Additional leave compliance rules and complexities

Annual leave

Employees in Uruguay get 20 days’ paid leave a year. If they stay in a role for 5 years, they get an extra day of paid leave per year. They then get an additional day’s leave for every four years they spend in a role. The total number of statutory annual leave days an employee can accrue in one role is 25. Employees divide this leave into two periods, and the shortest period of paid leave each year must be no less than 10 days. Employees receive a “vacation salary” on top of their annual leave allowance. This is equivalent to 100% of their daily wage, so workers in Uruguay essentially get paid twice for every day they take off.

Sick leave

When it comes to sick leave, the employer pays the employee’s full salary for the first 3 days of illness, after which social security takes overpayments.

Maternity and paternity

Mothers can take 6 weeks of maternity leave before their child’s birth and 8 weeks after the birth, while fathers can take up to 10 days of paternity leave.