HOLIDAYS
Due dates and payment
Each year, employees enjoy a certain amount of days off from work with the purpose to celebrate or commemorate historical dates, in order to maintain the national and civic spirit.
These special dates have been duly recognized and determined by the work legislation, so that employees may enjoy them without conflict with their employers.
As an example of this, we may refer to articles 147, 148, and 149 of the Labor Code:
Art. 147.- All days of the year will be rendered as working days, with the exception of holidays and legal resting days recognized by law of out of the agreement of the parties.
Art. 148.- The following dates will be considered holidays with mandatory payment: January 1st, April 11th, Easter Thursday and Friday, May 1st, July 25th, August 15th, September 15th, and December 25th. August 2nd, and October 12th will be considered holidays with non mandatory payment.
The payment of each of these holidays will be based on the ordinary salary, of the employee earns by unit of time; and based on the average salary earned on the immediate week before, if the work has a piece-rate wage.
When October 12th were to be a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, the employer will declare it as a working day and move the respective holiday to the following Monday. However, for those companies or entities that have the most movement on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as activities that, based on their nature, cannot paralyze or interrupt the work on Mondays, previous acceptance from the employees, the employer will point out the day in which the holiday may be taken, within a period of time no longer than fifteen days.
Those who practice a different religion than the Catholic one, may request their employer the granting of their own religious holidays and the employer will be forced to do so. When this happens, the employer and the employee will agree on the reposition of the day, which can also be deducted from vacation time.
The holidays from each Religion, object of this right, will be those registered as such at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as long as their number does not exceed the mandatory holidays observed by the Catholic Church in Costa Rica. The Government will regulate the content of this disposition within the first 60 days as from the publication of this Law. (See National Decree No. 25570-TSS
As a result of former regulations about holidays and their due payment, this subject is nowadays a cause of doubt and concern from both employers and employees.
In order to clear this situation, it is convenient to point out and determine the different rules that apply in this matter.
About the day holidays are to be enjoyed.
- Days January 1st, April 11th, Easter Thursday and Friday, May 1st, July 25th, August 15, September 15th, December 25th, and August 2nd, CANNOT be moved to a different day. The holiday must be enjoyed within its own date, regardless of the day of the week it is.
- October 12th is the ONLY holiday that MUST be enjoyed on the following Monday when the actual date is Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
Exception: If the company or institution finds it impossible to stop or interrupt its activities due to their business nature or the amount of work that is produced on Saturdays and Sundays, the employer may, previous acceptance from the employee, point out a different day to enjoy the holiday, which ought to be within the following 15 days.
It is clear, then, that no holiday other than October 12th should be moved to a different day, even if the employees agreed on it. On the contrary, October 12th must ALWAYS be moved to the following Monday if the date is a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.
About the payment of holidays:
Another great confusion that surrounds the subject of holidays is their payment, being that there are holidays of mandatory payment and holidays of non mandatory payment.
- Holidays of mandatory payment: January 1st, April 11th, Easter Thursday and Friday, May 1st, July 25th, August 15th, September 15, and December 25th. This means that the holiday is already included in the regular wage; however, if one employee were to be summoned for work on a holiday, they should get an additional payment corresponding to the value of one day of work (double payment).
- Dates August 2nd and October 12 are holidays of non mandatory payment. This means that the employee may enjoy the holiday, but the employer is not in the obligation to pay for the day. However, if the worker were summoned to work on one of those dates, they would be paid as if worked on a regular day (single payment).
Having this picture clear is very important, especially for the employers, considering that it is a matter of unwavering rights of the employees.
If an employer were to move a holiday (other than October 12th), even with the consent of the employees, they would be violating the Labor Code and the unwavering right of the employee. In that case, all hours of the holiday worked should be paid double.
Considering all of the above, Labor Law recommends all employers to have adequate consulting, especially on this subject, and take the following actions:
- Establish clear and explicit work policies about holidays and their form of payment.
- Determine, first hand, the necessity or not to move the holiday of October 12th, always taking into account that this measure should not overpass 15 days after the actual date.
- In case the company decides to move the holiday of October 12th to a different day, it should have a written consent from each of the employees before taking such measures.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information.
Lic. Luis A. Medrano Steele
Senior Partner/ Director
Labor Law Corp S.A.