QCOSTARICA – In the first 20 days of December, about 1,536,000 workers will receive the annual bonus – Aguinaldo. This is the number of salaried employees recorded by the Continuous Employment Survey of the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses, in the third quarter of this year.
According to this study, the average salary received by workers in that period is about ¢548,000 per month, which allows an estimate of the average Aguinaldo.
Graciela Soto, a legal expert in labor matters at Deloitte, commented that the Christmas bonusAguinaldo is an inalienable right for any worker, be it formal or informal.
The Central Government (includes ministries and the executive branch) that will direct deposit about ¢225 billion colones in Aguinaldo in the first week of December, as announced by the Minister of Finance, Elian Villegas.
“At this moment, we have the necessary resources to pay bonuses. The cash flow with which the National Treasury currently works already has these resources incorporated,” the Minister informed, at the beginning of November.
The Ministry of Labor is making available a group of inspectors who will be visiting employers who violate this right.
Between December 21, 2020, and January 8, 2021, the National Inspection Directorate (DNI) and the Labor Affairs Directorate (DAL) of the Ministry of Labor attended 400 individual complaints for non-compliance with the payment of the Aguinaldo.
The Central Bank, for its part, plans to distribute some ¢220 billion colones among commercial banks to cover the demand for banknotes during November and December.
This money is withdrawn from the ATM and tellers for year-end purchases, and then a significant percentage returns days later to the banks as a deposit for commercial companies.
Thus, banks reuse them to supply themselves directly without having to resort each time to the Central Bank’s vault, indicated the Central Bank’s Department of Issuance and Securities.
The Ministry of Labor recommended verifying and calculating the amount of the Aguinaldo by using the various services provided by this entity such as a chat and consultation of calculations.
In case of not receiving the payment of the bonus by December 20, the Ministry of Labor reported that it will be open so that employees can file complaints.
Lawyer Soto clarified that if the employee is in an employment relationship, it may be that he or she does not feel comfortable in going and filing a complaint against the employer; However, she explained that as long as there is a continuity of the employment relationship, such complaints do not prescribe.
“The simplest answer to that question of our rights prescribe is one year after the employment relationship ends,” she added.
The calculation
Calculating the Aguinaldo is simply the total gross salary – the total earned by the employee, without reducing labor charges, or income tax – between December 1, 2020, and November 30, 2021 (November 1 and October 31 for public sector employees), and divide by 12.
The Ministry of Labor makes available a calculator of the Aguinaldo on its page: www.mtss.go.cr/buscador/Aguinaldo.aspx.
The Aguinaldo and its payment by every employer is set in law.
