Labor relation between employeer and employee in Guatemala high land lake Atitlan

How the labor relation between boss and employee evolved in Guatemala these days.

Well for many years hiring employees was an easy process. You would put the word out and people would show up at your house. You do interview or just work on recommendations, define the job and the salary and all happy.

That was a times where not many foreigners would have learned spanish (not tom mention basic knowledge of labor laws) and to many locals ignore their basic labor rights.

So we had to often workers paid under the minimum wage ... Yes there is a minimum wage  in Guatemala

not having paid vacations or other advantaged associated with their work. 

 

Then things started to change.. 

First evolution I have seen, is people being paid the minimal wage.. Which between us upset the city guatemalans who have employees at the lake as suddenly their staff started to ask better salaries based on what the "gringos" were paying.

One thing make me most laugh was when I told my guardian he had to take vacations. Paid times for himself to enjoy on his own. First reflex was no better you pay me... but it is illegal so he had to take it.

And then slowly they started to enjoy this special times in the year allowing them to do work on their house and spend times for themselves and with their family.

Then the Ministry of Labor get involved...

More recently, because most of the employer were not aware and careless in formalizing their relation with their employees, they got hit by demands, from their employee, once fired from the ministry of labor.

And the less you have documented what you paid him or her and for what and the more you are exposed to pay what it is due legally.

So if you have been paying your employee out of good faith for part times work or not quiet the minimum salary then you better be prepared in case you get a demand from this same employee.

I have seen two cases.

One is you fire the employee for any reasons and either you pay him something or not  he will most probably go to the Ministry of Labor to check on his rights and if they have been respected.

 If you have been paying the bonus and giving him vacations and it is all documented then you are on the safe side. Most probably the adjustment would be because you didn't pay the minimum salary and then  the labor inspection will adjust backward the amount to pay. 

If you have not been paying the bonuses or given vacations and/or have not documented the money if you have been giving then you are exposed to a stiff bill. And not much you can do about it.

But they give me facturas...

One of the big mistake we are making is to employ somebody and because they give us facturas every month we think  we are not obliged of any of the bonuses, vacations and tiempo. Well that is not enough. If the employee go to the Ministry of labor explaining his situation then the current approach from the labor institution is to consider that the person was hired under this format to hide a normal labor relation. Here it is called "in relation of dependency". Meaning actually the employee because he is coming to work always at the same place, with hours and fonction then it is assimilated as permanent work which 

is subject to payment of bonuses, vacations and the rest.

 

There is also new modification to the system of mandatory pension IGSS (Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguro Social) that has been made recently that will be the object of different post to come.

 

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