Number of days of rest for vacation and amount to be paid for this concept.
Paid vacations are a right granted to workers in the Dominican Republic. In accordance with the provisions of Article 177 of the Labor Code of the Dominican Republic, "Employers have the obligation to grant every worker a vacation period of fourteen (14) working days, with pay, according to the following scale:
- 1st. After continuous work of no more than one year nor more than five, fourteen (14) days of ordinary salary;
- 2nd. After continuous work of no less than five years, eighteen (18) days of ordinary salary.
It is important to clarify that the vacation period will always be fourteen (14) working days. That is, the weekly rest period established in Article 163 of the Labor Code will not be taken into account when calculating vacation days. Nor will holidays that fall during the employee's vacation period be counted.
However, the amount the employee will receive as vacation pay will vary according to their length of service with their employer. As stated in Article 177 of the Labor Code, if the employee has more than one (1) year and less than five (5) years of service, they will receive the equivalent of 14 days of regular salary.
However, if the employee has worked for the company for more than five (5) years, they are entitled to eighteen (18) days of regular salary. Let's look at an example:
Example for calculating an employee's vacation time
Juan joined company X on June 7, 2018. His work schedule is Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Saturdays from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, earning a monthly salary of RD$1,400,000. This employee has agreed with his employer to take his vacation starting June 15, 2022. In this case, we have the following operation:
Juan begins his vacation on Wednesday, June 15th and will end his vacation period on Thursday, June 30th, 2022. Therefore, this employee will return to his job on Friday, July 1st, 2022.
Regarding the amount you should receive for vacation pay, we need to perform the following calculation:
Monthly salary of the worker: RD$21,000 / 23.83 = RD$881.24 x 14 days of ordinary salary = RD$12,337.39
However, if this worker had completed five (5) years or more in the company, then the operation to determine the amount to be paid would be the following:
Monthly salary of the worker: RD$21,000 / 23.83 = RD$881.24 x 18 days of ordinary salary = RD$15,862.36
As can be seen, the rest period for all workers who have completed one (1) year or more of service with their employer is the same: fourteen working days. However, the payment for this period will be different for workers who have five (5) years or more of service.
Obligation to pay for days declared non-working
It should be noted that if, within a worker's vacation period, one or more days are declared non-working days, these days must be paid to the worker pursuant to Article 165 of the Labor Code, which states that: "Days declared non-working days by the Constitution or the laws are paid days of rest for the worker, unless they coincide with the weekly rest day.".
If you're interested in learning more about this topic, I invite you to read this article: The working day and overtime
Base salary for calculating vacation pay and social security contributions.
It is important to note that the calculation of holiday pay uses as a parameter the last salary earned by the worker and this amount is considered as a taxable salary for the Social Security Treasury.
You might be interested in: Wages in the Dominican Republic
Splitting the vacation period
The employee and employer may agree to split the vacation period, but in any case, the employee must enjoy a vacation period of no less than one week. However, when the employee is a minor, the Labor Code prohibits splitting the vacation period.
Minimum period to acquire the right to vacation
Article 178 of the Labor Code establishes that "The worker acquires the right to vacation each time he completes one year of uninterrupted service in a company.".
As can be seen, an employee must complete one year of uninterrupted service with a company to acquire the right to paid vacation. In this regard, Article 179 provides further clarity in understanding this employee right.
Proportional vacation
In accordance with Article 179 of the Labor Code, we have that: "Workers subject to indefinite-term contracts who, through no fault of their own, are unable to provide uninterrupted service for one year due to the nature of their work or any other circumstance, are entitled to a vacation period proportional to the time worked, if this is greater than five months.".
This article appears to contradict Articles 184 and 185 of the Labor Code. This contradiction may stem from the fact that on January 15, 1998, Law No. 25-98 introduced a significant amendment to Article 184, which expressly stated the following: "The worker whose contract is terminated due to justified dismissal loses the right to compensation for unused vacation days.".
Currently, Article 184 states that: "The right to compensation for unused vacation time must be paid, regardless of the reason for termination of the contract."»
Therefore, payment for compensation for unused vacation time is due regardless of the reason for the termination of the employment contract.
In other words, it does not matter if the contract ends due to eviction by the worker, eviction by the employer, dismissal by the employer against the worker, resignation by the worker against their employer, financial assistance, or even mutual consent.
Suspension or reduction of vacation
However, Article 185, by establishing that: "Vacations cannot be suspended or reduced as a result of employee absences due to illness or other justifiable cause. Nor can they be suspended or reduced in cases of unjustified absence, provided the employer has not paid the employee for those days not worked.".
