QCOSTARICA – Employers who terminate an employee with compensation as required by labor laws, are not required to justify the reasons for the termination.
This was clarified by the Constitutional Court of Sala IV, as it is commonly known, after an appeal (amparo) filed by a citizen who claimed that his dismissal letter with with compensation did not contain the reasons on which the termination was based.
María Salazar, a labor lawyer at Punto Medio Abogadas, explained that terminations without compensation are those that occur due to serious misconduct attributed to the employee.
According to the Ministry of Labor, when a person is terminated, the employer is required to pay severance*, any outstanding salary and bonuses, unused vacation, and a proportion of the aguinaldo based on how much of the year they have worked, among other things.
*Article 29 of the Codigo de Trabajo (Labor Code) of Costa Rica, stipulates an employer must pay severance in accordance with the following rules:
- After continuous work of not less than three months nor more than six, an amount equal to seven days of salary
- After continuous work of more than six months but less than one year, an amount equal to fourteen days salary.
- After continuous work for more than one year, with the number of days of salary indicated in the following table:
a) YEAR 1 – 19.5 days per year worked.
b) YEAR 2 – 20 days per year worked or fraction greater than six months.
c) YEAR 3 – 20.5 days per year worked or fraction greater than six months.
d) YEAR 4 – 21 days per year worked or fraction greater than six months.
e) YEAR 5 – 21.24 days per year worked or fraction greater than six months.
f) YEAR 6 – 21.5 days per year worked or fraction greater than six months.
g) YEAR 7 – 22 days per year worked or fraction greater than six months.
h) YEAR 8 – 22 days per year worked or fraction greater than six months.
i) YEAR 9 – 22 days per year worked or fraction greater than six months.
j) YEAR 10 – 21.5 days per year worked or fraction greater than six months.
k) YEAR 11 – 21 days per year worked or fraction greater than six months.
l) YEAR 12 – 20.5 days per year worked or fraction greater than six months.
m) YEAR 13 and following – 20 days per year worked or fraction greater than six months.
Click here for the complete Labor Code of Costa Rica (in PDF format)
