Red Flags When Hiring Help in Costa Rica: How to Protect Yourself as a Senior Expat

Hiring someone to help you in Costa Rica — a housekeeper, a caregiver, a contractor, a gardener — is one of the most important decisions you will make here. Get it right and you gain enormous peace of mind. Get it wrong and you face something much more complicated than inconvenience.

The good news is that most of the risk is avoidable. Not by being suspicious of everyone — that is exhausting and counterproductive. But by knowing what the warning signs actually look like, what your obligations are under Costa Rican law, and what protects you before a problem starts.

This is what I wish someone had handed me when I first started navigating this.

The Context Most Expats Miss

Costa Rica has some of the strongest worker protections in Latin America. This is genuinely good — it reflects a society that values labor rights and dignity at work. But it means that the rules for hiring domestic staff here are more structured than most expats from the US or Canada expect, and not knowing them creates real exposure.

According to Q Costa Rica, in 2025 there were several lawsuits filed by domestic workers who won court cases or reached settlements at the Ministry of Labor regarding overtime and unpaid benefits. Most of the employers involved were not dishonest people — they simply did not know what the law required of them.

The law applies to you regardless of whether you knew it existed.

What the Law Actually Requires When You Hire Help

Under Costa Rica's Labor Code, domestic workers — including housekeepers, caregivers, gardeners, drivers, and cooks — have specific rights that apply from the moment they begin working regularly, even if no formal contract was signed.

• Social security (CCSS) registration is mandatory. This applies even if you hire someone by the hour or for just one day a week. As an employer, you are required to register with the CCSS and report your worker, paying your portion of the contribution — approximately 22% of the monthly salary — in addition to withholding 8.17% from the worker's pay for their portion. This obligation applies even to part-time hourly workers, with no minimum hours threshold.

• The aguinaldo is not optional. This is a mandatory year-end bonus equal to one month's salary, calculated based on earnings from December 1 of the previous year through November 30 of the current year, and must be paid by December 20. It is exempt from income tax and social security deductions. It is not a gift — it is a right established by law.

• Paid vacation accrues after 50 weeks of work. After completing 50 consecutive weeks, a domestic worker is entitled to two weeks of paid vacation. These days cannot be exchanged for cash during active employment.

• The 30-day trial period has rules. The first 30 days of any domestic employment relationship are considered a probationary period. Either party can end it without notice or severance. But if the worker completes more than 20 days within that period, they are already entitled to proportional aguinaldo, vacation, and social security contributions for the time worked.

• Severance pay is required on dismissal without cause. The amount depends on the length of employment and increases with time. Workers dismissed without just cause receive notice pay, proportional aguinaldo, unused vacation pay, and severance calculated according to a scale defined by the Labor Code.

The Red Flags Worth Knowing Before You Hire

These are the patterns I have seen most often lead to problems — for the expat, for the worker, or both.

• Someone asks to be paid in cash with no receipts. This is common and not always a red flag on its own — many workers prefer cash. But if there is no written record of payment, the burden of proof in any future dispute falls entirely on you as the employer. If a worker later claims they were not paid, or claims they were paid less than agreed, you have no evidence. Keep signed payment receipts for every payment, even if it feels unnecessary. This is especially important because Costa Rican law places the burden of proof on the employer.

• Someone suggests you pay "off the books" to avoid CCSS contributions. This arrangement benefits neither of you in the long run. The worker loses healthcare coverage and pension contributions they are entitled to. You face significant legal and financial exposure if the relationship is ever examined. The savings are not worth the risk.

• A contractor quotes verbally and resists putting anything in writing. A professional who cannot produce a written quote specifying materials, labor, timeline, and total cost is a contractor who cannot be held accountable. The verbal quote almost always looks different from what gets invoiced at the end.

• References cannot be verified or are all from the same source. When someone offers references but all of them are from family members, or from a single employer who is impossible to reach, that is not a reference. A genuine reference comes from someone who can speak specifically about the work performed, the time period, and any problems that arose and how they were handled.

• Someone becomes defensive or evasive when you ask basic questions. Trustworthy people are not offended by reasonable questions. If a housekeeper or caregiver becomes irritated when you ask for their cedula number, hesitates to provide verifiable references, or cannot explain a gap in their work history, pay attention to that. Not as a reason to automatically disqualify someone — but as information to consider.

• A caregiver discourages contact with family or other support. This is a serious red flag in any caregiving context, anywhere in the world. A caregiver who encourages isolation — who suggests that family visits are disruptive, who discourages phone calls, or who positions themselves as the only trustworthy person in the senior's life — is displaying a pattern that warrants immediate attention. This is one of the most consistent warning signs in elder financial exploitation.

• A contractor requests a large upfront payment before any work begins. A deposit of 25–30% to cover initial materials is standard and reasonable. A request for 50% or more upfront, before a single day of work, is a risk. Legitimate contractors can start work with a reasonable deposit and invoice for the remainder as the job progresses.

Before You Hire: A Practical Checklist

This does not need to be complicated. A short process done consistently protects you without making you adversarial toward the people who work for you.

Before hiring any domestic worker or caregiver:

Ask for their cedula (national ID). This is a basic, reasonable request that any legitimate worker will provide without hesitation.

Request contact information for two references from previous employers — not friends or family — and call both. Ask specific questions: How long did they work for you? What were their main responsibilities? Would you hire them again? Was there anything they struggled with?

Establish expectations in writing from day one. Work hours, specific tasks, which days, compensation, and how payment is made. This protects the worker as much as it protects you.

Register them with the CCSS within the first two weeks of employment. The process can be done online through the CCSS portal, and there are Spanish-language tutorials available. If you need help navigating this as an expat, a bilingual advisor or attorney can walk you through it in under an hour.

Before hiring a contractor for any project, get at least three quotes, ask for references from jobs of similar scope completed in the last twelve months, and confirm whether permits are required for the work. Any structural, electrical, or plumbing work in Costa Rica typically requires municipal permits. A contractor who says "we don't need a permit for this" is either wrong or cutting a corner that could affect your property's legal status.

The Relationship That Protects Everyone

The best protection against problems with domestic staff in Costa Rica is not suspicion — it is structure. Clear expectations, written records, legal compliance from the beginning, and a relationship built on mutual respect tend to produce the outcomes you want.

Most of the people who do this work in Guanacaste are hard-working, honest, and take real pride in what they do. The ones who create problems are the exceptions, not the rule. But the exceptions exist, and a straightforward process makes them much easier to identify before you are in the middle of a dispute.

If you are new to Costa Rica or managing this from abroad, having a bilingual local contact who can help you navigate this process — someone who knows the local labor norms, can verify references in Spanish, and understands what your obligations actually are — makes a significant difference.

Our Senior Daily Support services include helping clients navigate exactly this kind of situation. You can also find more context about how we approach this through our Families Abroad page, or reach us directly through our contact page.

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Teresita Alfaro — Founder, Expat Senior Concierge

Teresita is a bilingual life manager and personal advocate for expat seniors in Costa Rica. For over a decade she has been "the person in the room" — navigating healthcare and the CCSS, coordinating trusted local providers, handling paperwork, and caring for private homes — so seniors can live here safely and independently, and their families abroad can finally stop worrying.

📅 Book a free 30-minute consultation · 📱 WhatsApp: +506 7075-5307