Capital
San José
Currency
Costa Rican Colón (CRC)
Date format
dd/mm/yyyy
Region
LATAM
Minimum holiday entitlement
12
Paid public holidays per year
9
Additional leave compliance rules and complexities
Annual leave
Once an employee’s been in continuous employment for 50 weeks or more, they’re entitled to 12 days’ paid leave a year, in addition to 2 days of rest.
Sick leave
Employers pay 50% of each of employees’ sick pay for the first 3 days of sickness absence. From the fourth day of sick leave, the employer no longer provides any sick pay, but social security then pays 60% of an employee’s salary.
Maternity and paternity leave
Employers also share maternity leave payments with the Costa Rican Social Security fund. Mothers get 4 months’ parental leave on full pay – 1 month prenatal, and 3 months after the birth. Fathers are not entitled to paternity leave, and there are no statutory laws for shared parental leave either.