T SEAL for good labor practices

By Ministerial Agreement No. MDT 2021-165 issued on May 14, 2021 by the Ministry of Labor created the T Seal for good labor practices in the private sector. This regulation seeks to encourage compliance with labor regulations, formalization of labor, close gender gaps and generate fair working conditions.

The T-Stamp may be issued by the Ministry of Labor in recognition of employers that adequately comply with labor obligations and regulatory provisions. In particular, the control entity will verify compliance with the following obligations:

For employers in general:

  1. Payroll;
  2. Notice of entry of workers to the IESS;
  3. Pay slips for the last three months of the workers;
  4. Proof of payment of workers’ reserve funds (annual or monthly);
  5. Proof of delivery of tools, instruments and materials for the execution of the work (when applicable);
  6. Proof of delivery of clothing for work (when applicable);
  7. Proof of notice of salary variation due to overtime, overtime or night work performed to the IESS (when applicable);
  8. Resolution of registration of all substitute workers (the family member of the person with disability must present the certification issued by the MIES, in favor of the substitute worker and will apply up to fifty percent (50%) of the total required for the labor inclusion of persons with disabilities (not mandatory);
  9. Proof of payment of profits by the user company to the complementary activities company (when applicable);
  10. Proof of delivery of work certificates to employees (if any);
  11. To have conducted, prior to the application for the T-SELLO, a training on gender equality for all personnel, as well as the commitment to conduct annual trainings after obtaining the T-SELLO.

In the event that the employer has twenty-five (25) or more workers, additionally it will be required:

  1. Identification card of personnel with disabilities evidencing four percent (4%) of the payroll (applies to employers with twenty-five (25) or more workers with a stable contract, or only for the payroll of administrative personnel in security, private security and construction companies);

In the event that the employer has fifty or more workers; additionally it will be required:

  1. Justification for the provision of childcare services for the care of employees’ children;
  2. To have a lactation center (applies on a temporary basis if the company has a breastfeeding woman, or on a permanent basis if the company has fifty (50) or more women of childbearing age);
  3. Canteen (for companies with more than fifty (50) workers and more than two (2) kilometers away from the nearest town);

In the event that the employer has more than one hundred workers; additionally it will be required:

  1. Contract of the occupational physician;
  2. Contract with the social worker (applies to employers with one hundred (100) or more workers, and one more social worker for every three hundred (300) workers in excess);
  3. Internship contracts at four percent (4%) of payroll (applies to employers with more than one hundred (100) stable workers).

The employer may apply for the T-Stamp through the SUT platform of the Ministry of Labor. For its part, the Ministry of Labor, through the regional labor directorates and its inspectors, will carry out the respective verification process.

If compliance with labor obligations is verified, the Labor Inspector will send a favorable report to the Regional Director of Labor and Public Service recommending the issuance of the T SEAL. In turn, the Regional Director of Labor and Public Service will forward the recommendation report to the Vice Ministry of Labor and Employment, which will issue and deliver to the employer the resolution of good labor practices, T SEAL and its corresponding branding manual. The aforementioned resolution will have a duration of two years. Among the benefits of obtaining this recognition are the following:

  1. The Ministry of Labor and its regional directorates do not conduct ex officio random inspections of employers. They may only do so if there is a complaint filed by an employee.
  2. In the event that the employer reaches an agreement with the workers or organizations representing them regarding working hours, the employer may only notify them to the Ministry of Labor, which will carry out a subsequent control to verify compliance with the agreement.
  3. Finally, in the cases of requirements of the Single Labor System (SUT), unification of profits, attention to consultations, requirements in the Employment Partner Network, the certified employer will have preferential attention.

The T Seal may be renewed after the expiration of the two-year term. For its renewal, in addition to complying with the requirements set forth in the Ministerial Agreement No. MDT 2021-165, it will be verified that the applicant companies have increased the hiring of women in their payroll by five percent (5%) with respect to their payroll at the time of obtaining the seal. This requirement will be enforceable for those cases in which the number of women hired is less than fifty percent (50%) of the total payroll.

Lastly, it should be noted that within a maximum period of thirty days from the issuance of Ministerial Agreement No. MDT 2021-165, i.e. until June 14, 2021, the Undersecretariat of Labor and the Undersecretariat of Employment and Wages of the Ministry of Labor will implement the system and internal mechanisms necessary for the application of the T-SELLO, as well as the benefits to which certified employers will have access.

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