Costa Rica Info
Joined: 14 Nov 2006
Posts: 17
Home Country: costarica
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 Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:18 am Post subject: EMPLOYMENT IN COSTA RICA / COSTA RICA EMPLOYMENT GUIDE |
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EMPLOYMENT IN COSTA RICA
THE JOB MARKET
Costa Rican law states that a foreigner can only be hired for a position if there are no Costa Ricans candidates available. If a company wants to hire you they have to show proof of the effort taken to recruit a Costa Rican.
With a high level of education available in Costa Rica, a literacy rate of 95.8% and an increasing number of bilingual Costa Ricans, it is hard for a foreigner to find a job and obtain a work permit unless you are a specialist in a certain field. That being said, there are certain fields in which you are more likely to find a job. These fields are English or other foreign language teachers, tourism (temporarily) and environmental work. Working without a work permit also takes place, mainly in the tourism sector. Bear in mind that it is illegal to work without a permit.
WORK FOR FOREIGNERS
Finding a job in Costa Rica as a foreigner is not at all easy. If you want to get work experience in Costa Rica, your best bet might be voluntary work or language teaching.
Voluntary work is available in a wide variety of fields, from medical internships to help building schools and houses. If you want to do voluntary work there are two main ways to find a position: through an aid-organisation or a specialised agency. Lists of aid-organisations and NGO’s can often be got from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of your home country. Specialised agencies often offer several services such as language courses, and frequently it is even the other way around, language schools offer voluntary work. However, finding voluntary work through agencies often means you will have to pay for it. You do not need a visa if the voluntary work you plan on doing is for less than 3 months duration.
Language schools and language teaching organisations are mainly aiming at teaching English all over the world. Depending on the organisation, you will get a wage or receive food and lodging in return. The most common language studied by Costa Ricans is English, although other languages such as French and German are becoming more popular. Several language schools interview you by telephone.
Tourism is a field where you are more likely to find a job. Try tour operators and travel organisations in your home country. Another option is to work in hotels, bars and other establishment in the hospitality industry. Though it might not be that hard to find a job if you look when you are in Costa Rica, make sure you work with the legal paperwork.
Students
Increasing numbers of students decide to do internships in another country. Internships can be either a mandatory component to a course of study or an activity chosen by a student who wants to get international work experience. An internship is considered as work and you will have to go through the work permit application procedure.
Working illegally
If you want to work in Costa Rica you really need a work permit. Keep in mind that both you and your employer are breaking the law if you engage in work without the required permits.
JOB HUNTING
Multinationals and International Organizations
If working for a Costa Rican wage is not what you are looking for, it is best you contact multinationals that have operations in Costa Rica. There is a large difference in the salary you will earn if you are contracted in Costa Rica directly or sent to work there from abroad.
You can also opt for working for an NGO. Costa Rica hosts several NGOs and aid agencies active in fields ranging from agriculture, micro-credits, health, education and environment. If you are looking for new experiences, consider getting in contact with them to see if they have any opportunities. The department of Foreign Affairs of your home country might supply you with a list of NGO’s from your country.
Newspapers & Magazines
In newspapers like La Nación, Tico Times and La República, jobs are posted in the classifieds sections. Some of these classifieds are both published in the newspaper and made available online. Jobs in Costa Rica are not only found in the Costa Rican media. Foreign newspapers like Le Monde and Le Figaro (France) and Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung (Germany) sometimes carry job openings for Costa Rica.
Internet
Several online recruitment agencies are active in Costa Rica, for example Latinjobs.com and ticojobs.com. Online recruitment sites allow you to search the database and post your resume.
Speculative applications
Speculative applications by mail and Internet are common practice in Costa Rica. Before writing a letter, try and find who is responsible for applications in the target company as this will mean that it gets in front of the right person directly and will have a better chance of being properly considered. This method can be successful especially when looking for student internships or when applying for a job as a teacher in a language school. Bear in mind though that most internships will not be paid.
Chambers of Commerce
National Chambers of Commerce in Costa Rica like the Costa Rican-American, German and French Chambers, often provide lists with companies from the home country that are active in Costa Rica. With these lists you can start sending speculative applications. Some national chambers of commerce run a service which receives applications and makes them available to companies looking for foreign workers.
Recruitment Offices
Some of these offices are specialised in recruitment for short-term employment. Many of the recruitment offices are internationally known companies such as Adecco and Manpower. Depending on your profile, you will probably not want to rely on an agency and have a better chance when taking a more proactive approach by contacting companies directly.
