Labor & Employment Lawyers in Panama City, PAN

The latter situation can be tricky to navigate. In the first two years of a worker’s employment, employers can fire them with either 30 days of notice or a 30-day salary in addition to indemnification for unjust dismissal (the equivalent of over three weeks of pay for each year of employment). 

After two years, however, an employee can only be fired with just cause. These fall into three categories:

• Situational: An illness or injury that does not allow an employee to work for over a year.
• Bad acts: Instances of an employee failing to perform their job; acting violently toward co-workers, patrons, or family members; or doing something that damages a company, such as exposing business secrets.
• Economic conditions: Employers closing a business or needing to shrink their workforce because of profit losses.

Wages, Hours, & Leave

Panamá’s minimum wage depends on the job, as well as the business type and its activities. Typically, it ranges from around 300 to 900 USD monthly. 

The standard work week includes five eight-hour days (40 hours) between Monday and Friday. For employees between fourteen and seventeen, the work week is reduced to 36 hours. Employees are entitled to overtime pay if their hours extend beyond these parameters. However, employees can only work a maximum of three overtime hours per day and nine per week. 

Panamá’s labor code allows workers to take leave for several reasons, including vacation, sickness, public holidays, maternity, and paternity. 

Discrimination

Panamánian laws aim to promote equality and mitigate discrimination in workplaces. As such, employees are legally protected from discrimination based on characteristics such as race, sex, religion, political opinion, disability status, and nationality. Protections concerning gender/sexual orientation are still evolving. 

As an employee or prospective employee, you can rectify discrimination in the workplace or hiring practices by filing a complaint with the Ministerio de Trabajo y Desarrollo Laboral (MITRADEL) or Panamá’s labor courts. 

Employers guilty of allowing or enacting discriminatory acts or practices can face fines and other legal penalties.