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Annual leave is an inalienable right for employees and cannot be compensated in lieu of. All employees have the right to annual leave of 15 days. Employees under 18 years of age have right to 18 days' annual leave. Employees who have worked for more than 5 years with the same employer are entitled to additional leave of 1 day per extra year of service. The choice between additional days due to seniority or payment in money will depend on the employer.

Annual leave is paid in accordance with the average salary of the employee and is paid in advance. If an employee's contract is terminated without having enjoyed vacations, he/she will receive compensation for unused leave the proportional part to the time of services.

Employees can choose to not use vacations for up to three consecutive years, in order to accumulate them in the fourth year. In case of work technical work or trusts for which it is difficult to replace the worker for a short time, the employer may deny the vacation in one year to accumulate it to the following year. If the worker does not get to enjoy the vacation due to leaving the service, he/she will have the right to remuneration corresponding to those not enjoyed, with 100% premium over their usual wages.

Employees are entitled to sick leave if they have paid 6 months of continuous contribution before the onset of non-occupational disease. They must inform their employers and labor inspector in writing within the first 3 days of their sickness, along with a medical certificate from a doctor from the Directorate of General Individual and Family Health Insurance of the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (IESS). The benefits are paid for a maximum of 185 days. The employer covers the first 3 days, and the IESS pays the remaining. The benefit is paid from the fourth day as 75% of the last remuneration.

Employers must pay sickness benefits at 50% of their wages to employees who are not entitled to IESS sickness benefits. Such benefits are paid for a maximum of 2 months.

All female employees in Ecuador have the right to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, 2 weeks before delivery, and 10 weeks after.

Employees are entitled to 15 months of optional unpaid leave after paid maternity leave has ended to care for their biological or adopted children.

Adoptive employees are entitled to adoption leave for 30 days from the date of leaving the adoption entity. Employees who adopt newborn children are entitled to the same paid and unpaid leaves as those provided to biological parent employees.

Employers are prohibited from dismissing pregnant employees and those on maternity leave, except for liquidation or disability that makes them unable to work.

Ecuador grants fathers 15 days of paid and 15 days of unpaid paternity leave. Employees are entitled to 15 months of optional unpaid leave after paid maternity leave has ended to care for their biological or adopted children. In case of premature birth, the leave is increased by eight days and when the child is born with a disease - degenerative, terminal or irreversible, or with a degree of severe disability, the parent can take paid leave of up to 25 days.

In the event of the death of the mother during childbirth or while enjoying maternity leave, the father may make use of all, or where appropriate, of the remaining part of the maternity leave that would have corresponded to the mother if she had not died.

Pension

All employers in Ecuador must register their employees with the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (IESS), which provides pension benefits. There is no fixed age for retirement. The retirement pension is granted from the month a member ceases employment and fulfills the following requirements:

Retirement pension is the average of 5 best years of income on which contributions are paid. This average is multiplied by the annual coefficient corresponding to the number of years of contributions. The pension coefficient increases by 0.0125 for each additional contribution year beyond 40 years.

In addition to their regular pension, retirees receive an additional month's pension as a Christmas bonus in December. A fourteenth pension is paid in September of each year for pensioners from the Sierra and Amazon regions and in April for those of the coast and insular region. The amount is equal to a unified minimum wage in force in the year of payment.

Dependents/Survivors Benefits

The Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (IESS) provides survivors' pension to widowed spouses, cohabitants, children under 18 years of age or disabled, and in absence of these, to financially dependent parents of a deceased member. The members must have been recipient of old age or invalidity pension or active member with at least 60 contributions.

The surviving spouse of legal cohabitant receives 60% of the pension the deceased was entitled to. If there are children, they receive the remaining 40% of the pension divided proportionally. In the absence of these, parents of the deceased receive 40% of the pension the deceased was entitled to. The right to pension ceases upon death, remarriage or reaching 18 years of age.

In case of death due to work injury or occupational disease within 180 days of the accident or beginning of disease, employers are liable to pay survivors pension to the heir of the deceased. This pension is paid as 60% of the pension the deceased was entitled to. If there are children, they receive the remaining 40% of the pension divided proportionally. In the absence of these, parents of the deceased receive 40% of the pension the deceased was entitled to.

Invalidity Benefits

The Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (IESS) provides disability pension to insured members who are permanently incapable of seeking temporary or definitive job proportionate to their ability, strength and training due to non-occupational reasons. To be eligible for this benefit, insured member must have paid at least 60 monthly contributions of which six must be immediately prior to disability. Unemployed insured members can avail disability benefit if their disability occurs within 2 years of being unemployed, provided they have paid a minimum of 120 contributions.

Disability pension is granted after medical approval from IESS qualifying physician and rehabilitation efforts. After this, a temporary subsidy is granted for up to a year. If the condition does not improve after that, an economic analyst proceeds to calculate the benefit and pension for life. Pension is calculated as average of 5 best years of income on which contributions are paid. This average is multiplied by the annual coefficient corresponding to the number of years of contributions.

In case of disability due to work injury or occupational illness, benefits are paid by employers. The employer will be obliged to pay for medical treatment and supply and renew normal use of prosthetic and orthopedic devices, the use of which is deemed necessary due to the injury suffered by the victim.

The minimum age for employment in Ecuador is 15 years. If an employer hires an employee under 15, he/she is liable to pay the employee double the remuneration and all benefits and benefits of social security, and will be fined. Working hours for employees under 18 years of age must not exceed 6 hours a day and 30 hours a week. Minors are prohibited from working on Saturdays, Sundays, mandatory rest days, and at night. Employees above 15 and under 18 who have not completed their basic education must be given 2 hours off daily so that they can attend school.

All employers employ people who are under 18 years of age must keep a special record that includes the name of the employer and the adolescent worker, birth certificate or identity card, the type of work to be done, duration of employment contract, the number of hours they work, the remuneration they receive and the certification that the adolescent has fulfilled or fulfills their basic education. A copy of this record is sent to the Regional Labor Director.