Peru Employment Law

An employee shall be entitled to 30 calendar days of annual leave for each year of service with the same employer. The required year of work will be computed from the date the employee entered the employer’s service or from the date determined by the employer.

An employee shall also be entitled to annual leave –

• • • In the case of employees whose ordinary working day is 6 days a week, having carried out effective work for at least 260 days in the said period.
    • In the case of employees whose ordinary working day is 5 days a week and they have carried out effective work for at least 210 days in the said period.
    • In cases where the work schedule consists of 4 days or 3 days per week or suffers temporary stoppages authorized by the Labor Authority, employees will have the right to vacation, provided that their unjustified absences do not exceed 10 days in the said period.

For the purposes of the calculation of annual leave, the following are considered as effective working days:

• • • • The minimum ordinary working day of minimum four hours.
      • The working day on a rest day regardless of the number of hours worked.
      • Overtime hours of four or more in a day.
      • Absences due to common illness, work accidents, or professional illness, in all cases as long as it does not exceed 60 calendar days a year
      • Rest before and after childbirth.
        Union permission to work.
      • Absences authorized by law, individual or collective agreement, or decision of the employer.
      • The vacation period corresponding to the previous year.
      • The days of the strike, unless it has been declared inadmissible or illegal.

Annual leave may not be granted when the employee is incapacitated due to illness or accident. This rule will not be applicable if the disability occurs during the vacation period.

Pay

Vacation pay is equivalent to what the employee would have normally received in case of continuing to work. Vacation pay will be paid to the employee before the start of the vacation. An employee will receive 1/12th of the vacation pay for each full month of work in cases of discontinuous or seasonal workers whose employment duration is less than 1 year and not less than 1 month.

Employees who cease to work after the year of service without having taken the break will be entitled to the full payment of the vacation pay. The employee must enjoy uninterrupted vacation rest. However, at the employee’s written request, the enjoyment of the vacation period can be divided as follows:

• • • • • 15 calendar days, which can be enjoyed in periods of 7 and 8 uninterrupted days; and,
        • The rest of the vacation period can be enjoyed in installments in periods of less than 7 calendar days and at least 1 calendar day.

Accumulation of Leave

The employee may agree in writing with his employer to accumulate up to 2 consecutive vacation days, provided that after a year of continuous service he enjoys at least a 7 calendar day vacation. In the case of employees hired abroad, they may agree in writing to accumulate vacation periods for 2 or more years.

Payment in Lieu of leave

The vacation break can be reduced from 30 to 15 calendar days, whereby the remaining 15 days shall be compensated with remuneration instead of leave. The reduction agreement is made in writing. The reduction can only be attributed to the holiday period that can be enjoyed in installments in periods of less than 7 calendar days.

Leave in advance

Leave can be taken in advance borrowed from the next vacation period as long as there is a written agreement between the employer and employee, in accordance with the provisions of the law. If the employment relationship is terminated, the leave days that have been granted in advance to an employee will be deducted from the leave days the employee has accrued at the date his or her employment ends.

Termination of Employment

In the event of termination of the employment relationship, the rest days granted in advance to the employee are compensated with the truncated vacation days acquired on the termination date. Rest days granted in advance that cannot be compensated with the truncated vacation days acquired, do not generate an obligation to compensate the employee.Article 10-19, 21-22 Legislative Decree No. 713.

An employee is entitled to 20 days of paid sick leave. The right to the Temporary Disability Insurance for sick leave is acquired from the 21st day of disability and for as long as it lasts, with a maximum term of 11 months and 10 consecutive days in each case of illness, as long as the employee does not perform paid work.

Pay – The first 20 days of leave are paid by the employer. This benefit is administered by ESSALUD (social security benefit) and is equal to the average daily salary for four 4 months, immediately prior to the start of the temporary disability, multiplied by the number of days to enjoy the benefits. Article 36, Law No. 26790.

Employees shall be entitled to 49 days of paid pre-natal leave and 49 days of postnatal leave. The enjoyment of prenatal rest may be moved, partially or totally, and accumulated for the postnatal period, at the decision of the employee. The duration of prenatal and postnatal rest are considered as days actually worked. In the case of multiple births, the postnatal rest is extended for 30 additional calendar days.

If the delivery of the child occurs earlier than the expected date, the days which fall under prenatal leave are added under postnatal leave. And, in case the delivery of a child occurs after the expected due date, the days late are counted as medical leave for temporary disability from work and are paid accordingly.

Maternity leave can be added to the pending annual vacations of the employee, for which the decision must be communicated to the employer no less than 15 calendar days before the start of the break. The postnatal leave shall be extended by 30 days in case of the birth of a child with a disability.

