General rules applicable to the control of the employer’s obligations and inspection procedures
The Ministry of Labor, by means of Ministerial Agreement No. MDT-2023-140 issued on November 14, 2023, has introduced important modifications to the general rules governing the control of employer obligations and labor inspection procedures. Several provisions are highlighted, including new rules for inspections, thus strengthening the Ministry’s ability to ensure compliance by employers. This agreement marks a milestone by establishing updated and clear guidelines for inspection procedures and their respective fines.
TITLE I: General
- Use of the Unified Labor System (SUT): Employers must register in the digital platform of the Ministry of Labor, committing to sign the agreement for the use of electronic media. In addition, they must keep the information in the system up to date. On the other hand, it is the employer’s responsibility to keep the data provided by the workers. These data can be stored in digital repositories, equating their validity to that of physical documents according to the law.
- Mandatory Registration: Employers must keep a mandatory registry of all active workers in the platform designated by the Ministry of Labor. The employment relationship begins with a written or verbal contract. Employment contracts must be registered within fifteen (15) days from the employee’s entry, following the guidelines of article 42 numeral 7 of the Labor Code.
TITLE II: Thirteenth and Fourteenth Remuneration, Profit Sharing, Severance Agreements and Internal Labor Regulations
- Accumulation of tenths: In order to accumulate the thirteenth and fourteenth remuneration, workers must submit a written request to the employers within the first (15) days of January of each year.
In the event that the employee begins his employment relationship, he must communicate in writing the form of payment of the tenths within a maximum period of (15) days from his date of commencement of employment.
- Registration of payment: The registration of payment of the thirteenth and fourth remuneration will be made according to the ninth digit of the RUC or cédula.
Thirteenth applicable to all regions of Ecuador.
|
Ninth Digit |
Payment Date |
Registration Date | |
| From | To | ||
| 1, 2,3,4,5 | Will pay up to 24
December |
January 05th | February 05 |
| 6,7,8,9,0 | Will pay up to 24
December |
February 06 | March 06 |
Fourteenth in the Coast and Island regions:
|
Ninth Digit |
Payment Date |
Registration Date | |
| From | To | ||
| 1, 2,3,4,5 | It will pay up to
March 15 |
March 20 | April 20 |
| 6,7,8,9,0 | It will pay up to
March 15 |
April 21 | May 21 |
Fourteenth in the Sierra and Amazon regions:
|
Ninth Digit |
Payment Date |
Registration Date | |
| From | To | ||
| 1, 2,3,4,5 | Will pay up to 15
August |
August 20 | September 20 |
| 6,7,8,9,0 | Will pay up to 15
August |
September 21 | October 21 |
Registration of the payment of profits: The liquidation of profits must be made until March 31 of each year . Payment must be made within 15 days after the liquidation of profits.
The date of the payment record must be made in accordance with the following table:
|
Ninth Digit |
Payment Date |
Registration Date | |
| From | To | ||
| 1, 2,3,4,5 | Will pay up to 15
April |
April 20 | May 20 |
| 6,7,8,9,0 | Will pay up to 15
April |
May 21 | June 21 |
- Registration of the termination minutes: The termination minutes must be signed and registered within a maximum period of 30 days from the date of termination of employment. In the event that the employee refuses to receive the payment of his liquidation, the employer must deposit the amount within a term of 15 days from the expiration of the 30-day term.
- Registration of Internal Labor Regulations: Employers with more than 10 employees must prepare and register the Internal Labor Regulations. From the date on which the employer has more than ten employees, it will have a term of 30 days for the registration of the Regulation.
TITLE III: Inspections, penalties and fines
- Inspections: There are two types of inspections, comprehensive and targeted. The purpose of comprehensive inspections is to ensure that the labor rights of the worker(s) are fully respected. On the other hand, the purpose of the targeted surveys is to verify compliance with one or more particular rights, addressing specific aspects such as the labor rights of priority sectors or groups, including child labor and the inclusion of people with disabilities in the labor market, among others. Finally, inspections may be performed electronically or in the field.
