Labor regulations have been updated and adapted to the new needs of both workers and employers in their daily activities.

Accordingly, we consider that it is important to include new provisions in the Internal Labor Regulations to make more fluid employment relationships possible by applying a tool better adapted to the current reality.

Pre-contractual phase

Clear parameters are needed for personnel selection processes to safeguard the interests of both the employer and the potential worker. This would ensure a transparent process in which the parties share accurate information, thereby making proper decision-making possible for carrying on the business.

Remote Work

• The Organic Law of Humanitarian Support to Combat the COVID-19 Health Crisis, which amended the Labor Code by officially incorporating teleworking into that body of law, came into force on June 22, 2020.

• Ministerial Order No. MDT-2020-181, which issued guidelines to regulate the implementation of the teleworking arrangement, became effective on September 14, 2020.

• These legal provisions are mandatory for all employers and workers who apply this work mode. Not following them could lead to penalties.

• A number of important issues need to be considered, such as avoiding teleworker isolation, providing the necessary tools for proper communication between the parties, respect for working hours, enforcement of occupational health and safety standards, collective rights, and the right to disconnect.

• The various forms of telework that may be applied are autonomous, mobile, partial, and occasional.

Compliance 

• The Organic Law Amending the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code respecting Anti-Corruption came into force in February 2021 to punish corruption crimes in the private sector and incorporate compliance as the main prevention tool in the fight against corruption. 

• Among the main changes brought into law are the implementation of compliance programs, the responsibility of legal persons for acts of corruption by their workers, crimes, sanctions, and the duty of reporting.

• In this regard, it is important to prevent employee behavior in this area that could be detrimental to the company. 

Policies to Prevent Violence against Women

• Ministerial Order No. MDT-2020-244 issuing the “Protocol for Preventing and Attending to Cases of Discrimination, Workplace Harassment, and All Forms of Violence against Women in the Workplace” became effective on November 25, 2020.

• All employers are obligated to incorporate preventive measures against any form of violence against women that might occur in the workplace.

• Affected employers and workers may file complaints with the Ministry of Labor regarding such events. 

COVID Protocol

In conjunction with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labor developed the “Occupational Safety and Health Protocol for the Public and Private Sectors.”

This document provides general guidelines for employers to update their guides, manuals, protocols, and safety and health procedures at work, considering the biological risk caused by the SARSCoV-2 virus, in accordance with current regulations to carry out worker prevention, surveillance, and control actions against COVID-19 in the workplace to protect their health.

Emotional Salary

• This non-economic benefit serves to meet workers’ personal and mental health needs, making their job more attractive and encouraging their motivation. 

• Flexible hours, recreation rooms, training sessions, etc., are among the wide range of possibilities.

• Application of this benefit is not mandatory. 

Do not hesitate to contact us for any further information.