Costa Rican employees are big on respect and have a strong sense of community. They thrive in industries like tourism, hospitality, and healthcare. Employers in these industries and more could greatly benefit from adding workers from Costa Rica to their team. 

In your efforts to attract and hire Costa Rican employees, it’s imperative to learn about employee benefits in Costa Rica. Governmental regulations in this country are rather strict, and violators face serious legal consequences. On top of that, employees are aware of their rights and will forego an opportunity if the benefit plan isn’t up to par. 

For the best possible results in your hiring endeavors, read this employee benefits guide to the end. We’ll walk you through the mandatory and supplementary employee benefits according to official Costa Rica labor laws. Then, we’ll share information on how to create an exemplary benefits plan for your Costa Rican workers. 

Where to Find Employee Benefits in Costa Rica

Becoming informed on employee benefits in Costa Rica is impossible without access to Costa Rica labor laws. Luckily, you can find the official law text on the Sistema Costarricense de Informacion Juridica (SCIJ)/ Costa Rican Legal Information System website.

The hyperlinked website above is in Spanish. But if you go to your browser’s settings and click on “translate,” you can translate the text on the page to your preferred language. 

In addition to the Costa Rican laws outlined above, you can use the following resources: 

Mandatory Employee Benefits in Costa Rica

The Costa Rican government is very particular about how the employer/employee relationship should be handled. Through its labor law, it outlines subject like paid vacation, social security contributions, severance pay, and more for employers. We’ll go over the mandatory benefits for Costa Rican workers in the sections that follow. 

Social Security Contributions

Social Security contributions for Costa Rican employees are in place to protect workers financially when they are unable to work. The benefits are administered through the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), “The Costa Rican Social Security Fund” in English. Employers are required to sign their employees up for a social security fund through the government. 

Usually, employers and employees fund the account jointly, but in Costa Rica, it’s a little different. The employer and the government do the bulk of the funding. Still, the employee does make some of the contributions. 

On average, employers should be prepared to pay about 25% of the employee’s salary towards CCSS. This amount may vary based on the employer, employee, and situation. 

Christmas Bonuses

The Christmas salary is a bonus that every employee gets regardless of their profession. Other countries call it the 13th month salary. The amount of the bonus should be equal to a single month’s salary. Be sure to pay it by December 20th to satisfy the law. 

Paid Vacation

For every 50 weeks that a Costa Rican employee works, they get 2 week’s vacation. Vacations are paid at 100% of the worker’s typical pay. Costa Rica allows for some flexibility with this benefit if it is addressed in the employment contract. But the terms of the agreement shouldn’t veer very far from the law. Also, no other leave types count toward paid vacation time. 

Paid Public Holidays

There are nine paid holidays in Costa Rica, and they include:

  • January 1: New Year’s Day
  • Easter Thursday (Holy Thursday)
  • The Friday after Easter (Good Friday)
  • April 11: Juan Santamaría Day
  • May 1: Labor Day
  • July 25: Guanacaste Day
  • August 15: Assumption of the Virgin
  • September 15: Independence Day
  • December 25: Christmas Day

Note: Salaried workers get two extra paid holidays – August 2 and October 12. Those who earn a wage, instead of a salary, won’t get these additional days. You can offer them voluntarily but that’s not required.  

Employees should not be made to work on the above days in general, but in extenuating circumstances, it’s allowed. However, the employee should be paid double their salary.  

Severance Pay

If an employee is terminated and it’s not their fault, they are entitled to severance pay. This type of pay doesn’t accrue at a static rate but increases with seniority. Here’s a table showing how many days of severance pay an employee is entitled to as their employment duration increases:

Length of EmploymentSeverance Pay
3-6 months7 days of pay
6-12 months14 days of pay
Over 1 year~20 days of pay

There’s a probation period (generally three months) where severance pay isn’t a legal requirement. The length of the probation period will depend on the job type and the details of the employment contract.

Minimum Wage

There is no universal minimum wage for Costa Rican workers. For instance, the minimum wages for unskilled workers are lower than those of semi-skilled and skilled workers, and specialized workers get paid even more. Plus, there are generic and technical variations to take into account.

However, the rock-bottom minimum wage for the year 2026 is 12,436.41 CRC per day.

To see all of the minimum wages for different worker groups in Costa Rica, go to Wage Indicator.

Maternity Leave

For female employees who are expecting a baby, maternity leave is one month before the birth and three months after the birth. This equates to four months of leave total.

Throughout this leave, the employer and employee will both pay the employee; the employer pays 50% and the Social Security Administration pays the other half. Failing to pay a female employee during maternity leave, or firing her, can be very costly from a legal perspective. 

Paternity Leave

Legal paternity leave provisions haven’t been in place for very long, but they indicate that biological fathers can take 2 days off per week for the child’s first four weeks of life. In total, this is 8 days of leave. The employee should be paid their full wage during this time. 

Occupational Risk Insurance

In Costa Rica, workers’ compensation insurance (also called occupational risk insurance) is non-negotiable for employers. This coverage is meant to protect workers from financial instability and ruin if they become ill or injured at work.

The employer is obligated to sign the employee up for this coverage, and if they don’t, they’ll be fully responsible for any expenses related to work accidents and illnesses. Usually, the employer will pay 2 to 3% of the employee’s salary to secure this coverage for them. 

Supplementary Employee Benefits in Costa Rica

Typically, Costa Rican businesses and other organizations targeting this worker pool offer supplementary benefits – those that aren’t mandatory. These add-on benefits can be the difference between losing out on candidates and successfully hiring the best of the best. Here are some of the top supplementary employee benefits you could offer to employees in Costa Rica: 

  • Health insurance from a private insurer.
  • Vision and dental care add-ons. 
  • Wellness program vouchers or free memberships. 
  • Car or airfare allowances to make transportation easier. 
  • Language courses and/or tuition reimbursement. 
  • Vouchers employees can use for food. 
  • Bonuses tied to work performance. 
  • More vacation days than are required by law. 

By no means do you have to include all of these non-mandatory benefits. But choosing the right ones and presenting them clearly can make it much easier to fill your open positions. 

How to Build an Employee Benefits Plan that Meets Labor Law Requirements

What many employers find is that drafting and finishing an employee benefits plan is hard – especially when targeting foreign workers. You’ve got to follow the foreign legislation to perfection and ensure your benefits package is as attractive as possible to potential candidates. How do you do that? 

Start with researching the labor laws in Costa Rica from top to bottom. Just because you didn’t know about a law doesn’t mean you don’t have to follow it. You may want to get legal help from an international lawyer for this part of the process. Ensure that the lawyer you choose has specific experience in counseling businesses on international legal matters. Include all the mandatory benefits in the package.

Once you’ve got a handle on the legalese of Costa Rican labor law, jump into supplemental benefits. If you don’t already know what your ideal candidate would like in a benefit plan, it’s time to figure this out. Look into the Costa Rican culture and trends in the market your business operates in. Doing so will lend you some insight into what your candidates need most.

Once you’ve incorporated all the mandatory and supplementary benefits, package it all up in an easy-to-understand document. It may be helpful to translate the document into Spanish for your employee’s convenience. Then, use snippets of the benefit plan during the screening and hiring process. 

If you have questions or need help along the way, there are resources to help: 

So, there you have it – everything you need to know about employee benefits in Costa Rica. We hope the information you found in this employee benefits guide proves to be helpful, and we wish you the best as you expand your business into new territory.