Seperation pay?

[Henry03]

I work for a mission that also operates a small private school. I work full time as a volunteer, but there are others on staff that get paid weekly. They receive a “love offering”. As with many missions, we need to rely on outside support.
Recently one of the teachers was fired for reasons worthy of termination. Two days later this teacher presented the mission with an official looking document stamped by the Secretaria de Estado de Trabajo. This document tells the mission that the teacher is due what equates to about 40 weeks of separation pay.
What action does the mission need to take, as this teacher was working part time, had no contract and was receiving an offering instead of a salary, and was terminated with just cause?

[chuckuindy]

Although I and not an expert on this subject, there are laws in the DR that are enforceable regarding separation pay. My former employer paid over $30,000USD to an employee with 12 years of service, after firing him.

Get a good lawyer soon.

[MrMike]

The one thing you cannot do is take this matter lightly or ignore it.

You may feel you are being robbed or blackmailed and most likely you are but you cannot let it slide. The deck is stacked against you and you will have to pay something. You should visit the secretaria de trabajo yourself and report the situation and get all your personel files up to date.

From now on, when you fire someone you should call the S.E.T. FIRST and ask them to send an inspector by and ideally fire the worker themselves. (you still owe the worker some money, but not 40 weeks of pay, more like 4-12 weeks depending how long they have worked for you)

Here you can find an online calculator that may help you to determine how much you actually owe your employee:

http://www.set.gov.do/main/calculo.htm

If you do not take immediate action though, the law will take the employee's word for EVERYTHING and charge you whatever the employee is asking for , plus a little more just to rub salt in the wound.

Basically you have already been screwed, so just deal with it as best you can, try to come to terms with your former employee and get them to accept a reasonable settlement. Make yourself aware of all deadlines involved with the case and don't let anything slip or you could find your mission and anything you own "embargado" bank accounts frozen, etc.

[Pib]

Ignorance is not a legal defense. Before anyone hires somebody, that is exchanging work for pay on a regular basis, he/she should be aware of the legal implications of this. And that is true here as it is anywhere. There are rules here as there are anywhere. Whatever you THINK is the situation might not coincide with what the law mandates.

You may think that the teacher had no rights to severance payment, not surprisingly you are wrong. Only in the most blatant cases of abuse does the employee leave empty-handed, and there is a process that must be followed prior to such actions. Since you had fired her without the procedures in place to state the reasons why she was fired you are now in the receiving end of the legal process.

Follow Mr. Mike advice, and as you should do ANYWHERE you must follow the law when dealing with personnel, voluntary or otherwise. Ignorance is not a legal defense.

[Fabio J. Guzman]

Originally Posted by Henry03

this teacher was working part time, had no contract and was receiving an offering instead of a salary, and was terminated with just cause

Labor contracts don't need to be in written form under Dominican law. The fact that you had a person working for the mission, under your supervision and subordination, and receiving monetary compensation, is sufficient for a court of law to presume the existence of a labor contract.

When an employer fires a worker for cause, he’s under the obligation to notify the Labor Office of the fact within 48 hours. Failure to do this makes the firing automatically unjust and the employer liable to pay the employee the severance and penalties established by law.

[Henry03]

Thank you all. With the advice we recieved here, we were able to resolve the issue. Next time we will be better informed, and will consult the board before making a move.
Henry03