Costa Rica: Employers may request extension of the term of contract suspensions

Submitted by siha on Fri, 07/24/2020 - 11:36
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Minister of Labor and Social Security (15.06.2020) The Minister of Labor and Social Security signed a directive that allows employers to request an extension of the measure to suspend their employment contracts due to the pandemic by COVID-19. The MTSS-DMT-CIR-5-2020 directive allows employers to request the extension of the initial period of three months for up to an additional equal period, as long as the impact on the economic turn of companies is maintained. The procedure, like the initial application, must be done virtually through the form available on the website of the Ministry of Labor in which the application must be sent indicating that the economic conditions of the company are maintained as it does three months when the initial request was made. In the case of reductions in working hours, the law that governs them already provided for the extension of the term according to the needs of companies, always based on the economic impact that they may have.

measures summary

The Minister of Labor and Social Security signed a directive that allows employers to request an extension of the measure to suspend their employment contracts due to the pandemic by COVID-19. The directive allows employers to request the extension of the initial period of three months for up to an additional equal period, as long as the impact on the economic turn of companies is maintained.

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Regions / Country
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The Minister of Labor and Social Security, Geannina Dinarte Romero, this week signed a directive that allows employers to request an extension of the measure to suspend their employment contracts due to the pandemic by COVID-19.

The MTSS-DMT-CIR-5-2020 directive allows employers to request the extension of the initial period of three months for up to an additional equal period, as long as the impact on the economic turn of companies is maintained.

The procedure, like the initial application, must be done virtually through the form available on the website of the Ministry of Labor in which the application must be sent indicating that the economic conditions of the company are maintained as it does three months when the initial request was made.

In the case of reductions in working hours, the law that governs them already provided for the extension of the term according to the needs of companies, always based on the economic impact that they may have.

"We are enabling an online form in which employers will be able to make not only these requests, but will also be able to report changes in the employment protection measures that we enabled at the start of this pandemic," stressed the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Geannina Dinarte Romero.

In this sense, the form will allow the labor inspectorate to inform those employers who are recovering the normal flow in the operation of their companies about the end of contract suspensions or reductions in working hours. In the same way, modifications in the measures may be requested, both modification of the percentage of reduction in working hours to those employers who are recovering the normal flow in the operation of their companies.

In the same way, changes in the measures may be requested, both in the modification of the percentage of reduction in working hours, as well as in a change in the measure, that is, moving from a reduction in working hours to suspension of the contract or vice versa. In these cases, the economic affectation must be recorded through a sworn statement and / or through a certificate issued by an authorized public accountant.

Companies that require requesting the measure for the first time, must do so by sending the respective documentation to the email address inspeccionlaboral.emergencia@mtss.go.cr .

Parallel to this, the National Directorate of Labor Inspection will carry out inspections throughout the national territory, prioritizing the attention of complaints for alleged irregular actions in the processes and requests for temporary suspension of work contracts, reduction of working hours and complaints in special jurisdiction cases.

The above by means of the inspectors highlighted exclusively for this purpose and who in an extraordinary way will be in two large groups, formed as follows: one group in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) and another group in the Caribbean regions - Chorotega - Central Pacific and Brunca ; in adherence and protection of the sanitary measures that have been dictated within the emergency.

The form will be available starting this Monday on the micro site on COVID19 at the following link

http://www.mtss.go.cr/elministerio/despacho/covid-19-mtss/COVID19-MTSS.html