Author: Norma Villalobos
Associate – LatinAlliance El Salvador
Labor Law, due to its social nature, is based on the protection of workers' rights, which is why governments make different efforts to guarantee compliance with employer obligations for the benefit of workers.
One way to find out if labor standards are being applied correctly, are the inspections carried out by representatives of the State. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), labor inspection is a fundamental element of any labor administration system, since it supports the implementation of labor policies, by offering feedback and allowing a readjustment of these policies if necessary. necessary[1].
However, in practice, the inspections carried out by the Ministry of Labor or the entity that in each country is in charge of ensuring compliance with labor laws, is more oriented to detect non-compliance by employers to the detriment of older workers. that to validate the sustainability of labor policies; and it is for this reason that, coupled with the results of an inspection, the sanction for non-compliance is established, which represent the two central components of the efforts to prevent labor regulations from being violated.
One of the instruments available to the State to reduce non-compliance with labor regulations is the enforcement; that is, the set of actions that increase both the probability that the company that violates the regulations will be detected and penalized, as well as the expected size of the fine.[2]; Hence, labor inspections seek to discover those who do not comply with the law and punish violations detected in the workplace by imposing fines.
What are the types of inspections that can be carried out in a Work Center?
Inspections are intended to ensure compliance with legal labor provisions and basic standards of occupational hygiene and safety, as a means of preventing labor disputes and ensuring safety in the workplace.[3], and they can be of 2 classes[4]:
- a) scheduled inspection: They are those included in the work plan prepared by the competent authority that is in charge of monitoring the application of labor standards, and its purpose is to verify compliance with legal provisions and prevent occupational hazards.
- b) Special or unscheduled inspection: It is one that is carried out to verify specific facts, linked to the employment relationship, that require immediate and urgent verification; generally occurs when there is a violation of a labor standard.
The first type of inspection is of a preventive nature and is carried out randomly by the inspectors in the companies, validating compliance with labor obligations, and the second is carried out based on the existence of a complaint made by the workers. This complaint can be in person or by telephone; so that any worker who considers that their labor rights are not being respected by their employer, can report it and this circumstance enables an inspection to be carried out in the Work Center, by authorized inspectors, to validate whether or not it exists. such violation and initiate the corresponding sanctioning procedure.
MAIN ASPECTS TO CONSIDER IN LABOR INSPECTIONS
- An inspection seeks to find out if a company is complying with labor standards, in order to avoid a conflict between the employer and the workers due to the violation of labor rights.
- The inspector will review compliance with the obligations established both in the Labor Code and in the other special laws that regulate the matter; The main aspects that are reviewed and for which evidence of compliance must be presented are the following:
- Registration of the Work Center in the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare;
- Have the employment contracts signed with each worker;
- Payment of wages in a timely manner;
- Overtime pay
- Vacation pay and Christmas bonuses
- Payment of contributions to social security and pension funds
- Basic occupational hygiene and safety conditions in the Work Centers
- Operation of the Occupational Health and Safety Committees in the Work Centers, in which according to the law they must have an accredited Committee.
- Inspectors must identify themselves to workers and employers, with the presentation of their duly authorized credential and are empowered to demand the presentation of forms, receipts and other documents related to the employment relationship,
- The inspection must be carried out with the participation of the employer and the workers, and its results must be recorded in the respective record, of which the inspector must deliver a copy to the employer.
- Violations of the obligations established by the Labor Code and other labor laws entail the imposition of an economic fine, without thereby exempting compliance with the violated rule.
- Fines are imposed for each violation. For example: if the company has 100 workers and has not complied with any of the obligations for their benefit, the employer is considered to have violated 100 of the rule and will therefore be penalized with the same number of fines.
Based on the foregoing, it is important that employers constantly self-assess themselves regarding compliance with the obligations imposed by labor regulations, in order to avoid future contingencies that may affect the normal development of their operations, at the same time that may harm their reputation.
To achieve the safety objective, regarding compliance with labor issues in the company, the employer requires the support of a team of experts in the field, in order to take timely actions in those areas in which there may be opportunities for improvement with respect to the parameters required by law, to achieve business excellence in this area.
At LatinAlliance we specialize in carrying out labor audits, focused as a prevention tool that allows companies to verify compliance with the main labor obligations and be prepared for a possible inspection by the competent authorities.
If you need more information about the aforementioned aspects, you can contact us at la@latinalliance.co
[1] https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-administration-inspection/lang–es/index.htm
[2] Working document No. 24 Incidence of inspections and labor sanctions on registered employment. Empirical evidence for Argentina from administrative records. Lucas Ronconi, Moira Ohaco. ILO Country Office for Argentina. International Labor Organization. First edition June 2018. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—americas/—ro-lima/—ilo-buenos_aires/documents/publication/wcms_635948.pdf
[3] Article 34 of the Law on Organization and Functions of the Labor and Social Welfare Sector, Republic of El Salvador.
[4] Articles 41, 42 and 43 of the Law on Organization and Functions of the Labor and Social Welfare Sector, Republic of El Salvador.