- Sanctions: Sanctions are divided into 3 types: Minor, serious, or very serious.
|
MINOR INFRACTIONS |
TYPES OF EMPLOYER AND PENALTY | |||||
|
From 1 to 9 workers |
From 10 to 25 workers |
From 26 to 49 workers |
From 50 to 199 workers |
From 200 to
540 workers |
From 541
workers from now on |
|
| LABOR CODE:
1.- Failure to comply with art. 42, numerals 4, 7, 8,14, 15, 16, 28, y 32; Not having the authorization referred to in art. 52 |
1 SBU |
4.17 SBU |
7.33 SBU |
10.50 SBU |
13.67 SBU |
16.83 SBU |
| SERIOUS VIOLATIONS | ||||||
|
SERIOUS VIOLATIONS |
TYPES OF EMPLOYER AND PENALTY | |||||
|
From 1 to 9 workers |
From 10 to 25 workers |
From 26 to 49 workers |
From 50 to 199 workers |
From 200 to
540 workers |
From 541
workers from now on |
|
| LABOR CODE
1.- Failure to comply with art. 42, numerals: 2, 3, 9, 11, 12, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30 y 36; Failure to comply with art. 44, letters c, h; 3. 152 4.- Failure to comply with the three arts. numbered after 152 5.- Failure to comply with art. 155 |
2.58 SBU |
5.75 SBU |
8.92 SBU |
12.08 SBU |
15.25 SBU |
18.42 SBU |
| VERY SERIOUS INFRINGEMENTS | ||||||
|
VERY SERIOUS INFRINGEMENTS |
TYPES OF EMPLOYER AND PENALTY | |||||
|
From 1 to 9 workers |
From 10 to 25 workers |
From 26 to 49 workers |
From 50 to 199 workers |
From 200 to
540 workers |
From 541
workers from now on |
|
| LABOR CODE:
1.- Failure to comply with art. 42, number 1, 10, 13, 17, 19 y 31; 2.- Incurring in art. 44, literals a), b) d), e), f), g), i), j), k). 3.- Failure to comply with the articles 161; 270, 341 OTHERS: Failure to comply with Article 51, third paragraph of the Law Organic Law on Human Mobility |
4.17 SBU |
7.33 SBU |
10.50 SBU |
13.67 SBU |
16.83 SBU |
20 SBU |
Special Penalties: The following are stipulated as special penalties:
| SPECIAL VIOLATIONS | PENALTY IN DOLLARS (USD) |
| No registration of employment contract | 50.00 per contract |
| Late registration of employment contract | 25, 00 per contract |
|
No record of termination of employment |
200.00 per termination certificate |
|
Late registration of termination certificates |
50.00 per settlement statement |
| Not having the authorization of Article 47.1 of the Labor Code | 0.5 SBU |
| Non-recording of the thirteenth remuneration form | 200,00 |
| Non-recording of the fourteenth remuneration form | 200,00 |
| Failure to file a profit sharing payment form | 200,00 |
| Late registration of the 13th remuneration form | 100,00 |
| Late registration of fourteenth remuneration form | 100,00 |
| Late filing of profit share payment form | 100,00 |
| No registration of internal work regulations | 200.00 |
| Failure to meet the percentage of inclusion of persons with disabilities | 10 SBU |
| Incurring in numeral 3 of article 95 of the Childhood and Adolescence Code, once sanctioned this value will be delivered in accordance with the Law. | 1.000,00 |
Maximum amount of penalties: A number of employer non-compliances may be verified, however, the fine in aggregate may not exceed 20 SBU.
Recidivism of non-compliances: Recidivism is considered when the same non-compliance is repeated in two different inspections, with a lapse of at least thirty days and no more than one calendar year. The fines established in the tables for non-compliance with labor obligations may be doubled, reaching double the original penalty for repeated non-compliance.
