Sick leave in Costa Rica: who pays what

The split: social security pays the benefit from the fourth day. The first three are covered by the employer, paying at least 50 % of salary — an obligation built by the courts on article 79 of the Labour Code.

Days 1 to 3Employer, at least 50 %

From day 4Social security benefit

52 weeksThe maximum period

What article 79 actually says

You read everywhere that “article 79 obliges the employer to pay 50 % of the first three days”. It does not say that. What article 79 governs is something else: that proven illness suspends the contract for up to three months, and that — except in a case protected by the Social Security Act — the employer's only obligation is to grant leave, paying half salary for one, two or three months according to length of service.

The three-day obligation does exist, but by another route. The Ministry of Labour itself explains it this way: social security grants the benefit from the fourth day, and to cover that gap the courts established, relying on article 79, that the employer pays those three days at at least 50 % of pay.

The distinction is not academic: an obligation built by case law applies just the same, but it explains why looking up the article's text does not turn up the rule — and why it is better to cite the right source when there is an argument.

From the fourth day

Social security grants the benefit from the fourth day of leave. According to the Ministry of Labour, it comes to 60 % of the reported salary.

And a rule that changes the calculation completely. If a period of leave arises within thirty days of the previous one, the new benefit is paid from the first day. Three days are not deducted again. This is what goes wrong most often when someone has repeated leave for the same condition.

The requirements

Having contributed the previous month

And six monthly contributions within the twelve months before the leave starts.
The maximum period is 52 weeks

A year of benefit.
It can be extended by 26 more weeks

If the insured contributed nine months within the previous twelve, on the terms of the leave regulation.

When social security does not pay

The sickness benefit does not apply to a workplace risk or a road accident. Those go through the state insurer, under its own policy.

It is the first question to ask about any leave: is this ordinary illness or a workplace risk? Because it changes who pays, at what percentage and against which policy. And if social security leave starts or continues after insurer leave, there is a complementarity rule: the social security payment begins once the insurer's ends.

Self-employed contributors

For someone contributing as self-employed, the benefit percentage depends on how many months they have contributed:

Months contributed	Benefit percentage
3 to under 6	50 % — as financial assistance
6 to under 9	75 %
9 months or more	100 %

When the right is lost

Through fraud, altering documents or misleading the doctor.
Through paid work during the period of leave.
Through unjustified abandonment of treatment or of the recommendations.
Through time limitation: six months after the period ends.
Through dismissal: the right ends with payment of the leave granted before dismissal.

And it cannot be claimed twice for the same thing. The benefit is incompatible with other financial benefits for the same illness. Where there is double cover, the amount is reduced so the total does not exceed 100 % of the reference salary.

How it lands on the payroll

Item	Who pays it	In the accounts
Days 1 to 3, at least 50 %	The employer	Salary expense
Benefit from day 4	Social security	Not an employer expense
Voluntary top-up by the employer	The employer, if agreed	Salary expense

The recording error that inflates the expense. Charging a full month of salary for an employee on leave, when the employer only paid three days at 50 %, leaves staff costs above the real figure and breaks the reconciliation against the social security payroll.

What happens to the bonus and the holiday

This is one of the areas where the sources do not agree: how months of leave enter the Christmas bonus base — whether at the usual salary, at the social security benefit, or whether that period is treated separately. We would rather say so than invent a rule: this is a question for the Ministry of Labour or your employment adviser, particularly if your payroll had long periods of leave this year.

From Ticuenta

Staff costs against what was actually paid

The month's entry is built from the real figures, so the expense recorded is the expense incurred.

See how it works

About this article. The split between employer and social security, the requirements and the loss of the right follow the Ministry of Labour and the social security fund's own explanations. Article 79 of the Labour Code governs suspension of the contract through illness. This is not employment law advice.

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

Sick leave in Costa Rica: who pays the first three days

What article 79 actually says

From the fourth day

The requirements

Having contributed the previous month

The maximum period is 52 weeks

It can be extended by 26 more weeks