Guatemala Employment Law

Duration of Annual Leave – Employees shall be entitled to 15 consecutive calendar days per year after completing 12 months of continuous work with the same employer. The employer must indicate to the employee the time in which, within the sixty days following that in which the year of continuous service was completed, they must enjoy their annual leave. 

Eligibility of Annual Leave – The employee must have worked at least 150 days in the last year to be entitled to the annual leave. 

Annual leave is not compensable in money, except when the employee who has acquired the right to enjoy them has not enjoyed them due to ceasing work for whatever reason. The employee is prohibited from providing his services to anyone during the annual leave period.

When the employee stops working for whatever reason, before completing one year of continuous service, or before acquiring the right to a new period, the employer must compensate the employee in money for the proportional part of his vacation following his time. of service. 

Accumulation/Division of Annual Leave – The division or accumulation of annual leave in general cases is not permitted. However, if the work is special, where the long absence cannot be allowed, the annual vacation can be divided into a maximum of two parts. 

The days in which the employee does not render services due to having paid leave, established by this Code or by a collective agreement, due to professional disease, common disease, or work accident, will be counted as worked as part of the annual leave calculation.

Annual Leave Pay – The amount that the employee is entitled to receive for annual leave is an average of his ordinary and extraordinary remuneration in the last three months (for agricultural employees) or last year (for other categories of employees).

Termination – An employee cannot receive compensation for annual leave, except in the case of termination of the contract before the holiday. A worker is entitled to compensation for a proportional vacation if there is a termination before completing a year of service. Art 130-137 of the Labour Code.

Duration of Sick Leave – An employee is entitled to sick leave for up to 6 months.

Eligibility of Sick Leave – An employee must have made contributions for 3 months during the 6 months before the sick leave begins. 

Sick Leave Pay – An employee is entitled to two-thirds of an employee’s average income paid as sickness benefit, up to a maximum of 180 days; It can be extended to 39 weeks. 

The combined maximum benefit for several periods of disability is 52 weeks in 24 months. §28 & 31 of Decree no. 295, National Profile of the ISSA.

Employees shall be entitled to the following paid leave – 

• • • When the death of the spouse, parent, or child – 3 days.
    • When the employee got married – 5 days
    • For the birth of a son – 2 days.
    • When the employer expressly authorizes other permits or licenses and has indicated that these will be also paid.
    • To answer a judicial summons for the court to take the appearance as long as it does not exceed half a day within the jurisdiction and one day out of the department in question.
    • For the performance of a union function, provided that this is limited to members of the Executive Committee and does not exceed 6 days in the same calendar month, for each of them. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an employer must grant leave without pay to the members of the aforementioned Executive Committee that they request it, for the necessary time to attend the attributions of his position.
    • In all other cases specifically provided for in the collective agreement or agreement of conditions of the job.

Labor Code, §61(o).

Duration of Maternity Leave – An employee is entitled to paid maternity leave of  84 days divided into a prenatal and postnatal period as follows:

• • • • Prenatal: 30 days before the estimated delivery date.
      • Postnatal: 54 days after delivery.

Early Birth – If the baby is born before that date, during the prenatal break, the days are moved and added to the assigned postpartum days.

Eligibility Criteria – Employee must have been employed with the same employer for at least 180 days within the past year or 90 days within the last 6 months. The employee must have made contributions to the Guatemalan Social Security Institute for 3 out of the 6 months preceding your prenatal leave.       

Pay Benefit – An employee is entitled to maternity leave by social security 

Notice Requirement – An employee must submit medical certification stating the delivery will occur within the next 5 weeks, or 5 weeks counted backward from the estimated date of delivery.   

Miscarriage/ illness during pregnancy – If the woman has a spontaneous or therapeutic abortion, Social Security grants cash benefits for up to a maximum of 27 days from the date of the abortion.

If the woman suffers from an illness caused by complications related to childbirth or pregnancy, they must present medical proof that they are incapable of working. The maximum absence for illness during pregnancy is 3 months.

Breastfeeding Break – The mothers are entitled to two paid 30-minute breaks each day specifically for nursing their child. 

Additionally, they have the flexibility to combine these breaks into a single, one-hour break. This one-hour break can be used either by starting their workday one hour later or leaving one hour earlier. 

The breastfeeding duration lasts for 10 months after a mother returns to work, and can be extended with a doctor’s recommendation. Importantly, employers are required to allow these breaks, and failure to do so can result in penalties. Labor Code, §153.

A female employee who adopts a minor is entitled to the equivalent of post-natal leave as under maternity leave, starting from the day that the minor begins living with the employee. To enjoy this right the worker must present the documents corresponding to the processing of the adoption. Art 152 of the Labour Code.