QCOSTARICA – The Ministerio de Trabajo y Seguridad Social (MTSS) – Ministry of Labor and Social Security – announced that May 1, International Labor Day, will be one of the mandatory paid holidays, as established in article 148 of the Labor Code.
The law establishes that no working person is obliged to work those holidays, only if there is an agreement between the employee and employer. If they oppose working on the holiday, they cannot be penalized for that cause.Â
For simplicity sake, employees working a mandatory pay holiday are paid double for the day and triple for any overtime that day.
For 2023, there are four mandatory pay holidays left: July 25 (Guanacaste Day), August 15 (Mother’s Day), September 15 (Independence Day), and December 25 (Christmas Day).
For the holiday Monday, all banks, government offices, and embassies, among others will be closed.
While most retail businesses will be open on the holiday Monday, professional offices (ie doctors, lawyers, etc) will most likely be closed.
