourself, health and abilities depending of course. Too much headache otherwise….[/quote]
Said he who has never picked coffee.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”][quote=”camby”]Sounds to me that in the end, might as well do all the work yourself, health and abilities depending of course. Too much headache otherwise….[/quote]
Said he who has never picked coffee.
[/quote]true enough, but unless one has a huge lot and/or coffee plantation, my comments would still apply……otherwise, then the headache commences…..
[quote=”costaricafinca”][b]camby,[/b] you really shouldn’t comment on something you obviously know nothing about…:roll:[/quote]
I was commenting on the headache associated with simple jobs, like having someone come in and clean, if someone can do it themselves or a small yard, maybe one should avoid the headaches and laws and do it themselves, rather then have to take a tylenol, conult CR labor laws and spend time here on this forum trying to figure out what appears to be complex laws for a simple, part time job.
I occasionally hire a man and his son to do some yard work, we agree on a price and they do it, I pay. Simple, really. If he got hurt, then maybe would be much more difficult.
But there are no complex laws about paying him, how,when and what increasess set, insurance and on and on.david M noted coffee, ok, he has a point if one has a large sperad, much more complex. I was talking about all the apparent red tape to hire a lady to do a few hrs of cleaning. Unless one is elderly and/or hadicapped, seems not worth it to me.
Simple, really.
Not touching on anything more like a plantation, huge scale operation, F/T employment, farming, resteraunt running,etc.Your comments were insulting and if I want a talk-down and spank at my age, can get that from the boss at work.
Then again, you were rather snide, if I recall, when I returned from CR in your comments, seemingly gloating and deriding in tone, some, perhaps, that is your regular MO. Your comments and tone, then, took on a ass-motif, now, can ad a hole to your tone/wording.
you dont, apparently, care for me, fine….you apparently did not really read what I said, but no real reason to talk down and basically tell me to shut up, that is a rather ass thing to do.[quote=”DavidCMurray”][quote=”camby”]Sounds to me that in the end, might as well do all the work yourself, health and abilities depending of course. Too much headache otherwise….[/quote]
Said he who has never picked coffee.
[/quote]again, and as noted to Finca, why go through the trouble for afew yrs a week/month, when one is capable of handling a broom, duster and lawnmower themselves-who said coffee picking? or anything else heavy duty? Not you nor Victoria, I can recall, said anything about that, just lawn and home, unless you have a coffee tree/bush growing in your home or, yard? Perhaps, down size to a apartment, less fuss?
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