Venezuelan labor and employment laws and regulations are complex and extremely worker-protective. They include stringent regulations regarding safety in the workplace s, and complicated social security and other workers benefits; all of which are often subject to legislative and regulatory changes.
Negotiation is one of our major skills. We negotiate with union representatives and/or with individual workers, seeking a balanced working relationship which shall endure, but we also negotiate relationships to help them end cordially.
Our hands-on experience in the labor courts is key to our success in the design of corporate strategy with regard to hiring personnel, terms of engagement, termination policies, etc.
We are very active in the assistance of our clients with regard to termination issues, including administrative procedures and litigation; this is particularly important now in Venezuela, where there is a ban on workers’ dismissal (inamovilidad laboral), which implies that employers have to conduct administrative procedures before dismissing employees.
Our firm carefully drafts the documentation of the working relationship, so as to preserve our clients’ interests, taking care that fair conditions should be applied, thus encouraging a solid working relationship.
We have an extensive and successful experience in labor litigation (we have handled up to 2,000 cases simultaneously). This allows us to provide an excellent service to local and international corporations with regard to their labor issues.
In the context of our merger and acquisition practice, we conduct due diligence processes with regard to the target company, focusing, among other matters, on labor issues, procedures and relationships.
We advise clients regarding labor-related contributions, such as social security and apprentice regulations, which impact importantly working relationships. We advise on the legal application of the rules and also represent our clients before the competent authorities. Additionally, we provide workshops for clients regarding the labor legislation and workplace regulations.
In our opinion, in the current Venezuelan political system and taking into account the very protective labor laws, our extensive experience in labor law and litigation in particular, differentiate our firm from others.
Our lawyers are renowned authors of a book and several legal articles on labor and employment matters.