Public holidays established by Costa Rican law are designed to enable the celebration or commemoration of civic, social, or religious events. In the religious sphere, it is noteworthy that the Costa Rican State recognizes the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion as the official faith, and as such, religious holidays are tied to this belief system. However, Article 75 of the Political Constitution also guarantees freedom of religion, provided its practice does not contravene universal morality or good customs.
Specifically, the Labor Code establishes four holidays linked to Catholic celebrations: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Day of Our Lady of the Angels (Virgen de los Angeles), and Christmas Day. But what happens in the case of employees who follow different faiths? Must employers grant holidays or time off to enable these employees to participate in their religious celebrations, pursuant to the guarantee of religious freedom?
The answer to these questions can be found in Article 148 of the Labor Code, which provides:
“(…) Practitioners of religions other than Catholicism may request their employers to grant them leave for the days of religious celebrations specific to their faith, and the employer shall have the obligation to comply. In this case, the employer and the employee shall agree on the replacement day, which may be deducted from the employee’s vacation time.
The religious holidays eligible for this right shall be those registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, provided that the number of such days does not exceed the mandatory precept days observed by the Catholic Church in Costa Rica. (…)”
In light of the above, employers are indeed required to grant certain days off for religious celebrations to employees who adhere to faiths other than Catholicism, provided that the following conditions are met:
Finally, it should be noted that public holidays listed in the Labor Code are nonwaivable rights for all employees. Consequently, an employee cannot be denied these holidays simply for practicing a religion other than Catholicism or for requesting time off to celebrate their own religious holidays, in accordance with the aforementioned article and Regulation No. 25570-TSS.
Lucía Solórzano
Partner at BDS Asesores