end of work bonuscheque

wim

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Jan 10, 2002
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I have a question . I have a few dominicans working for me . Now I want , that 1 of them , no more working for me . He's almost 2 years working for me , end of this month I want that he will stop with the work . he's telling me now that I need to pay him an "end of working " bonus . Can somebody tell me that it's true and when it is how much is it ?

Thanks , Wim .
 

Rocky

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wim said:
I have a question . I have a few dominicans working for me . Now I want , that 1 of them , no more working for me . He's almost 2 years working for me , end of this month I want that he will stop with the work . he's telling me now that I need to pay him an "end of working " bonus . Can somebody tell me that it's true and when it is how much is it ?

Thanks , Wim .
It's true.
Unless you have just cause for dismissal, like catching him stealing and being able to prove it, and reporting it to the Secretaria de Trabajo, you must pay.
All calculated, it may land up being close to 3 months pay.
Have your lawyer calculate it, draw up a legal document for him to sign, when accepting the "liquidacion".
If you try to get around it or pay him less than you should, he will be back, and it will cost you more money.
 

wim

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Also when he doesn't have a workcontract ? When he was started with this job he signed nothing . Nobody ( goverment or Secretaria de Trabajo )knows that he is working for me .

Greetings , Wim .
 

Dolores1

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May 3, 2000
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He doesn't have to have anything in writing. It's your word against his. Any lawyer will win the case for him and it will cost you much more than if you just paid him what you owe him. Do not think twice and pay him what the law establishes.
 

Rocky

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Dolores said:
He doesn't have to have anything in writing. It's your word against his. Any lawyer will win the case for him and it will cost you much more than if you just paid him what you owe him. Do not think twice and pay him what the law establishes.
Listen to these words of advice. You won't regret it.
No matter how much you may dislike this employee, you have to pay.
 

miguel

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Jul 2, 2003
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Easy!

wim said:
I have a question . I have a few dominicans working for me . Now I want , that 1 of them , no more working for me . He's almost 2 years working for me , end of this month I want that he will stop with the work . he's telling me now that I need to pay him an "end of working " bonus . Can somebody tell me that it's true and when it is how much is it ?

Thanks , Wim .
It's pretty easy.
Suppose you paid him 4,000 pesos a month. For 2 years of labor, you will need to pay him about 11,000 pesos. NOWWWW:

PAY HIM. Take it from someone that found out the hard way that even if you are not supposed to pay him, and you are, you MUST pay him because in the long run, and take it from me, you will pay more than double that amount if you don't. Not only La Secreatia De Trabajo IS GOING to make you pay, but the guy can make your life a living hell. Not counting that he can have someone rob or even attack you. I m not saying that it will happen, but it can. He worked for you for 2 years so he is not such a bad worker, so in that case, just pay him and get it over with before it gets worse!!!

You have been warned, now it's up to you!!.
 

Castellamonte

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wim said:
I have a question . I have a few dominicans working for me . Now I want , that 1 of them , no more working for me . He's almost 2 years working for me , end of this month I want that he will stop with the work . he's telling me now that I need to pay him an "end of working " bonus . Can somebody tell me that it's true and when it is how much is it ?

Thanks , Wim .
This is called the "liquidation" and is something the employer pays if the employee is terminated for anything other than just cause. If the employee quits, no liquidation is due.

If this is a casual employee (eg. not working for a business) then the liquidation does not apply according to the law.

When you liquidate an employee you should take them down to the Secy de Trabajo yourself to make sure all the paperwork is signed. Many times people have had to pay twice because they forgot the paperwork.

IMHO, if you are a gringo with a business and need to get rid of a Dominican employee it is best to pay the liquidation unless there are some very extenuating circumstances.
 

Pib

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Jan 1, 2002
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Castellamonte said:
If this is a casual employee (eg. not working for a business) then the liquidation does not apply according to the law.
I suggest that he pose that question in the Legal forum, but this may not be the case in all cases. Domestic employees are entitled to severance. Of course I don't know exactly what type of employee this was, hence my suggestion about asking Mr. Guzman, to whose superior knowledge I will always bow to.
 

MrMike

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Remember that he needs to sign a receipt too, or he can still sue you and make you pay again.

Dominicans are very aware of their workplace rights and upon being fired will have no problem trying to get every penny they can out of you, honestly or otherwise.
 