Pay – The payment for maternity leave is to be done by social security.

Leave for Breastfeeding

Employees at the end of the postnatal period, have the right to a daily 1 hour of paid breastfeeding leave until the child is 1 year old. It can be divided into two 30 minutes paid breaks and is provided within the working day.  In the case of multiple births, the paid breastfeeding break will be increased 1 more hour a day. This permission may be divided into two equal times and will be granted within the working day. The working mother and the employer can agree on the hours when exercising this right, but it cannot be compensated or substituted by any other benefit. Article 1, Law no. 30792, Article 303,304, 306, 308 of Labour Code, Law No. 29992 (02.07.13).

Employees shall be entitled to paid paternity leave of 10 consecutive calendar days in cases of natural birth or cesarean birth.

Employee shall be entitled to  –

• • • 20 consecutive calendar days of paid leave for premature births and multiple deliveries.
    • 30 consecutive calendar days of paid leave for birth with terminal congenital illness or severe disability.
    • 30 consecutive calendar days of paid leave for serious complications in the mother’s health.

The term of the leave is computed from the date that the employees indicate the date of birth of the son or daughter or from the date the mother or son or daughter is discharged from the respective medical center or from the third day prior to the probable date of delivery.  In the event that the mother dies during childbirth or during her maternity leave, the father of the child born will be the beneficiary of maternity leave. An employee who makes use of paternity leave will have the right to make use of his annual leave that is pending after the paternity leave expires. Article 2 of Law no. 30807.

The working parent whose spouse or partner dies before, during, or after their child is born alive and up to the first year of life, has the right to paid leave for 8 days. In the event of the death of both parents, the leave above will be enjoyed by the working family member who is in charge of raising and newborn care, proving the kinship and custody relationship. Article 311 of Labour Code.

Employees shall be entitled to 30 days paid leave for adoption of a child, counted from the day following the issuance of the child, provided that the child to be adopted is not more than 12 years old. The employee petitioning for adoption must expressly communicate to his employer, within a period of no less than 15 calendar days from the physical delivery of the child.

If the employees trying to adopt a child are spouses, the leave will be taken by the woman. After the expiration of the adoption leave the employee has the right to use his annual leave which should be communicated to the employer no later than 15 days before the start of the vacation. Art 1-7, Law NO. 27409.

Employees shall be entitled to 7 calendar days of paid leave in the event of having direct family members who are ill in a serious or terminal condition or suffer a serious accident. The leave is granted to employees who have direct relatives who suffer from a serious or terminal illness or have suffered a serious accident.

If it is necessary to grant additional days of leave, the employee must justify the need for assistance to the immediate family member, presenting the corresponding medical certificate. The additional leave is granted out of the vacation leave that the employee has accumulated and it shall not be more than a period of 30 days.

After the expiration of the above-mentioned leave duration, and if the employee is still required to continue to provide assistance to family members, the employee shall have an additional duration of the leave. If an employee takes such an additional period, he shall be required to perform overtime work at the regular rate of pay.

The overtime work hours must correspond to the additional period actually used by the employee for leave. The working time that exceeds this period will be paid at overtime rates. Article 4-5, Law No. 30012.

Employee shall be entitled to the right to a paid leave which shall be granted in favor of the father, mother, guardian, or support of the person with a disability who requires medical assistance or rehabilitation therapy of up to 56 consecutive or alternate hours annually, specifying that in case additional hours are required, the leaves are compensated with extra hours of work, prior agreement with the employer. Such hours shall be paid at the regular rate of pay.

The hours of leave granted by the employer correspond to the hours used for medical assistance and/or rehabilitation therapy during the ordinary working day. Article 2-4 law no. 009-2019-TR.

An employee who has direct relatives and caregivers in charge of the care of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias has the right to request from their employer up to 1 paid workday of paid leave per year, in order to attend to the needs of the patient. Art 8, Law 30795.

Employees who work as volunteer firefighters and exercise a civic position have the right to leave with pay when they are summoned by the General Corps of Volunteer Firefighters of Peru (CGBVP). Art 18A, Law DS 001-2017-TR.

An employee affected by tuberculosis has the right to enter their work center 1 hour after normal hours or leave 1 hour before, to receive their respective treatment. On the other hand, if the doctor considers that the work performed by the employee may affect his health, he may request his employer to reassign him to another job. Law DS 021-2016-SA.

An employee who, being in the reserve, is called to complete periods of instruction and training or is required in cases of mobilization or of serious threat or imminent danger to the Security and Defense of the Nation, have the right to leave with pay of up to a maximum of 30 days.

Upon expiration of the term, the State will assume the payment of the salaries and bonuses through the Institution of the Armed Forces. Art 57, Law 29248.