Guatemala

Additional leave compliance rules and complexities

Annual leave

After one year of service, Guatemala employees get a minimum of 15 days’ paid leave each year. Sick pay is set at 50% of an employee’s pay rate and, depending on the cause of the illness, it’s either paid by the employer or the state.

Sick leave

The amount of sick leave an employee can take depends on how long they’ve been in the role. They can take 1 month of paid sick leave if they’ve been in service for 2 – 6 months. This extends to 2 months of paid sick leave for 6 – 9 months of service. After 9 months of service, employees can take up to 3 months’ paid sick leave. However, if an employee has not recovered by the end of their sick leave, their employer suspends their employment agreement. They can terminate the employee’s contract if they’ve just caused it, but most of the time they’ll simply suspend payment until the employee’s ready to return to work.

Maternity and paternity leave

Mothers can take up to 84 days of maternity leave, but there are no statutory provisions for paternity leave or shared parental leave.

Bereavement leave

Guatemalan employees can take 3 days’ paid leave for bereavement.

Wedding leave

Guatemalan employees can take up to 5 days’ paid leave for weddings.

Labor union leave

Guatemalan employees can take up to 6 days’ paid leave to carry out labor union duties.