Suspended employees must collect full benefits in Dominican Republic

Workers who are still suspended due to the measures adopted by authorities and companies to control the coronavirus pandemic are guaranteed full payment of their employment benefits if they are fired or evicted, as established by the Labor Code, so the job suspension would only affect the payment of salary number 13.

This was explained yesterday by the former Minister of Labor, Rafael Alburquerque, who added that although the worker is suspended, the employment contract is still in force. All the months in which the contract has been suspended must be calculated to pay labor benefits.

“What is going to decrease is the Christmas salary, because this is calculated by adding all the salaries that the employee earned in the year, divided by 12, so since the worker is not earning salaries in these months of suspension, obviously the salary 13 is going to decrease ”, he pointed out.

Several suspended workers have expressed their concern about the payment of their employment benefits once their employers decide to terminate the employment contract, due to the situation their companies are going through due to the paralysis of the economy due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Albuquerque reiterated that benefits must be calculated when the contract ends, whether due to dismissal or eviction, based on the worker’s salary at that time.

According to data provided by the Ministry of Labor (MT), 1,489 workers remained suspended until last Saturday, a significant drop, since, with the gradual reopening of the companies, most of the workers were reintegrated into the companies.

Suspension time. According to the code, Rafael Alburquerque also explained that the maximum that an employment contract can be suspended in a year is only 90 days, so time has passed. The law also says that contracts can remain suspended if the cause of the suspension does not disappear.

“With the coronavirus, there is a case of force majeure that forces the closure of companies and staff limitations so that the suspension can continue,” he said.

The expert in the Dominican Labor Code said that many employees will have to continue suspended due to the country’s situation and that even a lawsuit in court would be difficult to succeed.

The new administration of the Ministry of Labor has not yet ruled on the suspensions and payment of benefits.