In the second and final debate, Costa Rica’s legislators approved the bill to regulate telework, with the aim of promoting this type of work to boost employment generation in the country.
According to the approved bill, in order to establish a telework relationship, the employer and the teleworker must sign a telework contract, which is subject to the law and other provisions governing employment in Costa Rica.
For the country’s business sector, the approval of the Proyecto de Teletrabajo (Telecommuting Project) is an important and relevant milestone, since the labor market must adapt to a constantly changing environment, and telework is a modality that is increasingly frequent and facilitated by information technology and communications.
For the regulations to come into force, the signature of President Carlos Alvarado is required and published in the official newspaper, La Gaceta.
Legislator for the Partido Integración Nacional (PIN), Walter Muñoz Cépedes highlighted the importance that telecommuting will have for the generation of more jobs in the country. “We are going to continue pressuring the Minister of the Presidency to convene the projects that are required for the generation of employment,” Muñoz said.
In summary
Benefits:
- Savings on office rental
- Cost reduction for the worker
- Reduction of environmental pollution
- Urban congestion reduction
- Productivity increase
- Improvement in people’s quality of life
Important aspects of the project:
- It is voluntary for both the worker and the employer
- Its application in the public sector is both centralized and decentralized including municiaplities, autonomous and semi-autonomous institutions and public companies
- Public or private institutions can apply it through a contract or addendum, where the obligations of both employers and teleworkers will be established.
