Ecuador

Additional leave compliance rules and complexities

Annual leave

Employees in Ecuador are entitled to 15 days’ paid leave a year. If they stay in a role for more than five years, they receive an extra day’s annual leave for every subsequent year they spend with the company. In Ecuador, employees must make payments to the Ecuadorean Social Security Institute (IESS).

Sick leave

Their entitlement to sick pay depends on the contributions they’ve made to the IESS: 180 days within 6 months before the onset of illness, or 189 days within 8 months. If employees have made these contributions, their employer provides sick pay for their first three days of illness, with IESS taking over from the fourth day.

Maternity and paternity leave

IESS also pays 75% of maternity pay, with the employer paying the remaining 25%, for up to 12 weeks of maternity leave. Male employees can take up to 10 days of paternity leave. Though if it was a caesarian birth, it can take 15 days, or 18 days if the baby was premature. Any parent can take up to 25 days’ leave if their child is hospitalized.