Guatemala
Min. wage
(x14 payments)
Q4,252.28 /mo
About the minimum wage
Employer tax
12.67%
Understand employer tax
Annual leave
15 days
Learn about annual leave
Notice period
1-4 weeks (by tenure)
Termination and notice info
Updated
Sep 2026
The standard and default contract type in Guatemala, presumed when no fixed term or specific task is agreed. Provides full statutory protections, including notice and severance entitlements upon unjustified termination.
Fixed-term (plazo fijo) contracts permitted for genuinely temporary work (specific projects, seasonal labor, leave coverage) and must state a specific start/end date. No fixed statutory maximum duration, but courts apply 'primacy of reality': repeated renewals (commonly 3+) for a functionally permanent role reclassify as indefinite. Natural expiry requires no advance notice and carries no severance — only proportional accrued benefits owed.
Daytime shift: 44 hrs/week (8 hrs/day). Night shift: 36 hrs/week (6 hrs/day). Mixed shift: 42 hrs/week (7 hrs/day). Absolute daily cap 12 hours. Overtime paid at +50% (150% of normal rate); work on rest days/holidays paid at double rate.
Up to 2 months, agreed in writing (may be shorter, never longer). Either party may terminate freely without notice or severance liability during probation — only earned wages and proportional accrued benefits owed. Full statutory protections apply only once probation ends.
Both Aguinaldo (Christmas bonus, one month's average salary, paid 50% by Dec 12 and 50% by Jan 15) and Bono 14 (14th-month bonus, one month's average salary, paid in full by Jul 15) are mandatory statutory bonuses, in addition to normal monthly salary.
None. Guatemala's Labor Code does not impose a general job-title classification or grading regulation on employers.
12.67% of payroll: ~10.67% to IGSS (covering EMA healthcare/maternity and IVS pension/disability) plus 1% to INTECAP (vocational training) and 1% to IRTRA (worker recreation parks). Internal IGSS sub-split is the best-supported reconciliation but should be verified against the current IGSS acuerdo.
4.83% of gross salary to IGSS, split roughly between EMA (healthcare/maternity, ~2%) and IVS (pension/disability, ~1.83%), plus a small administrative component, withheld directly from payroll.
In addition to statutory leave, employees are entitled to the following statutory benefits:
Guatemala's social security system is administered by IGSS and funded jointly by employers and employees, with two additional employer-only contributions to INTECAP and IRTRA. Combined statutory contributions total approximately 17.5% of gross salary.
Exact IGSS internal sub-split varies slightly by source and should be verified against the current IGSS acuerdo before binding payroll calculations.
Guatemala does not have a separate private workers' compensation insurance system; occupational accidents/illnesses are covered under the IGSS EMA program, funded through standard employer/employee IGSS contributions.
IGSS-affiliated employees suffering a workplace accident or occupational illness are entitled to free medical treatment, hospitalization, rehabilitation, and prosthetic/orthopedic devices, plus a cash subsidy for lost income during recovery. Permanent disability/death provides disability or survivor pensions. Employers must report workplace accidents to IGSS; employers who fail to affiliate workers can be held directly liable for costs IGSS would otherwise have covered.
Severance (indemnización) is owed when an indefinite-term employee is dismissed without just cause (despido injustificado), or in certain constructive dismissal cases. Does not apply to justified dismissals (Art. 77), resignations, or fixed-term contracts ending naturally.
Statutory formula is one month's salary per year of service (or proportional part), calculated on average total ordinary and extraordinary compensation over the last 6 months. If the employer provided non-cash benefits (housing, food, etc.), an additional 30% is added to the severance base. Paid in addition to outstanding wages, proportional aguinaldo/Bono 14, and accrued unused vacation.
Guatemala mandates two separate annual bonus payments, both equal to one month's average salary, on top of the regular 12 monthly salaries.
Aguinaldo (Christmas bonus) — paid 50% by December 12 and 50% by January 15.
Bono 14 (14th-month bonus) — paid in a single installment by July 15, commemorating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Both calculated on the employee's average salary over the preceding 12 months (or proportional period if less), and must be paid in full — proportionally — even to employees who resign or are dismissed.
P.S. our team speaks multiple languages and we'd love to chat in your preferred language if requested.
Your employee's hours, time off, holidays, bonuses, and commissions are automatically calculated into payroll. RemoFirst will invoice you in either US Dollars (USD), Euros (EUR), British Pounds (GBP), Canadian Dollars (CAD), Australian Dollars (AUD), or Singapore Dollars (SGD) around the 15th of each month to make sure your employees are paid on time. To make it even easier, you can summarize your entire global team's salaries to aggregate them into one payment (instead of many individual payments).
Unlike full-time employees, contractors work on projects with multiple companies at a given time and are technically self-employed. Full-time employees are solely focused on their employer and usually receive benefits (such as health insurance, equity or stock options, and time off) as an additional form of compensation. While it can be cheaper to work with international contractors instead of paying benefits to a full-time employee, you run the risk of misclassification. It's recommended to work with an EOR for contractor onboarding and payments, so you can know that your international contractors are paid compliantly and on time.
Whenever the employee or employer has a question about, or anything else related to international employment, they can speak with our customer support team to get answers from our team of experts.
