Expats can be blindsided by injuries to employees

By: Garland M. Baker B.

Exclusive to A.M. Costa Rica

Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated. We are currently preparing a comprehensive update. Sign up for our Alerts to be notified as soon as the revised content is live!

Having workers compensation for all employees is the law in Costa Rica. 

The top labor court of the country, the Sala II, and the constitutional court, the Sala IV, have ordered people to pay medical expenses, even lifetime allowances, to hurt workers when they are not individually covered by insurance.

People with domestic workers are among those who skirt the law.

Many do not understand their options to cover employees properly.

Here is a list of the different worker's compensation insurance options available from the Instituto Nacional de Seguros, better known in Costa Rica as INS.

Creating payroll is hard but the alternative is disaster

By: Garland M. Baker B.

Exclusive to A.M. Costa Rica

Editor's Note: While this article was accurate at the time of publication, some information may now be outdated. We are currently preparing a comprehensive update. Sign up for our Alerts to be notified as soon as the revised content is live!

Putting a worker on a new legal payroll as required by law is a pain. Not making an employee legal is asking for trouble. 

Recently, a young foreign couple moved to Costa Rica from Europe and needed a domestic worker for their family. They wanted the worker they hired to have all the benefits provided by the country. They decided to set up a legal payroll with the government.

To do so required making applications with the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, known to most as the Caja, and the Instituto Nacional de Seguros de Costa Rica or INS.

They were shocked at the paperwork to set up a simple payroll for one person. Here are the steps for the first part of the process, set up with the Caja: