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Maternity leave in Costa Rica: what the employer pays, and what does not change

Four months, split fifty-fifty with social security. And one payroll trap that costs real money on the day of the final settlement.

7 min readTicuenta
The leave: four months, one before the birth and three after. The employee earns the same salary as if she were working: social security pays 50 % and the employer the other 50 %.
4 months1 before and 3 after the birth
50 / 50Social security and employer
100 %The base for bonus and severance

The payroll trap that costs money

This is where almost every payroll goes wrong. What the employee receives during the leave is salary. So the Christmas bonus, the holiday, notice and severance must be calculated on 100 % of those four months' salary, even though the employer only paid out 50 %. Accruing on half leaves a hidden debt that appears in full on the day of the settlement.
The case · four months of leave
Monthly salary
₡700,000
What the employer pays each month
₡350,000
What social security pays each month
₡350,000
Base for the bonus and the provisions
₡700,000 a month
Christmas bonus earned in those 4 months
₡233,333
If accrued on 50 %
₡116,667 — half of what is owed

Social security contributions

They are paid, because it is salary. But social security assumes the employee's contributions, and the employer contributes only on the 50 % it covers.

Protected status: no dismissal without authorisation

A pregnant or breastfeeding employee cannot be dismissed without just cause, nor treated in a discriminatory way. The protection does not cover someone who commits one of the offences in article 81 of the Labour Code, but even then the dismissal requires prior authorisation from the Labour Inspectorate.

And one requirement activates the protection. The employee must notify the employer of her condition, providing a medical certificate or a social security record. Without that notice the protection does not run. With it, it runs from that moment.

How the authorisation is requested

  • Application to the Labour Inspectorate

    Setting out the offences committed and providing the evidence.

  • Investigation and hearing

    Inspectors are appointed, who summon the parties to establish the facts.

  • Report and observations

    The inspectors recommend granting or refusing. The report is put to both parties, who may make observations.

  • Final decision

    Issued by the National Directorate and General Labour Inspectorate. A party who disagrees may go to court.

If the dismissal happens anyway

The employee may request immediate reinstatement from the Inspectorate or from a labour judge. If she prefers not to be reinstated, she is owed notice, severance, the Christmas bonus and holiday, plus the pre- and post-natal benefits and the salary lost from the dismissal until the eighth month of pregnancy is complete.

If she was breastfeeding and waives reinstatement, then in addition to notice, severance, bonus and holiday she is owed compensation equal to ten days' salary.

Breastfeeding

The three months after the birth are the minimum breastfeeding period, and it can be extended by medical opinion for as long as the doctor determines.

Within that period, the employee is entitled to a break to breastfeed:

ArrangementHow it is distributed
15 minutes every three hoursSpread across the shift
Half an hour twice a dayTwo breaks
One continuous hourAt the start or end of the shift — the most common
The medical opinion does not have to come from social security. The law does not require it: it can be from a social security doctor or a private clinic, because both carry public faith. Only the courts can determine that such a document is false.

What to check in the accounts

  • That the bonus and holiday provisions for those months are calculated on the full salary, not on the 50 % paid out.
  • That the social security benefit is not recorded as the employer's salary expense: the employer does not pay it.
  • That the six-month average for any settlement includes those months at 100 %. How the average works.
From Ticuenta

Provisions on the right base

They are calculated on the month's gross earned salary, which is exactly the base the law requires in these cases.

See how it works

About this article. The leave, the protected status, the procedure before the Labour Inspectorate and the breastfeeding rules are set out in the Ministry of Labour's booklet on pregnant and breastfeeding workers, and develop the Labour Code. This is not employment law advice: a dismissal in these circumstances is something to ask about before, not after.

Verified as of 24 September 2026. Rules change. This is information, not legal or tax advice.

Sources: Labour Code Ministry of Labour Costa Rican Social Security Fund

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