Employer of record in Peru: costs, rules and how to hire

The first row is the one that can invalidate the arrangement rather than adjust its price.

Resolve these points before the offer

Ask the provider to answer each of these against the actual role and employing entity.

Law 27626 permits labour intermediation for temporary, complementary or specialised work. Temporary placements cover occasional work or replacement of an absent worker and normally cannot exceed 20% of the client company's total workforce, while complementary and specialised services have separate autonomy requirements. None of that gives the client a general right to direct permanent core staff through another employer.

Placed workers have statutory pay and working-condition rights, and the client must verify the provider's registration and document the permitted service. If the provider's guarantee is insufficient, the client can be jointly liable for relevant unpaid employment obligations, and an unlawful arrangement can establish an employment relationship with the client from the start. Allocate safety, records, supervision and employee support in the provider agreement.

Ask the provider to explain its legal basis in the proposal and contract, and check responsibilities for workplace safety, supervision and employee support as well as payroll.

Probation is three months as standard and can reach a year for management, so the contract type and category deserve attention before the offer.

Put the employment terms in writing

Indefinite employment can legally be agreed verbally or in writing, but written terms give the employer and worker a clear record, and fixed-term and part-time contracts must be written. Record the employer, duties, workplace, hours, gross pay and payday, benefits, probation and any remote-work terms. Use Spanish terms the worker can understand and have the provider confirm any translation requirements.

The ordinary requirement to register fixed-term contracts was removed by Legislative Decree 1246 in November 2016, though the labour authority can still inspect their formal requirements. Do not apply that change to every filing, because part-time, foreign-worker and labour-intermediation arrangements can retain separate registration or submission duties.

Indefinite, fixed-term and part-time work

Use the relevant statutory category and describe the objective reason and duration in writing. Category limits differ: starting a new activity has a three-year maximum, while successive contracts under different ordinary categories generally cannot exceed five years together, and specific-work, seasonal and special export arrangements need their own assessment. Continuing after expiry or using a sham temporary reason can make the relationship indefinite.

For benefits requiring at least four hours per day, calculate average daily hours by dividing the weekly hours by five or six days, as applicable. A worker below that threshold does not automatically lose every benefit: general-regime gratifications can still apply, while CTS and ordinary 30-day annual leave have their own eligibility rules. Sunafil recognises six days of annual leave for covered workers below four hours.

A special export contract is not a general exemption for every textile or garment employer. Establish the statutory category and its conditions before using a temporary arrangement.

Probation and the payday

The ordinary probation period is three months rather than a fixed 90-day count. A justified extension must be agreed in writing and cannot exceed six months in total for qualified or trusted workers or one year for management personnel. Statutory benefits still accrue, and protection against discriminatory or pregnancy-related dismissal can apply during probation.

A monthly payroll can be agreed in the employment terms, and Peruvian legislation also recognises weekly and fortnightly pay. State the pay frequency and date, calculate gross pay and deductions, and give the employee a payslip no later than the third working day after payment. Do not present a universal month-end payday as a statutory rule.

The employer must register the worker in the applicable electronic payroll records, calculate deductions and declare and pay the required amounts. EsSalud and relevant SUNAT withholding use monthly payroll reporting through PLAME, while AFP payments have their own deadlines. Agree who collects variable pay, approves payroll, supplies payslips and reconciles payments, because a provider invoice is not proof that contributions reached the authorities.

State the actual employer, duties, work location, schedule, salary, benefits and any collective terms, and agree who approves changes and communicates with the employee. A PEO or payroll-service name does not establish who holds the employment obligations.

Misclassification risk, and the presumption of indefinite employment

Peru presumes the answer, and the presumption is the strongest form of it: personal, paid work under another party's direction is presumed to be indefinite employment. Not employment in general, indefinite employment, which is the most protected category available. Source: the approved Peruvian contractor guidance, compendium of private-regime labour rules via gob.pe, checked 18 September 2026.

Calling someone an independent contractor does not remove that presumption, so control, duties and the way the work is performed have to be assessed before using a services contract, and payroll and employment rights may apply if the relationship is employment. Source: the approved Peruvian contractor guidance, checked 18 September 2026.

What a hirer does about it: treat a Peruvian services contract for a person who works under your direction as a decision to run an indefinite employment relationship without provisioning for it, because that is what a finding would mean, with the gratifications and the severance deposit backdated. Where the work is directed by you, employ the person.

The employer's direct contribution is a single line, EsSalud at 9%, and almost everything else on the payslip is an employee deduction.

The provider invoice and your own business

The combined general sales-tax burden is 18% in 2026, which SUNAT describes as 15.5% IGV plus 2.5% municipal promotion tax. Ask the provider how the applicable service and cross-border rules affect its invoice, and whether quoted fees include tax, and do not add 18% to salary itself as though it were a payroll contribution. Under the general corporate tax regime, annual income tax is normally 29.5% of taxable profit, with monthly payments on account, and that is not an additional levy on each employee's salary. If you establish your own operation, assess the business's tax regime, deductions, reporting and permanent-establishment position separately from the payroll budget.

