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Global HR Compliance in Peru

Understanding the nuances of labour legislation is essential when planning to hire an international workforce in Peru. This guide provides essential insights for companies looking to engage talent compliantly and efficiently while expanding into this rapidly growing Latin American market.

Key Challenges in Hiring Employees in Peru

Navigating Complex Local Regulations

Peruvian labour law is formal, procedurally detailed, and strongly protective of employees. Errors in contract formalities, social security contributions, or termination process can lead to litigation, forced reinstatement, or significant penalties. Misclassification of employees as contractors is another recurring compliance trap for foreign employers.

Restrictions on Foreign Employees

Companies hiring international talent in Peru face hard caps: no more than 20% of total headcount and 30% of payroll may be allocated to foreign workers. Exceptions exist for highly skilled professionals, but they must be justified and approved. This adds legal and administrative steps to workforce planning.

Entity Setup and Administrative Burden

Establishing a legal entity in Peru requires tax registration with SUNAT, enrolment in the national social security system (EsSalud), and ongoing local payroll reporting. These processes are time-consuming, resource-intensive, and introduce additional risk for companies not prepared to maintain full compliance across multiple local obligations.

Benefits of Using an Employer of Record in Peru

Hire Without Incorporation

An Employer of Record enables you to employ workers in Peru without creating a local legal entity. This is ideal for market entry, project-based hiring, or building a local presence without the overhead of entity setup and ongoing administration.

The EOR assumes responsibility for employment compliance—drafting contracts, registering employees, processing payroll, and ensuring employee benefits and social contributions are handled correctly under Peruvian law. This reduces your legal exposure and internal workload.

Retain Control Over Operations

You manage the day-to-day work, performance, and objectives of your team. The EOR handles the formal employment relationship, acting as the legal employer while you direct the employee’s role and responsibilities.

Reduce Cost and Complexity

Using an EOR removes the need for legal, tax, and HR infrastructure in-country. It eliminates the overhead tied to ongoing entity maintenance, local accounting, and employment risk management—especially valuable if you’re testing or scaling the market gradually.

Local Labour Framework: Hiring and Firing in Peru

Employment Contracts

  • Indefinite contracts may be verbal or written.
  • Fixed-term contracts must always be in writing and are permitted only when justified by temporary or objective business needs (e.g. project-based roles, seasonal work).
  • Foreign employees must have written contracts. The maximum duration is three years per contract, renewable once for the same duration.

Foreign Worker Limits

  • Foreign nationals may not exceed 20% of the company’s workforce.
  • Total salaries paid to foreign workers may not exceed 30% of total payroll.
  • Exceptions apply for technical experts or executives, subject to Ministry of Labour approval.

Minimum Employment Standards in Peru

Working Hours

  • Legal maximum: 8 hours per day, 48 hours per week.
  • Night work requires a 35% wage surcharge.
  • Part-time employees work fewer than 4 hours per day and are not entitled to all benefits (e.g. CTS or bonuses).

Probation Period

  • Ranges from 3 to 12 months, depending on position.
  • Employers may terminate during probation without cause, though procedural requirements still apply.

Annual Leave

  • Employees earn 30 calendar days of paid leave per year.
  • Leave benefits must equal one full monthly salary.
  • Unused leave can carry over, subject to employer agreement.

Public Holidays

Peru observes 12 national public holidays, including New Year’s Day, Labour Day, Independence Day (2 days), and Christmas. Additional regional holidays may apply depending on the employee’s location.

Parental Leave

  • Maternity leave: 98 days (49 days before and 49 after birth).
  • In cases of multiple births or complications, additional leave is granted.
  • Paternity leave: 4 calendar days.
  • Lactation benefit: 1 hour per workday until the child turns one.

Sick Leave

  • Employer pays for the first 20 days of sick leave.
  • From day 21 onward, EsSalud (social security) covers sick pay, reimbursing the employer.
  • Maximum coverage: 11 months and 10 days.

Overtime Regulations

  • Overtime is voluntary and must be compensated.
  • First 2 hours: minimum 25% surcharge.
  • Subsequent hours: minimum 35% surcharge.
  • Overtime at night compounds with night work premium.
  • Employers must document and track overtime accurately.

Minimum Wage and Compensation in Peru

  • Minimum wage (September 2023): 1,025 PEN/month.
  • Bonuses: Employees receive two statutory bonuses — one in July (Independence Day) and one in December (Christmas) — each equal to one month’s salary.
  • CTS (Compensation for Time of Service):
    • Semi-annual deposits (May and November).
    • Equivalent to ~1 month’s pay per year, accrued at 1/12 per month.
    • Funds held in a designated bank account under the employee’s name.
    • Minimum one month of service required to qualify.

Employment Termination Rules

Notice Periods

  • Employee resignation: 30 days’ notice.
  • Employer-initiated termination for economic reasons: 6 to 30 days’ written notice, depending on seniority and contract type.
  • Employers must issue a written explanation of the reason for dismissal and the effective date.

Severance and Compensation

  • Without cause: Severance equals 1.5 monthly salaries per full year worked, capped at 12 months’ compensation.
  • With just cause (e.g. gross misconduct): No severance required.
  • Unjustified dismissal: May result in a reinstatement order or additional compensation, at the employee’s discretion.

Planning Employment Costs in Peru: Use the Global Payroll Calculator

Hiring in Peru isn’t just a legal and financial decision. Labour costs can be distorted by mandatory bonuses, compensation for time of service (CTS), night work premiums, and social security obligations. For foreign employers unfamiliar with local cost structures, assumptions based on home-country norms often prove inaccurate.

Global Payroll Calculator provides a clear way to model the actual cost of hiring employees in Peru —both local and foreign nationals. It reflects country-specific tax rates, gross-to-net,gross-to-net calculations, employer liabilities, and statutory benefits in real time.

Whether you’re comparing Peru to other Latin American markets or building out a full employment cost forecast, the tool helps avoid under-budgeting and unexpected margin erosion.

Hire talent in Peru with Acumen International

When you’re hiring in Peru without a legal entity, you need more than payroll support. You need a legal structure to employ people, register them with EsSalud, comply with labour contract requirements, and navigate rules on bonuses, leave, and termination. That’s what Acumen provides.

We act as the legal employer, while you retain control of day-to-day work. We manage employment contracts, register and administer employees in full compliance with Peruvian law, process local payroll with statutory benefits, and handle all employment obligations.

What you get isn’t a hands-off outsourcing service. It’s an infrastructure for hiring in Peru without the cost or risk of setting up a company. It enables you to build a team, understand real costs, and comply with local rules — all without losing operational oversight.

If you’re planning to expand into Peru or need to employ someone here quickly, we provide the legal, operational, and compliance layer that allows you to do so safely and efficiently.

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