The weekly day of rest or seventh day, as well as the day off or holiday, are basic rights that are indisputably enshrined worldwide. Central American countries are no exception, and it is important to know a little more about how they are regulated.
It should be emphasized that the purpose of the weekly day of rest, or the seventh day is to allow workers to recover their strength after a continuous week of work. In the case of public holidays, the purpose is to allow workers to commemorate a religious, civic, or cultural holiday recognized by legislation or another source of labor law. Both types of days must be paid to workers, just like any other day they work.
If it is necessary for a worker to work on a day off or holiday, each country has regulations on how to proceed and the obligations this entails, emphasizing that there must always be mutual agreement between the worker and the employer.
In the case of Guatemala, workers may work on public holidays or weekly rest days, but in such cases, they are entitled to be paid for the time worked as overtime, without prejudice to the salary to which they are already entitled for such public holiday or weekly rest day.
In the case of El Salvador, the approach is different:
- In the case of a day off, workers who, by mutual agreement with their employers, work on that day shall be entitled to the basic wage for that day, plus remuneration of at least 50% for the hours worked and a compensatory day off with pay in the same or following week. It is important to note that Salvadoran law stipulates that the day off that was not taken must be made up, in addition to the extra pay.
- In the case of a holiday, workers who, by mutual agreement with their employer, work on that day shall earn extraordinary wages consisting of their regular wages plus a surcharge of 100% of their regular wages, which is higher than on a rest day, but they shall not be entitled to compensatory time off, since the purpose of the day is to commemorate a holiday.
- If a holiday coincides with a weekly day off and the worker works on that day by mutual agreement with the employer, they shall be entitled to the special remuneration established for the holiday and the corresponding paid compensatory rest, which applies to the day off, i.e., the most favorable of each of the provisions applies.
In Honduras, if work is performed on rest days or public holidays by agreement, double the salary corresponding to the ordinary working day shall be paid in proportion to the time worked, without prejudice to the worker’s right to another day off in the same week.
In Nicaragua, workers who work on rest days or public holidays shall be paid as for an extraordinary day of work, without compensation for not taking the day off, and if a national holiday coincides with a rest day, it shall be compensated. In that country, the types of work that may be performed on such days are specified, including work that cannot be interrupted due to the nature of the needs it satisfies, such as tasks intended to repair damage caused by force majeure or unforeseeable circumstances, provided that the repair cannot be postponed, among others. It is also regulated that the rest day may be replaced by another day of the week at the worker’s discretion.
In Costa Rica, concerning public holidays, the Labor Code establishes that such days are for the enjoyment and rest of workers as a general rule. In addition, practitioners of religions other than Catholicism may request their employer to grant them days off for religious celebrations specific to their beliefs, and the employer is obliged to grant them. Articles 150 and 151 of the Labor Code stipulate the exceptions for which businesses may operate on a holiday, and which commercial activities entitle employers to request their employees to work on a holiday. When an employer requires its employees to work on a holiday, the employee is entitled to receive additional pay for that day, in addition to their regular salary; that is, if an employee works on a holiday, they must receive double pay, i.e., their regular salary for that day plus an additional day’s salary. Overtime worked on a holiday is paid at time and a half (triple).
It is important to grant and remunerate days off and holidays, and if they are worked, the respective regulations of the country in question must be complied with to respect the rights of workers in this area and avoid non-compliance that could lead to penalties under each legal framework.