The Domestic Employee In Panama: Challenges, Recognition And Rights

I. General

In the Republic of Panama, as in other countries in the region, it is very common to hire domestic employees to assist with household care.

The domestic employee provides a personal service, since he/she assists in the tasks proper or inherent to a person's or a family's home. This includes housekeeping, cleaning, ironing, gardening and cooking activities, as well as the tasks carried out by the "nannies" or those who take care of young children or elderly adults, and the chauffeurs.

In domestic work there is no profit-making interest on the part of the employer; in fact, those who hires domestic services does not do so with the aim of obtaining a profit based on these services but do so for the benefit of their own family and household needs.