Employer in Nicaragua

The employer identifies the business through its razón social and legal representative, registers the employer and payroll with the Instituto Nicaragüense de Seguridad Social (INSS), and keeps employment records, personnel files, wage and payment data, work calendars and employment certificates. Separate companies generally need separate INSS registrations, unless the INSS grants an applicable exception. An employer must provide inspectors with access and the information officially requested. Contractors and subcontractors should be checked for INSS registration and compliance because the contracting employer can face joint liability for workplace safety failures. Recruitment can use the free official MITRAB placement service or private agencies regulated by the Ministerio del Trabajo (MITRAB). At least 90% of the workforce should be Nicaraguan unless MITRAB grants an exception for a documented technical need. Employers may not charge applicants for recruitment or use discriminatory lists or placement practices. An individual employment contract may be oral or written, but a written contract should state the place and date, the parties and representatives, the job and workplace, working hours, duration, pay and its calculation, and the payment method. The employer supplies the means of work, pays the agreed wage, protects dignity and respect, establishes the work calendar and rest periods, and provides proof of the work, duration and wage when required. The employer may not harass workers, engage in sexual harassment or use threats or blackmail. Union representatives and advisers must be admitted when there is a legitimate reason. Management instructions remain within the contract, working-time rules, occupational health and safety duties, equal-treatment requirements, trade-union rights and legally required worker participation. Productivity planning, training, visible workplace rules and communication with worker representatives form part of responsible management. Ley 618 applies to public and private workplaces, contractors and subcontractors, cooperatives, MIPYMES and other work centres. The employer must prevent all identified work risks, designate at least one competent person according to the risk and size of the organisation, and obtain the licencia de apertura en materia de Higiene y Seguridad before operations begin. A Comisión Mixta de Higiene y Seguridad del Trabajo (C.M.H.S.T.) has equal numbers of employer and worker representatives. The employer also prepares the Reglamento Técnico Organizativo, arranges risk-based or authority-ordered medical examinations, protects the confidentiality of health results, records and investigates accidents, provides first aid and fire and evacuation plans, reports hazardous substances, and provides qualified training, including training on personal protective equipment, machinery and chemicals. Contractors require safety supervision. A grave e inminente risk can lead MITRAB inspectors to suspend part or all of the workplace until the deficiencies are corrected and the Inspectoría verifies reopening. Workers covered by compulsory insurance enter Seguro de Riesgos Profesionales from the beginning of employment; the Facultativo regime is an exception. The employer selects the Instituto de Prevención Social de Riesgos Profesionales (IPSS RP) for the payroll, arranges medical care after an accident, investigates its causes and submits the Notificación de Accidente de Trabajo (NAT) to the INSS delegation within 48 hours. INSS coverage can include healthcare, rehabilitation, temporary benefits and disability or death benefits. The employer finances the occupational-risk contribution. Employer registration and worker enrolment with the INSS are generally required within three days after entry into employment. The registration form uses the Registro Patronal, payroll, razón social, workplace, start date, wage, job, payment frequency and the employer's or representative's signature. The published INSS figures in the supplied research list late-registration charges of C$10 for 4–30 days, C$50 for 31–60 days, C$250 for 61–120 days and C$500 after 120 days. The published contribution schedule lists employer rates of 21.5% for the Integral Regime with fewer than 50 workers and 22.5% with more than 50, or 15.5% and 16.5% respectively for IVM-RP; listed worker rates are 7% and 5%. These rates should be checked against the current INSS schedule before payroll is run. Other costs include protective equipment, training, medical examinations, competent safety staff, the C.M.H.S.T., emergency infrastructure and licensing or compliance work. Nicaraguan law protects freedom of association, prohibits forced union membership or withdrawal, and recognises fuero sindical, which protects qualifying union activity. Trade unions can represent workers or employers. A convención colectiva is a written agreement between an employer or employer group and a union; MITRAB keeps and reviews it. An employer must negotiate when a worker union requests it, while refusal can be taken to the Dirección de Negociación Colectiva y Conciliación. The agreement may last up to two years and, without revision, can extend for the same period. Its terms can also cover workers who are not union members when they fall within its scope. A change of employer generally does not remove existing collective obligations. Employer conflicts may proceed from direct negotiation to MITRAB conciliation or mediation and, where applicable, arbitration or the labour courts. A lawful strike requires MITRAB conciliation and the statutory majority and cooling-off conditions; the employer may seek a declaration of illegality, and may not hire replacements during a lawful strike. A paro is an employer-initiated work stoppage and requires conciliation followed by a legality finding from the Inspectoría General. An illegal paro requires reopening within 48 hours and can create wage consequences. A temporary suspensión leaves the employment relationship in place. Collective suspension can arise from a raw-material shortage, an official health or safety stoppage, technical or economic closure, or fuerza mayor or caso fortuito. Except for proven non-attributable force majeure, the employer generally needs prior MITRAB authorisation, a hearing for both sides and a decision within six days; an approved suspension carries six days of wage payment, followed by a reopening notice through the Inspectoría. Definitive closure requires legally supported economic or official grounds or force majeure. The employer pays proportional vacation and décimo tercer mes amounts. An unjustified dismissal can trigger compensation of one month's wage per year for the first three years and 20 days per year thereafter, subject to a minimum of one and maximum of five months. Illegality or retaliation can also result in reinstatement and back pay. MITRAB delegations and Inspectorías, INSS delegations and Registro Patronal procedures provide the formal access points, with local handling organised through departments and municipalities and additional sector-specific safety rules where applicable.