Today, December 20, is the last day for employers to pay the annual bonus called the “aguinaldo”. Employers who do not do so by cose of day today, may face actions by an employee with a “denuncia” (complaint) with the Labour Ministry.
The Aguinaldo is not only a tradition, but a right in law by every salaried employee -legal resident or not. It is the equivalent, for simplicity sake, of one month’s rent during the past year.
Basically, if you have a regular employee – either they are in Costa Rica legally to work or not – you owe them the aguinaldo.
The calculation is simple, take every colon paid to your employee during the period of December 1, 2011 and November 30, 2012 and divide it by 12.
The amount includes base salary, commissions, bonuses, gifts, allowances for meals, travel, etc. Basically any remuneration you paid to your employee during the year.
For employees, if by Friday you have not received the aguinaldo or it is less than you anticipated, you can visit the office of the Ministerio de Trabajo y Seguridad Social de Costa Rica (MTSS) or visit their website at www.mtss.go.cr/ to file a complaint, have the aguinaldo calculated for you and any other labour issues.
