Quick answer: Hiring a house manager, driver, caretaker or housekeeper in Costa Rica makes you an employer under the Labour Code, with real obligations: CCSS registration (you may withhold about 8.17% from the employee, with the employer portion around 22% of salary), the December aguinaldo (a full extra month), paid vacation, public holidays, and severance on termination. Good staff stay for years with employers who handle the relationship professionally — and the costliest mistakes come from treating it as informal.
The true cost of employing someone
The wage is not the cost. On top of the agreed salary sit the employer CCSS contribution of roughly 22%, the aguinaldo (a thirteenth month, ≈8.33% spread across the year), two weeks paid vacation after a year, and all public holidays — before any severance exposure. Budget well above the headline wage, and reserve monthly for the aguinaldo rather than meeting it in a single December payment. For the detailed employer framework, see our structuring and operations guides.
Finding good people
- Referrals first. The best household staff come through trusted recommendations — neighbours, your property manager, the expat community.
- References and background. Check prior employers and, for drivers, a valid licence and clean record.
- Define the role. A house manager, a caretaker for an absent-owner property, a driver, and a housekeeper are different jobs — general housework and elder care especially are not the same role or pay grade.
- Language. Decide whether you need English, and set expectations accordingly.
Getting the employment right
- ☐ Written contract prepared by a Costa Rican attorney — hours, duties, salary, payment method and frequency, clearly stated.
- ☐ CCSS registration from day one — non-negotiable, and the exposure from an uninsured worker injured in your home is severe.
- ☐ Payment records and payslips — documented, not cash-in-hand.
- ☐ Respect the statutory floor — the 12-hour maximum day with a one-hour break, holidays, vacation after a year, and the 30-day probation period.
Why informality offers no protection
Paying cash and skipping CCSS does not reduce the employee’s statutory entitlements — they accrue regardless. It only removes your evidence, which puts you in a materially worse position in any labour dispute, and Costa Rican tribunals are not sympathetic to employers who kept no records. The uninsured-injury liability alone can dwarf years of contributions. This is the single most consequential shortcut newcomers take.
Ending an employment relationship
Within the 30-day probation either side may terminate without severance. Beyond it, severance and notice obligations apply and scale with tenure, and dismissal without cause carries defined consequences. Take advice before terminating, not after — the sequence and documentation affect the outcome.
The loaded cost, worked through
The wage you agree is only part of what you commit to, and budgeting the headline salary alone is the classic newcomer error. On top of it sit the employer CCSS contribution of roughly 22% of salary; the aguinaldo, a full thirteenth-month payment due each December, which spread across the year is about another 8.33%; two weeks of paid vacation after a year of service; all public holidays; and severance exposure on termination outside the 30-day probation period. Add it up and the true, loaded cost of employing someone sits meaningfully above 30% over the agreed wage.
The practical discipline that prevents the most common cash-flow shock is to reserve monthly for the aguinaldo rather than meeting a full extra month’s pay in a single December hit. Employers who treat December as a normal month and then discover a thirteenth salary is due tend to handle it badly; those who set aside a twelfth of the annual wage each month barely notice it. The same applies to accruing for vacation — treat these statutory costs as ongoing, not as year-end surprises.
Why informality protects the employer least of all
The instinct to keep household employment casual — cash in hand, no contract, no CCSS — is understandable to newcomers and precisely backwards. Paying informally does not reduce the employee’s statutory entitlements one bit; the aguinaldo, vacation, severance and CCSS coverage all accrue by law regardless of what you did or did not document. What informality removes is your evidence. In a labour dispute, the burden of showing hours, duties, payments and terms falls on the employer, and Costa Rican tribunals are not sympathetic to employers who kept no records.
The starkest exposure is an uninsured worker injured in your home: the liability can dwarf years of contributions, and it is entirely avoidable with CCSS registration from day one. This is the single most consequential shortcut newcomers take, almost always out of unfamiliarity rather than intent. A written contract prepared by a Costa Rican attorney — specifying hours, duties, salary and payment terms — plus proper registration and payslips is inexpensive insurance against a claim that could cost many multiples more. Good staff, treated professionally, tend to stay for years; the professionalism protects both sides.
Finding people you can trust
Beyond the legal framework, the practical question is finding good people, and here referrals beat advertising every time. The strongest household staff come through trusted recommendations — neighbours, your property manager, the established expat community — with references and, for drivers, a valid licence and clean record checked. Define the role precisely before you hire, because a house manager, a caretaker for an absentee property, a driver and a housekeeper are genuinely different jobs at different pay grades. Good staff, treated professionally and paid correctly, tend to stay for years.
Frequently asked
Do I really have to register household staff with the CCSS?
Yes — employing anyone in a household capacity requires CCSS registration and the resulting contributions. The uninsured-worker liability makes skipping it a serious risk.
What is the aguinaldo?
A statutory thirteenth-month payment equal to one month’s salary, paid between 1 and 20 December. Reserve for it monthly.
What does staff really cost above the wage?
Budget well above the salary: ~22% employer CCSS, the aguinaldo, vacation, holidays and potential severance. The loaded cost sits meaningfully over the headline pay.
How do I find trustworthy staff?
Referrals through the community and your property manager, with references checked. Concierge support can help you source and onboard staff correctly.
What does household staff really cost above the wage?
Budget well over 30% on top: ~22% employer CCSS, the aguinaldo (~8.33%), vacation, holidays and potential severance. Reserve monthly for the aguinaldo rather than meeting it in one December payment.
Is a written contract really necessary?
Yes — it is your protection. Statutory entitlements accrue whether or not you document them, so informality only removes your evidence and raises your risk. A local attorney-drafted contract is cheap insurance.
How do I find trustworthy household staff?
Referrals through the community and your property manager, with references checked. Define the role precisely, since a manager, caretaker, driver and housekeeper are different jobs.
What is the most consequential staffing mistake?
Skipping CCSS registration. An uninsured worker injured in your home creates liability that can dwarf years of contributions — register from day one.
Need a hand with this step?
This is exactly the kind of task our client-services team handles day to day for people relocating to Costa Rica. If you would like us to walk you through it — or take it off your plate entirely — request concierge support and we will pick it up from wherever you are.
This guide is general, practical information, not legal, immigration or tax advice. Costa Rican procedures, fees and thresholds change and are applied to individual circumstances; details here are current as of July 2026 and should be confirmed with the relevant authority or your advisor before you act.