On November 13, 2014, the President issued a Decree with the Rank, Value and Force of Partial Amendment of the Nutrition Law for the Workers (“Nutrition Law”). The most innovative aspects of the amendment of the Nutrition Law, are the following: Value of the nutrition benefit The Nutrition Law increased the basis for the calculation of the benefit, setting as lowest limit the equivalent of 0.5 Tax Unit (“TU”) and as top limit the equivalent of 0.75…

Yes, disabled employees are protected against discrimination in Venezuela pursuant to the Disable Person’s Law and the Organic Law on Prevention, Working Conditions, and the Work Environment. In fact, there is an express prohibition of discrimination by reason of incapacity. The purpose of the Disabled Persons’ Law is to establish the rules according to which disabled persons will have the chance to lead normal lives within their surrounding society, their dignity and respect assured, with access to…

This post was contributed by Valentina Albarrán, Associate, Norton Rose Caracas. Youth Employment Law On October 8th, 2014 a Youth Employment Law (the “Law”) was approved by the Venezuelan President under the Enabling Law granted to the Executive Power by the Venezuelan Parliament. The Law has yet to be published in the Official Gazette of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and, in consequence, the public has had no access to the information regarding the content…

This post was contributed by Yanet C. Aguiar, Partner, Norton Rose Caracas and Valentina Albarrán, Associate, Norton Rose Caracas. In the modern age, work has become an increasingly important part of a person’s life. From the standpoint of western civilization, work is not only viewed as an activity people do in order to subsist, but as a true form of personal development. From a very early age, children are taught to think about…

This post was written by María Gabriela Vicent, Associate, Norton Rose Fulbright (Caracas) A new Law for Registration and Enlisting for the Integral Defense of the Nation (the “Law”) was enacted on June 25, 2014, forcing individuals and companies to register in the Integral Defense Registry (Military registry). Among the obligations set by the Law the most relevant to employers are the following: Compulsory registration of the individuals and legal entities; Maintenance of the labor…

Venezuelan labor rights may not be waived by the parties, that is, they are rules of public policy and the Labor Law’s provisions must be applied even over the will of the parties. In addition, the principles of favor, non-waivability, intangibility and progressiveness of labor rights are a warranty to prevent a retreat in achieved workers’ rights. In this sense, such principles in one way or another limit the will of the parties in an…

Employees’ rights on redundancy in Venezuela The general rule under the Venezuelan Labor Law is that, no worker can be dismissed without just cause unless she/he is offered an indemnity for dismissal equal to the amount of her/his seniority benefit and she/he accepts it – Job Stability -. However, since 2002, workers are protected with a Special Bar against Dismissal (inamovilidad) which has been extended every year up to December 31, 2014 by Presidential Decree.…