An OECD comparison can help explain a country's overall tax burden. It does not replace SUNAT's current rules, the employee's tax position or the employer's actual payroll calculation.

The minimum wage has stood at PEN 1,130 since January 2025, and an announced increase is not yet law, so the floor has to be checked against an enacted decree rather than a headline.

Set a salary for the role

The ordinary monthly minimum wage is PEN 1,130 under Supreme Decree 006-2024-TR, effective from 1 January 2025, and EsSalud's government guidance still uses that amount in its March 2026 update. Check the worker's hours, sector and any higher contractual or collective entitlement, because the amount is a legal floor rather than a recommended salary for every role.

INEI reports national average monthly labour income of PEN 1,966.30 for July 2025 to June 2026 in its second-quarter 2026 EPEN report. This includes employees and independent workers, main and secondary work, and specified extraordinary payments, so it is not a gross full-time employee salary average or a Lima-only figure. Use occupation, experience and location to set a hiring budget.

The government has announced a proposed increase to PEN 1,300, and the MTPE's August 2026 statement describes starting the process through the National Labour Council. This audit did not establish a published decree bringing that amount into effect by 14 September 2026. Keep the approved PEN 1,130 floor until an enacted change and its effective date are confirmed.

Use the legal floor to check compliance and a relevant occupation and location benchmark to set an offer. A national income statistic includes people and payments that may differ from your proposed full-time role.

Pay and benefit dates to budget for

Five payments sit in the annual calendar, and three of them fall outside the ordinary monthly cycle.

The statutory family allowance is 10% of the minimum wage, currently PEN 113 per month, for an eligible employee with one or more qualifying children. It is one allowance rather than a payment for each child. Coverage includes children under 18, qualifying higher education for up to six further years, and specified severe-disability cases. Check evidence and any more favourable equivalent benefit, and note that the allowance is remuneration for applicable benefit calculations.

In the ordinary private-sector regime, July and December gratifications each equal one monthly computable remuneration for a full qualifying semester, and a shorter qualifying period accrues one-sixth for each complete calendar month. Payment is due in the first half of July and December. Together they commonly add two monthly payments to twelve regular salaries, so describing the obligation as just one thirteenth salary understates the cost.

Alongside each statutory gratification, the employer pays an extraordinary bonus normally equal to 9% of the gratification, or 6.75% for an employee covered by an EPS. The statutory gratifications are exempt from pension and health contributions under Law 30334, though income tax, court-ordered deductions and authorised deductions can still apply. Do not deduct ordinary ONP or AFP contributions from these exempt payments.

Eligible ordinary-regime employees averaging at least four hours daily receive CTS, a savings benefit funded by the employer. Deposit the relevant accrual in the first 15 days of May and November, with a move to the next working day if the deadline is non-working. The base includes qualifying regular remuneration and one-sixth of the semester's gratification, and for an unchanged full-year salary this commonly totals about seven-sixths of one monthly salary.

Law 32322 allows workers to withdraw up to 100% of accumulated CTS through 31 December 2026, and it also provides a separate route for specified terminal-illness or cancer cases. Employers must continue the required deposits, because permission for the employee to withdraw savings is not permission to replace CTS with an informal salary allowance.

Hours, overtime and rest

The ordinary maximum for adult employees is eight hours a day or 48 hours a week. A shorter contractual or collective schedule can apply, and permitted cumulative or atypical schedules require the relevant averaging rules, while management, workers without immediate supervision and certain intermittent roles have specific exclusions. Record the actual agreed schedule, because a remote role is not automatically exempt.

Overtime is generally voluntary, with narrow emergency exceptions. The first two overtime hours in a day carry at least a 25% supplement and subsequent hours at least 35%, calculated using the worker's applicable ordinary hourly pay. Written agreement can provide equivalent rest, ordinarily by the following calendar month unless otherwise agreed, and there is no general two-hour daily overtime cap in the cited ordinary rule.

Ordinary night work runs from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. The current rule sets a minimum pay floor of the minimum wage plus 35%, giving PEN 1,525.50 for a full night schedule at the PEN 1,130 minimum. A June 2026 congressional committee approved a proposal for a different hourly supplement, and committee approval alone does not enact it. Confirm any later law before changing payroll.

For a continuous working schedule, the meal break must be at least 45 minutes and normally falls outside paid working time unless collective terms provide otherwise. The ordinary weekly rest entitlement is at least 24 consecutive hours, preferably Sunday, and work on a rest day without the required substitute rest can trigger the normal work payment plus a 100% supplement.

Annual leave is 30 calendar days, which is generous on paper and closer to four working weeks once weekends are counted.

Annual leave and public holidays

The ordinary regime provides 30 calendar days of paid annual leave after a full year and the required work record. The usual record is 260 days for a six-day week or 210 for a five-day week, with credited absences and other schedules governed separately. The standard entitlement requires the applicable four-hour threshold, and qualifying part-time and MYPE workers can have different entitlements.

