Basic Facts

Peru is the third-largest country in South America, after Brazil and Argentina. It is made up of a variety of landscapes, from mountains and beaches to deserts and rainforests. The world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, covers nearly half of Peru. Peru is bordered by Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. It covers an area of approximately 1,285 million square kilometers. Services account for 59.9% of Peruvian GDP, followed by industry (32.7%) and agriculture (7.6%).

*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Peru.

Capital :
Lima
Currency :
Sol (S/, PEN)
Languages spoken :
Spanish, ‎Quechua‎, ‎Aymara
Population :
33.36 million (2021 est.)
Minimum wage 2023 :
PEN 1,025 per Month
Cost of Living index :
$ (116 of 139 countries)
Payroll Frequency :
Monthly
VAT - standard rate :
18%
GDP - real growth rate :
13.3%

Statutory Holidays

The holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2024.

Date
Holiday Name
Extra Information
January 1
New Year's Day
March 28
Maundy Thursday
Movable
March 29
Good Friday
Movable
May 1
Labor Day
June 29
Feast of St Peter and St Paul
July 28
Independence Day
July 29
Independence Day Holiday
August 30
Santa Rosa de Lima
October 8
Battle of Angamos
November 1
All Saints' Day
December 1
Immaculate Conception
December 9
Battle of Ayacucho
December 25
Christmas Day

Contract Sharing Time


The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Peru is 14 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.

NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.

What You Need To Know


  • Preoccupation medical evaluations must be done according to labor risks that workers may be exposed to.
  • Remote work is regulated by Law 31572 which mandates employers to provide equipment and internet access service or assign economic compensation for the provision of these to the teleworker, in addition to compensation for electricity consumption.

  • There are several modalities for fixed-term contracts whose terms should not exceed five years.

  • There is no severance of pay under Peruvian law but dismissal without cause and non-compliance to objective dismissal processes attract damages of up to 12 monthly salaries.

Labor Conditions


Working Hours

An employee’s normal working hours per day must not exceed eight hours per day or 48 hours per week. In case of work performed on a continuous timetable, the worker is entitled to a rest break of at least 45 minutes to have meals during the working day. 

Overtime

An employee is entitled to overtime for work that exceeds eight hours per day or 48 hours per week and is compensated with a minimum surcharge of 25% over the hourly value for the first two hours. For every extra hour, the surcharge cannot be less than 35% per hour.

 

Probation Period

The probation period is three months, at the end of which the worker reaches the right to protection against arbitrary dismissal.

The parties may agree to extend the probationary period where the work to be undertaken requires a period of training and adaptation or where the nature of the work or responsibility entailing such extension may be justified.

Termination Notice Period

In case of resignation or voluntary withdrawal, the worker must give written notice 30 days in advance.

The employer may not dismiss for reasons related to the conduct or capacity of the worker without first granting in writing a reasonable period of no less than six calendar days so that the worker can defend themselves in writing against the charges made against them or 30 days for the worker to demonstrate their ability or correct their deficiency. In cases of flagrant serious misconduct, a notice period is not required.

Leave / Time Off

Annual Leave

Any worker who meets a minimum working day of four hours is entitled to 30 calendar days of vacation rest, provided that they have completed a full year of service.

Sick Leave

Employees are entitled to 365 days of paid sick leave. The employer compensates for the first 20 days of sickness and the remaining 245 days are to be paid by social security.

Parental Leave

Maternity Leave

Employees are entitled to 49 days of paid pre-natal leave and 49 days of postnatal leave. In the case of multiple births, the postnatal rest is extended for 30 additional calendar days. The payment for maternity leave is to be done by Social Security.

Paternity Leave

Employees are entitled to a paid paternity leave of 10 consecutive calendar days in case of natural birth or cesarean birth. The entitlement increases to 20 days of leave in the case of premature birth or multiple births.

Adoption Leave

Employees are entitled to 30 days of paid leave for the adoption of a child, counted from the day following the issuance of the child, provided that the child to be adopted is no more than 12 years old. The employee petitioning for adoption must expressly communicate to the employer within a period of no less than 15 calendar days from the physical delivery of the child. 

Other Types of Paid Leave

Leave for a Direct Relative with Alzheimer’s

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 one workday of paid leave per year, in order to attend to the needs of the patient.

Leave for those Affected by Tuberculosis

An employee affected by tuberculosis has the right to enter their work center one hour after normal hours or leave one hour before, to receive their respective treatment. On the other hand, if the doctor establishes that the work performed by the employee may affect their health, the employee may request the employer to reassign them to another job.

Leave for Oncological Examinations

Workers, regardless of the contractual nature of their employment relationship, are entitled to compensable annual leave of up to two business days, consecutive or not, to undergo their preventive oncological examinations.

Statutory Benefits

The Peruvian social security system offers protection to its citizens by providing benefits in case of:

  • Sickness
  • Maternity
  • Accidents and death
  • Disability and retirement
Benefits Employer Contribution
Health Insurance 9%
Compensation for Time Services (CTS) 8.33% (paid twice a year)
Family Allowances 10% of the minimum wage (applicable to employees with children below 18 years of age)

Health Insurance

Employers are obligated to make monthly health contribution payments equal to 9% of the total compensation paid to the employee.

Employees must choose affiliation with either the National Health System (EsSalud) or the Private Health System (Entidades Promotoras de Salud or EPS). 25% of the amount paid to EPS may be used as a credit against EsSalud contributions.

Other Insurances

Accident Insurance
 

Remote workers are not included in the work accidents and occupational diseases regime.

Unemployment Insurance

Employers are mandated to pay an amount equivalent to 8.33% of the daily remuneration received by workers twice a year to the Compensation for Time of Services (CTS).

Payments and deposits must be made within the first 15 days of the month of May or November, as appropriate. Compensation for service time is accrued the first month after the employment relationship begins.

Public Pension

The national pension is funded by employee contributions.

Employers must apply monthly withholdings for pension fund contributions equal to:

  • 13% of the compensation received by the employee in cases where the employee is affiliated with the National Pension System; or
  • Approximately 12.5% in cases where the employee is affiliated with the Private Pension System (in this case, 10% corresponds to their personal pension account and almost 2.5% to insurance and commissions for managing the fund).

Other Statutory Benefits

Family Allowances

Employees who are responsible for one or more children under 18 years of age or of legal age attending higher education are entitled to receive an allowance of 10% of the current minimum wage.

Employers pay the family allowance directly to employees.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this Country Guide is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. The contents of this Country Guide contain general information and may not reflect current legal developments or address your situation. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this Country Guide without seeking the advice or representation of a licensed attorney. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for actions you take or fail to take based on any content included in this Country Guide.

Information provided in this Country Guide is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. WorkMotion Software GmbH periodically adds, changes, improves, updates, or removes information without notice, and assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the contents of this Country Guide. This Country Guide may contain links to other websites. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.