Language Schools
Language schools sometimes offer the opportunity of voluntary work or internships for foreigners. The language school charges a fee for this intermediary service.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Working Hours
The maximum daily number of working hours depends on the kind of working day you have, of which there are two in Costa Rica:
* Normal Working Days or Jornadas Ordinarias Normales
* Special Working Days or Jornadas Especiales o de Excepcion
Both kinds of working days can be subdivided in day and nightshifts. Normal daytime working days may be of maximum 8 hours or 10 hours per day, if the work performed is not heavy or unhealthy work. However, the maximum hours one may work per week is 48. Normal daytime working days take place between 5 AM and 7 PM. Night time jobs are those jobs that take place between 7 PM and 5 AM. Night time jobs may be of no more than 6 hours per day and a working week may be of no more than 36 hours. A mixed working day is when you work shifts that are partly considered daytime and partly considered night time. Mixed shifts may be of 8 hours daily unless you work until 10.30 PM or later in which case shifts are considered night time and may be of only 6 hours.
Working on a Saturday is considered a Special Working Days. Special working days also apply to several fields of employment among which domestic servants who can work up till 12 hours a day. If working 12 hours daily one is entitled to a break of at least 1.5 hours. People over 15 years of age but under 18 years of age are also considered to work special working days. People in this age group are not allowed to work more than 6 hours a day and 36 hours per week.
Wages
Wages in Costa Rica are much lower than in the US and Europe. It is important to take into account that the cost of living is far lower. The minimum wages stated below are estimates based the exchange rate of the Colon to US$ at January 1st 2006. For the period of January 1st till June 30th 2006 the minimum hourly wages in Costa Rica are:
* Non-Qualified Worker: US$ 1.81
* Semi-Qualified Worker: 1.96
* Qualified Worker: 2.11
* High School level technicians 2.27
* Specialised Worker 2.43
* College technicians 2.80
* Bachelor Degree 3.43
* “Licenciatura” Degree 4.11
The above wages cover the following sectors: Agriculture, Mining, Manufacturing, Industry, Construction, Electricity, Commerce, Tourism, Services, Transportation and Storage. These minimum hourly wages include 26% Benefits, 8.33% Christmas bonus (aguinaldo), 8.33% severance, 3.85% vacations and 2.47% holidays.
Overtime in Costa Rica is paid as the hourly wage plus 50%. Every employee in Costa Rica is entitled on a Christmas bonus or aguinaldo of one month’s salary. This bonus is paid during the first 20 days of December. The Christmas bonus is calculated as an average of last year’s salary.
Labour Regulations
A labour (UK: employment) contract in Costa Rica can be a written or verbal agreement. Labour contracts can be for a limited time or unlimited time. Limited time contracts have a determined time span or indicate that the contract ends once the work has been performed. In case of termination of a contract for unlimited time, the employee has rights layoff compensation. This compensation includes previous notification. Both employer and employee are entitled to a one-month notice before termination of the contract. If an employer terminates a contract without a cause, the employee is entitled to one month of salary for each year he/ she worked for the employer. This compensation can be of maximum 8 years of employment. The one month salary is calculated as an average of the salary received during the last 6 months of employment.
In Costa Rica, employees are entitled to two weeks of vacations for every 50 weeks of continuous employment. If an employee’s contract is terminated and he/she has not yet used the earned vacation time they are entitled to a payment of one day’s salary for each month worked during the year.
As an employee in Costa Rica you are entitled to a Christmas bonus or aguinaldo and vacation. On the other hand you also need to pay taxes. In Costa Rica income taxes are calculated as follows:
* Up to US$ 3,074 you do not have to pay income tax.
* From US$ 3,074 to US$ 4,591 income tax is 10%
* From US$ 4,591 to US$ 7,565 income tax is 15%
* From US$ 7,565 to US$ 15,348 income tax is 20%
* Above US$ 15,348 income tax is 25%
Maternity leave is granted for one month before birth and 3 months after birth.
In case of illness it is possible to get treatment paid for by the Social security System in Costa Rica. However, this is only possible after medical evaluation.
Employers in Costa Rica face high taxes for each employee. Employers have to pay 46% tax over the yearly salary paid to their employees as well as Social Security payments of 22%.
Holidays
In Costa Rica there are paid and unpaid holidays. At the dates of paid holidays employers are obliged to pay their employees. Employees have the right to enjoy their holidays and cannot be forced by their employers to work on those days. If an employer forces employees to work, the employer can be fined and employees paid double. If employees agree to work on holidays, they are entitled on double their normal salary.
Paid holidays are:
* 1st of January (New Year)
* 11th of April (Juan Santamaría Day)
* Jueves y Viernes Santos
* 1st of May (Labour Day)
* 25th of July (Anexión del partido de Nicoya a Costa Rica)
* 15th of August (Motherday and Asuncion de la Vírgen)
* 15th of September (Independence Day)
* 25th of December (Christmas)
Non-paid holidays are:
* 2nd of August (Virgen of Los Angeles Day)
* 12th of October (Culture Day)
Disputes
When injustice is done to you, it is possible to sue your employer. This can be when your labour rights are violated, but you can also sue in case of Child labour and in case of non-payment of salary. If you want to sue, contact the National Work Inspection or Inspección Nacional de Trabajo. |
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