Leave dates are agreed with the worker, and the employer decides if no agreement is reached, considering the statutory rules. A written split can preserve 15 days in blocks of seven and eight, with the other 15 available in blocks as short as one day, and a written agreement can exchange up to 15 days for corresponding pay. Accumulation, advance leave and missed leave have separate conditions, so do not treat all 30 days as freely cashable.

Annual-leave pay normally equals what the employee would ordinarily receive and is due before leave starts, so keep leave and payment records. On termination, settle earned unused and qualifying pro-rated leave. Failing to grant leave within the statutory period can add compensation, and paying a monthly salary does not remove the duty to let the worker take leave.

The national statute lists 16 public holidays, including 7 June, 23 July, 6 August and 9 December as well as the established holidays. For covered work on a public holiday without substitute rest, pay the work and a 100% supplement in addition to the holiday pay, which is normally already included in a monthly salary. Government-declared compensable non-working days are a separate category and do not automatically create another private-sector paid holiday.

Insurance, profit sharing and the employment regime

The employer must arrange Seguro Vida Ley from the start of the employment relationship, including covered indefinite, fixed-term and part-time workers. The statutory cover includes defined benefits for natural death, accidental death and total permanent disability caused by accident. Obtain the actual premium and policy evidence, because 0.53% is not a universal statutory premium for every employee.

The employer must fund SCTR where the worker's activity and exposure fall within the covered high-risk rules, and there are two components: health coverage and pension coverage for qualifying disability, survival and funeral benefits. Check the official activity list, actual exposure and both policies. Do not charge every office worker a universal 1% rate without establishing coverage and the actual premium.

Qualifying private businesses generating third-category income and employing more than 20 workers generally share a percentage of qualifying annual profit. The ordinary sector rates range from 5% to 10%, and agriculture has a separate 7.5% rate for 2024 to 2026. Half the allocation depends on qualifying days and half on remuneration, subject to the statutory cap and exclusions. The EOR's employing business, rather than only your client team's size, needs assessment.

A qualifying registered micro or small employer can have a different employment-benefit regime. For example, Sunafil describes half-month gratifications for covered small-enterprise workers and no statutory gratifications under the qualifying microenterprise regime. Ask the EOR which regime legally applies to its employee and why, because your own team's small headcount does not by itself establish eligibility for reduced benefits.

Ask whether the offer includes additional health cover, a higher salary, extra leave or other benefits beyond the applicable minimum. Record those promises and their costs, and note that they do not replace required statutory payments.

Sickness and family leave

Seven absences carry statutory entitlements, and the employer funds the first stretch of sickness itself.

The employer continues ordinary remuneration for the first 20 certified incapacity days accumulated in the calendar year, and EsSalud subsidy can begin on day 21 and run for up to 11 months and 10 consecutive days under the applicable conditions. Contribution history, continuing employment and medical certification matter, and an accident has different contribution eligibility. The employer ordinarily advances the subsidy and seeks reimbursement.

Ordinary maternity leave is 98 days, generally 49 before and 49 after birth, and the pre-birth portion can be deferred with the required medical approval. Multiple birth or a child with a disability adds 30 days. EsSalud subsidy has contribution and employment conditions, including employment in the month of conception, and the ordinary employer pays the subsidy and claims reimbursement. Distinguish the leave entitlement from benefit eligibility.

The ordinary paid paternity entitlement is ten consecutive calendar days, extending to 20 days for premature or multiple births and 30 for the specified serious child or maternal conditions. The father can choose the permitted starting point around birth or discharge, and notification is normally due at least 15 days before the expected birth. If the mother dies during the relevant period, the father can also receive the remaining maternity leave.

An eligible employee adopting a child aged no more than 12 can receive 30 calendar days of paid leave, starting from the relevant placement or final court decision, and the employee must give at least 15 calendar days of advance notice of the intention to use it. The statute limits the total to 30 days per calendar year and has a specific rule where the applicants are married employees. Confirm the applicable documentation and family circumstances.

The law provides up to seven calendar days of paid leave for specified close relatives with a serious or terminal illness or a life-threatening accident. Necessary additional leave of up to 30 days can be charged to annual leave, with further arrangements subject to agreement, and a separate exceptional benefit can cover up to a year where the employee's child under 18 has cancer, with employer and EsSalud funding rules. Notify the employer and provide the required medical evidence.

Private-sector employees have five calendar days of paid leave on the death of a spouse, parent, child or sibling, and where the death occurs in a different location from the workplace the statutory travel-distance rules can extend the period. Tell the employer the proposed dates and provide the required supporting evidence, and note that more favourable employment terms can add leave.

A mother has one hour of paid breastfeeding time each day until the child reaches one year, with specific arrangements for splitting the time and multiple births, and the period counts as work. Employers with 20 or more women of childbearing age must also assess the separate workplace lactation-room requirements, because use of that room and breastfeeding leave are distinct rights.