The indefinite-term contract is the default and legally preferred form of employment in Honduras. The Labor Code presumes the relationship indefinite unless a written, justified fixed term is agreed. Full statutory job-stability protections apply after probation.
Fixed-term (plazo fijo) and for-a-specific-task contracts must be in writing and justified by the temporary nature of the work; cannot be used to circumvent indefinite hiring. Lacking justification, or continuing past the end date, presumes/converts to indefinite. Repeated back-to-back renewals carry reclassification risk. No severance generally owed on natural expiry.
8 hrs/day and 44 hrs/week daytime (6am-6pm); 6 hrs/day/36 hrs/week night (6pm-6am); 7 hrs/day/42 hrs/week mixed shifts. Overtime paid +25% daytime, rising to ~175-200% night/holiday/rest-day (multiplier disputed across sources). Weekly paid rest day mandatory, generally Sunday.
Statutory probation up to 60 days (shorter, ~15 days, for domestic workers per some sources). Must be agreed in writing at contract start, paid at normal wage.
Honduras mandates BOTH a 13th-month bonus (Aguinaldo, Dec) AND a 14th-month bonus (Bono 14/Bono Vacacional, by Jun 30). Each equals one month's average salary, prorated for partial years, ISR-exempt up to 10x average monthly minimum wage.
None. Honduras does not have a general statutory job-title classification regulation. Minimum wage is set by economic sector and company-size tier, not by job title.
IHSS 8.5% (5.0% sickness/maternity + 3.5% disability/old-age/death), capped ~HNL 11,290-11,903/mo (sources differ); INFOP training levy 1.0% (5+ employees); RAP Reserve Labor Fund 4.0% (capped ~HNL 57,896.16/mo); RAP FOVIIF 1.5% on salary above the IHSS ceiling. Total ~13.5-15%.
IHSS 5.0% (deducted up to the same ceiling; some sources instead cite 2.5% employee/8.5% employer split), plus RAP FOVIIF 1.5% on salary above the IHSS ceiling. No employee-side INFOP or Reserve Labor Fund deduction. Total ~5-6.5%.
In addition to statutory leave, employees are entitled to the following statutory benefits:
Honduran payroll contributions fund three mandatory programs administered by IHSS, INFOP, and RAP. Combined, employer contributions total ~13.5-15% of gross salary and employee ~5-6.5% (see Review Flags for source discrepancies).
Work-injury and occupational-illness coverage is provided through the Riesgos Profesionales regime administered by IHSS, alongside Illness/Maternity and Disability/Old-Age/Death insurance.
Employer-funded, covering medical care, temporary/permanent disability subsidies, and death benefits from workplace accidents or occupational disease. Employers must also maintain safe working conditions and protective equipment for hazardous roles. Specific benefit calculation formulas were not found in sources reviewed — treat as a research gap pending IHSS/STSS confirmation.
Severance (auxilio de cesantía) is owed when an indefinite-contract employee with at least 3 months of service is dismissed without just cause. No severance for just-cause dismissals, fixed-term natural expiry, or terminations during probation.
Formula scales with tenure: 10 days' pay for 3-6 months, 20 days' pay for 6mo-1yr, 1 month's salary per year for 1+ years, calculated on average monthly salary over the preceding 6 months, capped at 25 months' salary. Departing employees also owed accrued unused vacation and proportional 13th/14th month pay.
Honduran law requires two separate annual bonus payments, both one month's average salary (prorated for partial years): the Aguinaldo (13th month), paid in December, and the Bono 14/Bono Vacacional (14th month), paid by June 30. Both exempt from income tax (ISR) up to 10x the average monthly minimum wage, excess taxed at marginal rate.
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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.
