Venezuela: Employee rights

Original and updating author: Juan Carlos Varela, Littler

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Summary

• The Government has introduced measures in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. (See Coronavirus - emergency measures) )
• There are various rules for employees' hours of work, including overtime. (See Hours of work)
• Employees are entitled to a rest/meal break of at least one hour each day. (See Rest breaks and rest periods)
• Employees are, as a general principle, prohibited from working on Sundays, and the two-day statutory weekly rest period must normally include Sunday. (See Sunday work)
• There are various rules regarding statutory minimum paid annual leave entitlement for employees. (See Holiday and holiday pay)
• Pregnant employees, employees on maternity leave and breastfeeding employees have various rights. (See Maternity and pregnancy rights)
• Male employees are entitled to take paternity leave of 14 continuous days immediately after the birth of their child. (See Paternity leave)
• After the birth of a child, the mother or the father is entitled to one day of paid leave each month to attend a paediatric medical centre with the child, until the child reaches the age of one year. (See Parental leave)
• Employees have no statutory entitlement to take leave to care for sick children or other family members. (See Carer's leave)
• Statute provides that employers may provide study leave to employees, but does not make granting such leave compulsory or stipulate its length or whether it should be paid or unpaid. (See Other leave)
• Employees on military service or training are entitled to paid leave. (See Other leave)
• Part-time employees have broadly the same rights under employment legislation as full-time employees. (See Part-time workers)
• Fixed-term contracts, and contracts to perform a particular task, are permissible but only in circumstances strictly defined by statute. (See Fixed-term workers)
• Outsourcing is forbidden if it involves "simulation" or fraud on the part of an employer with the aim of distorting, avoiding or hindering the application of employment legislation. (See Outsourcing)
• "Employer substitution" means that the employment relationships of the employees of the transferred entity transfer automatically and unchanged to the transferee. (See Transfers of undertakings)
• In the event of an employer's insolvency or bankruptcy, employees' claims for unpaid wages, benefits, allowances and all other credits arising from the employment relationship have absolute priority over all other claims on the employer's estate. (See Insolvency of employer)
• Employers are prohibited from applying disciplinary sanctions to employees that are disproportionate or not clearly justified. (See Disciplinary procedures)
• Employers are obliged, under health and safety legislation, to refrain from any offensive, malicious or intimidatory acts, or any other act that may be psychologically damaging, towards employees. (See Bullying)
• Legislation provides that employers are obliged to: take adequate measures to ensure the privacy of employees' correspondence and communications; and grant employees free access to all data held by the employer about them. (See Data and privacy protection)