This does not mean that a worker who has not provided services for a full year is entitled to holiday pay.
Rather, it refers to cases in which the worker has acquired the right to enjoy vacation upon completion of the period established in article 178 and during that period of time has had justified absences or unjustified absences that have not been paid in accordance with the aforementioned article 185.
Scale for the application of article 179
From the foregoing, the doubt regarding the scope of Article 179 is resolved, and we proceed to establish the scale for proportional vacations enshrined in Article 180 of the Labor Code. This scale is as follows:
| Workers with more than… | They are entitled to… |
| Five (5) months of service | Six (6) days |
| Six (6) months of service | Seven (7) days |
| Seven (7) months of service | Eight (8) days |
| Eight (8) months of service | Nine (9) days |
| Nine (9) months of service | Ten (10) days |
| Ten (10) months of service | Eleven (11) days |
| Eleven (11) months of service | Twelve (12) days |
When should vacation pay be issued?
The Labor Code of the Dominican Republic states that: "The salary corresponding to the vacation period must be paid to the worker the day before the start of the vacation, along with the wages he has earned up to that date.".
The salary corresponding to the vacation period includes the usual remuneration, as provided in article 177, and the equivalent of its remuneration in kind, if any.
In other words, when a worker is going to take their vacation, their employer is obligated to pay them the salary corresponding to the rest period the day before, along with the wages they have earned up to that moment.
To illustrate this, let's take the example of the worker we used earlier in this article. We assume that the worker, Juan, receives his monthly salary divided into two bi-weekly payments of RD$1,4T10,500 each. In that case, his employer must pay him RD$1,4T10,500 for his salary earned up to that point and the corresponding amount for his vacation.
It's important to clarify that the benefits the employee receives are: 1) a paid leave of absence, and 2) payment in advance. This doesn't mean the employee will receive a separate payment for "vacation" and, in addition, their regular pay for the two-week period they were on leave.
Holiday bonus
A vacation bonus is a payment for additional vacation time. In other words, it's a benefit that some companies offer their employees beyond what's stipulated in the Labor Code, consisting of more vacation days, more money, or a combination of both.
Ultimately, vacation pay is at the company's discretion and is usually achieved through a collective agreement between the employer and employees. Sometimes, it's an additional benefit designed to attract and retain a workforce more committed to the company's goals.
Prohibition of working during the holiday period
In accordance with Article 182 of the Labor Code, we have that: "During the vacation period, the worker may not provide services, paid or unpaid, to any employer.".
The right to vacation cannot, under any circumstances, be subject to compensation or any kind of substitution.
However, if the worker ceases to be employed by an establishment or company without having enjoyed the period of
During the vacation period to which he or she is entitled, he or she shall receive from his or her employer monetary compensation equivalent to the wages corresponding to said vacation period, in accordance with the provisions of Article 177.".
The prohibition on providing services, even free of charge, during the vacation period is intended to ensure that the worker takes his rest period to recover from the hard work he has done during his last year of work.
This intention is consistent with the spirit of the legislation in granting the right to paid vacation. However, in the current state of multiple jobholding, this becomes anachronistic, since a large number of workers hold more than one job and it is not always possible to combine vacation periods across different jobs.
Dangers of working during the holiday period
Although this article states that vacations cannot be subject to compensation or substitution in any way, in the practice of the Dominican labor market, it is very common for employers and workers to agree to work the vacation period in exchange for financial compensation.
This is a very harmful and risky practice for both parties. For workers, it affects the rest they need to recover and maintain their physical and mental health. For employers, it has the potential to ruin the company's finances if it doesn't have significant working capital.
The preceding statement is based on several assumptions, among which we can cite: 1) the possibility that a worker may suffer a work accident or a commuting accident during the period he is supposedly on vacation.
In that case, it is very likely that IDOPPRIL will not approve the event and, consequently, the employer will have to cover the medical expenses and lost earnings that the worker may suffer.
2) There is also the possibility that the worker may submit a resignation justified by the breach of a substantial obligation on the part of the employer.
How is the amount of monetary compensation for unused vacation time calculated when the worker's salary is paid for work performed?
Article 183 of the Labor Code states that: "If the worker's salary is paid for work performed, the calculation of the compensation established in the previous article will be made with the daily average of the salaries earned during the last twelve months or the shorter period that the vacation candidate has worked.".
In other words, it is necessary to add up the wages that the worker has earned during the last twelve months and divide it by twelve to obtain the monthly average, and this value in turn will be divided by 23.83 to obtain the daily average of the wages earned by the worker.
