Basic Facts

Honduras is a country in Central America situated between Guatemala and El Salvador to the west, and Nicaragua to the south and east. The Honduran constitution states, “The cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela, jointly, constitute the Capital of the Republic.” More than 3/4ths of the land area of Honduras is mountainous. Honduras has had one of the highest economic growth rates in Latin America over the past few years. Its top industries are sugar processing, coffee, woven and knit apparel, wood products, and cigars.

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

Capital :
Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela
Currency :
Honduran Lempira (HNL, L)
Languages spoken :
Spanish
Population :
9.57 million (2022 est.)
Minimum wage 2023 :
Monthly HNL 7,802.2 to 15,495.25
Cost of Living index :
$$ (82 of 139 countries)
Payroll Frequency :
Monthly
VAT - standard rate :
15%
GDP - real growth rate :
-12.5% (2021 est.)

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, the Thursday before Easter
March 29
Good Friday
Movable, the Friday before Easter
March 30
Easter Saturday
Movable, the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon
April 15
Americas' Day
Movable, as declared by the Honduran government
May 1
Labor Day
September 15
Independence Day
October 3
Francisco Morazán's Birthday
Movable, as per the Honduran government's determination
October 4
Day of the Race
Movable, as per the Honduran government's determination
October 5
Honduran Armed Forces Day
Movable, as per the Honduran government's determination
December 25
Christmas Day

Contract Sharing Time


The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Honduras 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


  • Employers are prohibited from employing less than 90% of Honduran workers and paying less than 85% of the total wages earned in their respective companies.
  • When the work center is more than two kilometers away from the residence where the worker habitually resides, the employer is obliged to pay for the travel expenses.
  • It is possible to enter into verbal employment contracts for domestic service and temporary jobs within 60 days, as long as the nature of work, remuneration, and the duration of the job are agreed upon between the employer and the employee.
  • Any employer who employs more than five permanent workers in commercial companies, or more than 10 in industrial companies, is required to have a labor regulation.
  • 13th and 14th-month salaries are paid in July and December respectively.

Labor Conditions


Working Hours

In general terms, the ordinary day of work may not exceed eight hours per day and 44 hours per week. The ordinary timing of night work may not exceed six hours a day and 36 hours a week. 

Overtime

The effective work that is executed outside the limits of the ordinary working day, or that exceeds the limits of the working day, agreed by the parties, constitutes extraordinary working hours, and must be remunerated, as follows:

Time Surcharge
Daytime Period 25% surcharge on the daytime salary
Night Period 50% surcharge on the daytime salary
Extraordinary shift as an extension of night shift 75% surcharge on the night shift salary
Probation Period

The trial period, which cannot exceed 60 days, is the initial stage of the employment contract and is intended, on the employer’s part, to assess the worker’s aptitudes, and on their part, the convenience of working conditions. This period is remunerated, and if upon termination neither party expresses its willingness to terminate the contract, it will continue indefinitely. 

Termination Notice Period

The termination period notice is as follows:

Condition Service Period Termination Notice Period
Suspension of work for more than 120 days in certain conditions specified No liability Not applicable
Liquidation or definitive closure 30 days’ notice Not applicable
Indefinite employment contract Less than 3 months 24 hours
3 to 6 months 1 week
More than 6 months to 1 year 2 weeks
More than 1 year to 2 years 1 month
More than 2 years 2 months

Leave / Time Off

Annual Leave

The period of paid vacations, to which every worker is entitled after each year of continuous work in the service of the same employer, has the minimum duration of the following:

Continuous Employment Service Annual Leave in Business Days
Up to 1 year 10
More than 1 to 2 years 12
More than 2 to 3 years 15
More than 4 years 20

 

Sick Leave

In the case of an illness that prevents the employee from attending to their duties, if the worker is the victim of a disease that is not professional or caused by work accidents, they have the right to the corresponding suspension of their employment contract for up to six months. Except for what is said in special provisions or if the case is protected by the social security law, the only obligation of the employer is to give the worker leave, until their total restoration, provided that this prevails within the indicated period, and is in accordance with the following rules:

Employment Service Pay During Sick Leave
More than 3 to 6 months 50% of salary for 1 month
More than 6 to 9 months 50% of salary for 2 months
More than 9 months to 5 years 50% of salary for 3 months
More than 5 years 30 days’ salary for every year of service

 

The cash sickness benefit is paid when beneficiaries have at least two months of contributions in the four months before the incapacity began. 

Parental Leave

Maternity Leave

All pregnant women enjoy 10 weeks of rest, paid in the same way as their work, during the four weeks preceding the delivery and the six that follow, and retain their employment and all rights corresponding to their employment contract. 100% of the insured’s earnings in the last three months is paid for 42 days before and 42 days after the expected date of childbirth (The Social Security Institute pays 66% of the cost and the employer pays the remaining 34%). 

Paternity Leave

There is no statutory provision for paternity leave in Honduras.

Other Types of Paid Leave

Representation Leave

The worker who is designated to represent the country in congresses or international conferences related to work, approved by the respective Ministry is entitled to leave not exceeding 10 days, or 20 days if abroad.

Miscellaneous Leave

The Labor Code provides leave for a maximum of two days at a time and of 15 days a year to attend the funeral of a colleague, and in times of serious calamity.

Unpaid Leave

There are no provisions for unpaid leave in the Labor Code.

Statutory Benefits

The employer and employee contributions to Social Security are as follows:

Benefits Employer Contribution Employee Contribution
Sickness and Maternity* 5% 2.5%
Invalidity, Old Age, and Death** 3.5% 2.5%
Professional Formation Institute (Instituto Nacional de Formación Profesional or INFOP)  1% None
Collective Capitalization Pillar 2.6% 1.6%
Total 12.1% 6.6%

*Up to a maximum ceiling of HNL 10,342

**Up to a maximum ceiling of HNL 10,796 

There are also contributions to mandatory individual accounts from the Regimen de Aportaciones Privadas (RAP). Any company that has 10 or more employees in the national scope must also contribute to the RAP. 

Benefits Employer Contribution Employee Contribution
Invalidity, Old age, and Death* 1.5% of monthly covered payroll 1.5% of monthly covered payroll
Unemployment 4% of monthly covered employment** None
Total 5.5% 1.5%

*Up to a maximum ceiling of HNL 10,796.

**The employer’s contributions cease when the individual account balance reaches 50% of the maximum severance payable (25 months of the insured’s salary).

Health Insurance

Employers pay 5% and employees pay 2.5% of their monthly covered earnings. The insured person’s contributions also finance work injury benefits. Social Security Institute health facilities provide medical services directly to patients. Benefits include general and specialist care, surgery, hospitalization, necessary medicine, laboratory services, appliances, dental care, and maternity care.

Other Types of Insurance

Accident Insurance

The employer is obliged to cover compensation for accidents suffered by workers as a result of work, and for professional diseases that they contract in the work they perform, or in the exercise of the profession they perform. 

Unemployment Insurance

The employer pays 4% of monthly covered wages to the mandatory individual account. The beneficiaries are entitled to severance benefits upon unemployment, which is different from severance pay due to dismissal.

Public Pension

The pension age is 65 for men and 60  for women. Employers contribute 3.5% and employees contribute 2.5% of their monthly covered earnings while the mandatory individual accounts are paid 1.5% by both employer and employee. Old-age benefits are paid for pension, old-age settlement, old-age benefit, disability pension and settlement, survivors’ pension and settlement, and funeral grant.

Other Statutory Benefits

There are no other statutory benefits. Family allowances are paid as cash transfers through government assistance schemes. 

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.