The right to care services for minor children of private employees in Ecuador is considered in Article 155 of the Labor Act: “In companies for permanent employment that have fifty or more employees, the employer will establish an annex or in the immediate vicinity of the company, i.e. the work center, a childcare service, with free care, nutrition, space and resources for this. service”.

“Companies that cannot meet this obligation directly may partner with other companies or contract with third parties to provide this service.”

The regional labor administration is obliged to supervise compliance with these obligations and to sanction companies that do not comply with them.

Failure to comply with this provision is sanctioned by a fine between three and ten unique basic incomes (as of 2023, the UBI in Ecuador is USD 450), depending on the size of the company.

in recent ones amendment for public servants, Ministry of Labour In the ministerial agreement MDT-2023-085, it is indicated that these are benefits for institutions included in the scope of Losep (Organic Law on Public Service) in which more than 20 servers work.

Which workers can get this benefit?

In order for private workers to receive this compensation, they must present the minor’s birth certificate and prove that the mother or father is physically unable to take care of the child or children.

Boys and girls eligible for this service are:

Although the law specifies that there will be no monetary compensation for workers, a recent amendment by the Ministry of Labour, When it comes to civil servants, he determined that parents of children under the age of 5 who work in a public institution with more than 20 workers can receive a monthly economic benefit of $93. if it is not possible to approve a daycare service for the benefit of the user.

In this regard, labor lawyer Vanessa Velásquez explained that with this ministerial agreement related to the public sector, there would already be a clear parameter for the public sector which value should be received and that this is not the same as the one related to the issue of the private sector.

“It is a ministerial agreement generated only and exclusively for the public sector. There is a provision in the Labor Law in Article 155, and it is also already incorporated in the Law on Care; However, the Labor Law does not prescribe payment in money, but the employer must have a custodial service and an appropriate day care service”, explains lawyer Velásquez.