Published in El Pais, 12 January 2019.
In Bolivia many people who were fired and the company does not want to pay social benefits will wonder how much a labor lawsuit costs? If it will be difficult? Or if it will be better to beg the company to pay any amount and end the anguish? First of all, there is the option of labor reincorporation. If you do not wish to return, you can request payment through the conciliation system to the Ministry of Labor and the company will have 15 days to pay. If the company denies the payment, a lawsuit begins. The cost? You can negotiate with a lawyer to pay 10% of the amount you win in the lawsuit or 0% if you do not win it. By the way, 10% will be paid by the company in addition to the expenses, according to article 204 of the Labor Procedure Code. For you, making a lawsuit is free. But of course! You must have patience and time to devote to controlling the progress of the lawsuit that can last between 2 and 3 years.
Some companies commit labor infractions by covering up labor relations with consultancy contracts of more than one year or contracts with “companies in Panama and not in Bolivia”. But if you worked in Bolivia and for more than a year, the employment relationship is under the Bolivian regulations. To start a lawsuit, it is important to collect evidence, in particular, the latest payment slips or some evidence that the company has paid you month after month, witnesses, photos, hour registrations or others. Actually, the company must present the counter proof but it is better if you present because many times the company will only deny the employment relationship. No company wants its information to come to light in a lawsuit, because of the number of people who review the file and the institutions that must provide information for the lawsuit (Banks, Ministry of Labor, Pension Funds, Health Insurance, Taxes, Financial Authorities, etc.). Many companies will want to reach an agreement in the middle of a lawsuit and pay, which is better because it benefits both parties in time and money. But if the company does not show interest, the lawsuit will continue.
Once the lawsuit is over (9-12 months), the company is likely to appeal to delay payment and another instance will review the first judge’s ruling (9-12 months) and the company may request a review of this review (3- 12 months). If you presented enough evidence in the first stage and the ruling went in your favor, it is very possible that the other two instances will repeat it. After 2-3 years of lawsuit, the value of your payment remains adjusted to the current UFV, the payment does not lose value and also has an increase of 30% that the company pays as a fine for not having paid in the first 15 days after the dismissal.
The judge orders the payment within 3 days of the notification. If the company does not pay, it has an order of aprehension, so the payment will come out. Only patience and trust in the justice system.
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