American Expatriate Costa Rica

Which public institutions grant the best working benefits?

According to the Comptroller’s Office, three public institutions grant the best working incentives. They are:

-Costa Rican Oil Refinery (RECOPE)
-The Social Protection Board
-The Costa Rican Institute of Tourism

Do you want a good job? For 2017, Recope plans to spend ¢ 10,590 million on fixed salaries. However, the incentives for its workers will exceed ¢ 23,832 million: they will earn more for pluses than for wages.

For example, when employees are on vacation, they are paid overtime because the payment is based on the average salary earned over the last 50 weeks, including overtime. In addition, holidays are not for 2 weeks:

-From 1 to 4 years of service: 15 working days (three weeks)
-From 5 to 9 years: 23 working days (four and a half weeks)
-10 years and over: 30 business days (one and a half months)

In addition, when they are disabled, workers receive 100% of the salary.

In the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the relationship between incentives and wages is 2.29 times. They will spend ¢ 2,380 million in salaries and ¢ 5,460 million in incentives.

Annuities (5% of the salary) carry more than half of the incentives.

There are also the “five-year periods”, that represent 15% of the incentives.

The exclusive dedication is well-paid: ¢ 235 million, for about thirty employees, which is an additional 65% of the salary.

What’s more, it offers ¢ 45 million per month for travel expenses and employees’ transportation.

The ICT only has 229 employees.

In the Social Protection Board (JPS), the incentives correspond to 2.32 times basic salaries.

This year, the institution will pay ¢ 6,901 million in pluses and ¢ 2,970 million in salaries.

The institution allocated ¢ 4.273 million to salaries for years served, a privilege of its Collective Agreement.

It also pays ¢ 263 million for “career” and salary supplements (25% extra salary for technicians and professionals).

crhoy.com