If the worker has not worked for the entire year, the monthly wages earned by that worker are added together and divided by the time worked, and then divided by 23.83 to obtain the daily average.
To perform this calculation, you can use the calculator for labor benefits and acquired rights from the Ministry of Labor of the Dominican Republic by accessing this link: https://calculo.mt.gob.do/
Who has the power to set the period of annual leave?
Employers must schedule and distribute their employees' vacation periods during the first fifteen days of January. They are then required to send a copy of this schedule to the Department of Labor. Currently, this is done using form DGT-3, available on the Ministry of Labor's online portal.
When an employee acquires the right to vacation after January 15, the employer must include them in additional payrolls within thirty days of the date the right was acquired. This is done by completing form DGT-4, available on the Ministry of Labor's Virtual Office website.
Variation in the distribution of the established vacation period
The Dominican legislator, through article 188 of the Labor Code, granted employers the power to modify the distribution of the established vacation period, if necessary.
In that regard, we read that article 188 says the following: "The employer may vary, if necessary, the distribution of the vacation period, but under no circumstances will the workers fail to fully enjoy their vacation within six months of the date of acquiring the right.".
Holiday Enjoyment Logbook
In accordance with Article 189 of the Labor Code: "Every employee, upon commencing their vacation, must sign the corresponding entry in a register kept by the employer for this purpose. This register must include the following information:"
- a) The date on which your workers begin providing services and the duration of the paid vacation to which each one is entitled.
- b) The date on which each worker takes their paid annual leave.
- c) The remuneration received by each worker during the period of their paid annual leave.
If the worker is unable to sign, they will affix their digital signature.
It is very important for employers to keep this type of record. This is because, in the event of an inspection by the Ministry of Labor or a labor lawsuit, they will be in a better position to prove that they have fulfilled their obligation to grant their employees vacation time in accordance with the law.
Prohibition of initiating legal action against the employee during vacation
In accordance with Article 190 of the Labor Code, during the vacation period, the employer cannot suspend, dismiss or fire the worker.
Let's see what the aforementioned article tells us: "During the vacation period, the employer may not initiate any of the actions provided for in this Code against the worker who is enjoying the vacation.".
Replacement of workers and possibility of increasing the vacation period.
Article 191 of the Labor Code states that: "The employer is obliged to temporarily replace workers on vacation with others when, as a result of the vacation, the work assigned to the staff becomes extraordinarily overloaded.".
However, it's very common in the Dominican labor market for some employers to try to make their employees "find" someone else to cover their vacations. This happens most frequently in small businesses and some lottery outlets.
In this regard, it is necessary for employers who engage in this practice to understand that it is illegal and can be detrimental to their business. Likewise, it is important for employees to know that they are not obligated to find a replacement to take their vacation.
As we have seen throughout this article, the minimum vacation period established by law is fourteen (14) days, but nothing prevents the employer from granting a longer period of time.
In this regard, some companies have adopted, as part of their personnel management policies, granting certain employees the benefit of more vacation days or a higher vacation pay. We discussed this point in more detail when we mentioned the vacation bonus.
Conclusions:
Legal basis
The legal basis for the right to paid annual leave is found in Article 62 of the Constitution of June 13, 2015, in Convention 52 of the International Labour Organization (ILO), ratified by the country through Resolution No. 4528 of August 31, 1956, of the National Congress (GO 8025), and in Articles 177 to 191 of our Labor Code instituted by Law No. 16-92 of May 29, 1992.
Vacation days and salary payment
All workers are entitled to receive fourteen (14) working days of vacation each time they complete one year of service for an employer.
Employees with between one and five years of service are entitled to vacation pay equivalent to fourteen (14) days of their regular salary. Employees with more than five years of service are entitled to vacation pay equivalent to eighteen (18) days of their regular salary.
split vacations
The vacation period may be split by agreement between the employee and their employer. Splitting vacations is prohibited when the employee is a minor.
Vacation pay
Vacation pay must be paid to the employee the day before the start of the vacation and is calculated based on the employee's last earned salary. Vacation pay is subject to contributions to the Dominican Social Security System.
Acquired right
The right to vacation is considered by legal doctrine to be one of the worker's acquired rights and must be paid regardless of the reason for termination of the employment contract. If the worker has worked for more than five months and less than one year, they must receive a portion in accordance with the scale in Article 180 of the Labor Code.
Prohibition of initiating legal action against the worker during vacation.
During the vacation period, the employer cannot initiate any of the actions established in the Labor Code against the worker, and the employer is obliged to temporarily replace the worker who goes on vacation.
