The Christmas and New Year’s Holidays for state workers (National and Municipal) have been announced and they will receive a total rest period of 18 consecutive days (two more than same holidays last year).
In her customary midday speech, the Vice President of the Republic, Rosario Murillo announced today that state employees will finish for the year at the end of business on Friday the 17th of December 2021 and will not return until the start of business on Wednesday the 5th of January 2022.
According to the Ministry of Labor (Ministerio del Trabajo or MITRAB), essential services (government departments that due to the nature of their work, or services provided, can’t be interrupted) will remain open, see official MITRAb Memo. This is in accordance with Article 69 of the Labor Code which provides exceptions for work that may affect the economic, social and security activities of the country.
Statutory Holidays “Feriados”
Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are “feriados” or statutory holidays (also known as bank holidays, public holidays or national holidays) for both state and private employees.
The Labor Code says “When the worker works on a statutory holiday by request of the employer, they must be paid an additional 100% of the usual day’s pay”.
The worker can choose to be compensated with another day off instead of the additional pay as above.
However, if they are then subsequently asked to work on that agreed day of in lieu, they will be paid as if it was a worked statutory holiday.
There are a total of nine official statutory holidays recognized by the Labor Code of Nicaragua in the calendar year. They are;
1st January – New Year’s Day,
Thursday and Friday of Easter Week,
May 1st – International Workers’ Day,
July 19th – Day of the Revolution,
September 14th – Battle of San Jacinto,
September 15th – Independence Day,
December 8th – La Purísima and
25th December – Christmas Day.
