This April 15 is the deadline for companies that made a profit to pay 15 percent of that profit to their workers, and those who do not comply with this obligation could be sanctioned with a fine of three to twenty unique basic wages (SBU), i.e. from $1,350 to $9,000 , considering the current base salary is $450, labor experts say.

Article 97 of the Labor Law states that the company must pay 15% of net profit: 10% for the worker and 5% for family obligations.

By March 31, those with dependents must report this to their employers in order to benefit from the benefit

According to lawyer Vanessa Velásquez, to apply the sanction they are based on Article 7 of the constituent mandate 008, which refers to the violation of the Labor Law.

The said article states that “they will be punished in the manner prescribed by the respective articles of the said legal body, and if a special sanction is not determined, the Regional Director of Labor will impose a fine of at least three to a maximum of twenty wages or salaries.” basic unified…”.

Pedro Cruz, former undersecretary for labor, indicates that since 2008, mandate 8 (Article 7) has established that in all sanctions to which companies are subjected due to non-compliance with the obligations of their employers arising from the application of the protective regulations of the Labor Law, a fine has been applied.

Cruz points out that the application of the payment of 20 minimum vital wages corresponds to and depends on the bodies of work, which can be applied for each worker who does not charge utilities or as a single amount for the company, that is, 20 SBU.

Velásquez also agrees with this opinion, who points out that he is a professor of the regional director for work. “You might conclude that the sanction is really that serious.”

Large purchases are delineated by paying utilities, but the offer also includes basic products

Cruz indicates that if the company does not pay the penalty established in the Labor Law, in accordance with Order 8, a compulsory trial will begin and precautionary measures may result from this, such as the seizure of accounts, the ban on foreign travel of the legal entity of the representative before the trial and legitimate defense.

The former official points out that if there are companies that have not reported or it is not known whether or not there is a profit, workers can file a complaint with the regional labor administration, which will inform the Tax Administration (SRI) to send them the result of losses and profits to find out whether there was a profit, and in case there was a profit, says Cruz, they tell the company to distribute the amount that it is not paying.

Velásquez also indicates that if the payment is not made and the form is not registered, article 628 of the Labor Law applies, which mentions that the violation of the norms of this law will be sanctioned in the manner prescribed by the corresponding articles, and when no special penalty is established, the regional director of labor may impose fines of up to USD 200, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 95 of the Code for Children and Youth.

Likewise, the labor expert points out that there are many cases in which utilities are not paid, and workers can reach court proceedings, which they can claim individually or collectively, but usually in the case of a threatened fine, the processes are based on negotiations.