The statute of limitations for labor claims versus the principle that workers' rights cannot be waived

Abstract

The statute of limitations in labor matters constitutes a legal institution aimed at providing certainty and legal security to juridical relationships by establishing a temporal limit for the exercise of certain claims. However, its application in relation to the principle of non-waiver of workers’ rights raises a significant legal tension, particularly when the passage of time prevents the judicial enforcement of rights that, by their nature, are recognized as unavailable to the worker. In this context, the legal issue focuses on determining whether the statute of limitations in labor actions operates merely as a procedural restriction on the exercise of a claim or whether, in practice, it may produce effects incompatible with the constitutional protection of non-waivable labor rights. The general objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between the statute of limitations in labor matters and the principle of non-waiver of workers’ rights within the Ecuadorian legal system, in order to determine its scope, limits, and possible normative tensions. The research adopts a qualitative approach, using legal-dogmatic, analytical, and hermeneutic methods, supported by the review of relevant legislation, legal doctrine, and case law. The results indicate that prescription does not necessarily entail the substantive loss of the right itself, but rather the extinction of the possibility of judicially enforcing it, which requires a restrictive interpretation consistent with the principles of protection, favorability, and non-waiver that characterize Labor Law.