Castellamonte

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Pib said:
I suggest that he pose that question in the Legal forum, but this may not be the case in all cases. Domestic employees are entitled to severance. Of course I don't know exactly what type of employee this was, hence my suggestion about asking Mr. Guzman, to whose superior knowledge I will always bow to.
Domestic help differs from casual workers. Casual workers are typically only employed on a casual basis, get no benefits and have no assumption of continued employment. Other forms of employment (domestic or otherwise) have the assumption of continued employment, ergo the liquidation requirement.

That said, Fabio rules on this stuff and it should be taken up with him. He is my attorney, tho, and this is what I understood him to have told me in the past. He is definitely THE BEST!!
 

Lurch

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Aug 8, 2003
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From the perspective of someone who also has employees in the RD. Lets not even get so complicated as to include the law in this case. If an employee has served you well and you decide terminate him should you not provide a severance package? To do otherwise seems.....well questionable IMHO.
 

Mr_DR

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May 12, 2002
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wim said:
I have a question . I have a few dominicans working for me . Now I want , that 1 of them , no more working for me . He's almost 2 years working for me , end of this month I want that he will stop with the work . he's telling me now that I need to pay him an "end of working " bonus . Can somebody tell me that it's true and when it is how much is it ?

Thanks , Wim .
Just pay him so that everybody goes happy there separate way.

As Miguel already told you "You don't need this guy to have connections with the tigueres and have this end in tragedy over $11,000 pesos"
 

Rocky

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Lurch said:
From the perspective of someone who also has employees in the RD. Lets not even get so complicated as to include the law in this case. If an employee has served you well and you decide terminate him should you not provide a severance package? To do otherwise seems.....well questionable IMHO.
I know what you mean and appreciate the sentiment behind it, but it has been my experience that when one is dimissing an employee, it's because they were a lousy employee, or worse yet, is stealing from you, so it kind of takes your desire away to be generous, nevertheless, it is the law and the smart thing to do.
 

Pib

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Rocky said:
I know what you mean and appreciate the sentiment behind it, but it has been my experience that when one is dimissing an employee, it's because they were a lousy employee, or worse yet, is stealing from you, so it kind of takes your desire away to be generous, nevertheless, it is the law and the smart thing to do.
Not neccesarily Rocky. There are more than those reasons to let someone go.

Castellamonte: I know what you mean by casual employees. I have a plumber who probably does work for us 5 or 6 times a year, sometimes for more than a day at a time, he's a casual employee. Somebody working with you for 2 years! is nothing casual. Of course that is assuming that he meant full time, we are provided too little information by the OP to even decide if that is the case.
 

Rocky

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Pib said:
Not neccesarily Rocky. There are more than those reasons to let someone go.

Castellamonte: I know what you mean by casual employees. I have a plumber who probably does work for us 5 or 6 times a year, sometimes for more than a day at a time, he's a casual employee. Somebody working with you for 2 years! is nothing casual. Of course that is assuming that he meant full time, we are provided too little information by the OP to even decide if that is the case.
Of course, there can be a thousand reasons for dismissal.
It's just that when I have a good employee, I never fire them.
I keep them as long as they want to stay with us.
The only time I fired a person where I felt she was entitled to her liquidacion, was a cook who could not get along with another senior cook, and I had to make a choice between the 2.
The rest of the time, when I fired somebody, it was because they were good for nothing, cost me money, and almost invariably stealing too much.
As one has to be very careful to not make any accusations without being able to substantiate them, as well as all the BS you have to go through to prove it, getting their family & friends mad at you and sometimes even coming by with machetis to attack you, it's often wiser to pay, no matter how much they stole.
It's just that it's like adding salt to the wound.
I had one employee, a cashier, who would leave her post, slip into the warehouse to do the dirty thing with the warehouse boy, so when she got pregnant and I had to pay for the maternity leave, after she was abandonning her post, not protecting the cash, and basically stealing time I paid for, you can well imagine that I resented having to pay for it.
The stories could go on and on, but the real point that I would like to make is that despite not wanting to pay, even for good reason, one has to. It is the law and it's not worth the battle.
 

Pib

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Rocky said:
As one has to be very careful to not make any accusations without being able to substantiate them, as well as all the BS you have to go through to prove it, getting their family & friends mad at you and sometimes even coming by with machetis to attack you, it's often wiser to pay, no matter how much they stole.
Obviously our experiences in personnel administration varies considerably. :confused: