COUNTRY

Written Agreements

In Honduras, written employment contracts are mandatory, except for domestic work, seasonal jobs not lasting more than 60 days, or whose value does not exceed HNL 200. A written contract must include the following information about both parties involved and the conditions of employment:

• Employee name, nationality, age, sex, marital status, dependents, profession, and address
• Employer name and any other relevant particulars
• Work description
• Type of contract and start date
• Where the work will take place, working hours, and the wages and benefits provided by the employer
• Place and date of the contract and signatures of the contracting parties

Oral Agreements

Oral contracts are allowed under the Labor Code of Honduras in the following situations:

• Domestic service
• Accidental or temporary work for a maximum of 60 days
• A specific job with a value of less than HNL 200 (Honduran lempiras)
• Agricultural work

Implied Agreements

In Honduras, the labor law does not offer provisions or guidance on implied employment contracts. Written employment contracts are mandatory, except for domestic work, seasonal jobs lasting less than 60 days, or jobs whose value does not exceed HNL 200 (Honduran lempira).

The Honduran Labor Code sets the standard workday at 8 hours and the standard workweek at 44 hours for daytime work (36 hours for night work). Employees are paid 48 hours per week of salary. Employees working greater than these standard hours must be paid overtime.

The Labor Code defines daytime work as any work performed between 5:00 AM and 7:00 PM and night work as work performed between 7:00 PM and 5:00 AM. In the case of mixed workdays that include both daytime and night work, the night work hours may not exceed 3, otherwise, it will be considered a night shift. A mixed day can be a maximum of 7 hours, and a mixed week cannot exceed 42 working hours.

• New Year’s Day - January 1
• Day of the Americas - April 14
• Holy Thursday - April 17
• Good Friday - April 18
• Easter Saturday - April 19
• Labor Day - May 1
• Central American Independence Day - September 15
• Francisco Morazan's Birthday - October 6
• Discovery of America - October 12
• Honduran Armed Forces Day - October 27
• Christmas Day - December 25

In Honduras, employees are entitled to paid annual leave after having worked for 12 continuous months for the same employer and can take advantage of it if they have worked for at least 200 days in the preceding year. The length of the leave depends on the length of service, as follows:

• 10 working days for 1 year of continuous service
• 12 working days for 2 years of continuous service
• 15 working days for 3 years of continuous service
• 20 working days for at least 4 years of service

Splitting or accumulation of annual leave is not generally permitted. However, in exceptional cases, where the nature of the work does not allow for extended absences, annual leave may be accumulated for 2 years.

In Honduras, workers are entitled to paid sick leave in the case of temporary disability or sickness that results from an occupational accident. Paid sick leave is offered at a rate of 2 paid sick days per month for the first 12 months of employment and 4 paid sick days per month after the first 12 months, up to 120 paid sick days. In some cases, sick leave may be extended up to one year, but at the end of the sick leave, the employee must be fit for work.

In the case of non-occupational disease, the leave is entirely covered by the employer for the first 3 days, and after that, the employer pays half of the sick pay, and Social Security covers the other half (the period the employer pays half of the sickness benefit is based on the employee's length of service). Once the employer's obligation to pay a partial sickness benefit expires, the employee is paid an amount varying between 23%-75% of his or her former wage by Social Security.

The Labor Code of Honduras provides for fully paid maternity leave for 10 weeks (70 days) upon proof of pregnancy in the form of a medical certificate that indicates pregnancy, the expected delivery date, and the commencement date of maternity leave. The 10 weeks of maternity leave are split into 2 parts: 4 weeks before the expected delivery date and six weeks after.

Employees receive their normal wages while out on maternity leave. The Honduran Institute of Social Security covers 66% of wages for insured employees, while the employer is responsible for paying the remaining 34% of salary. If the employee is not enrolled with the Social Security Institute or has not made at least 10 contributions immediately before the start of maternity leave, the employer is liable to pay the employee's full salary.

There are no provisions in the Labor Code of Honduras regarding paid or unpaid paternity leave.

Minimum Wage

Depending on the size of the company and industry, the minimum wage may vary. The current minimum monthly wage rates vary between HNL 9,053.43 (Honduran lempiras) for agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industries and HNL 18,036.18 for financial institutions, real estate, and services provided to companies.

Salary must be paid in a periodic manner, the term of which is set by the employees and employer, not exceeding 1 week for manual workers or 1 month for other employees and domestic workers.

Overtime, Holiday & Vacation Pay

The labor law of Honduras sets the standard workday at 8 hours and the standard workweek at 44 hours for daytime work and 36 hours for night work. Employees working greater than these standard hours must be paid overtime compensation. A working day must not exceed 12 hours (regular hours and overtime). An employee can work a maximum of 16 overtime hours a week. The overtime pay rates are as follows:

• 125% of the standard rate for daytime overtime work
• 175% of the standard night work rate for overtime hours worked during the night
• 200% for overtime hours worked during weekly rest days and public holidays

If an employee is required to work on rest days or public holidays due to the nature of their work or an emergency, they will be paid twice their normal salary for the day. An employer must pay the employee salary that would come due over the employee's annual leave at least 3 days before the employee goes on vacation. If the employment is terminated before the enjoyment of annual leave, the employee receives compensation in lieu of it.

Notice Period

The Honduran Labor Code requires employers to give a written dismissal notice indicating the cause for termination of an employment contract. If the contract is oral, notice can be given verbally before 2 witnesses. The length of the notice period differs depending on the employee’s length of service as follows:

• 24 hours notice for service of fewer than 3 months
• 1 week of notice for service between 3 and 6 months
• 2 weeks of notice for service between 6 and 12 months
• 1 month of notice for service between 1 and 2 years
• 2 months of notice for service of more than 2 years

Said notices can be omitted by any parties paying the other the corresponding amount.

Severance Benefits

In Honduras, the Labor Code states that severance payment shall be provided when an employment contract of an indefinite period is terminated in each of the following situations:

• Unfair dismissal
• Any reason beyond the employee's control
• Voluntary retirement or death of the employee due to a labor accident

The severance payment in these situations varies, depending on the worker's length of employment:

• 10 days wage for employees with 3 to 6 months of service
• 20 days wage for employees with 6 months to 1 year of service
• 30 days (1 month) wage for each year of work for employees with more than 1 year of service, not to exceed 8 months of wages

Pension

In Honduras, there are 2 types of pension programs: a social insurance program and a mandatory individual account system. The Honduran Social Security Institute (Instituto Hondureño de Seguridad Social) collects contributions for the country's social insurance program, while the Pension Fund Administrators (Administradoras de Fondo de Pensiones) administers the mandatory individual accounts.

To qualify for an old-age pension (pensión por vejez) the insured person must reach age 65 (men) or age 60 (women) and have at least 180 months of contributions.

Insured persons who qualify for an old-age pension will receive 40% of their basic monthly earnings, plus 1% of basic monthly earnings for every 12 months of contributions exceeding 60 months. Insured persons may withdraw up to the total account balance from a mandatory individual account, which may be paid as programmed withdrawals or a lump sum.

Dependents/Survivors Benefits

A survivors pension (pensión por sobrevivencia) is available if, in case of a death resulting from an illness, the deceased made at least 36 months of contributions in the last 6 years or for a death resulting from a non-work-related accident, if the deceased made 8 months of contributions in the 24 months before death. The deceased person must have at least one month of covered employment to be eligible for survivor benefits for an occupational death.

Eligible survivors include a widow(er) or partner aged 65 or older or with a disability and children younger than age 14 (age 18 if a student; no limit if disabled). If there is no widow(er), partner, or child, the deceased's mother of any age and the deceased's father older than age 65 or with a disability are entitled to survivor benefits. The maximum combined survivor pension is 100% of the social insurance old-age or disability pension the deceased received or was entitled to receive.

Invalidity Benefits

To qualify for a disability pension (pensión por invalidez), the insured must have at least a 65% assessed loss of earning capacity for their usual occupation and at least 36 months of contributions in the last six years.

Insured persons who qualify for a disability pension will receive 40% of their basic monthly earnings plus 1% of basic monthly earnings for every 12 months of contributions exceeding 60 months multiplied by the loss of earning capacity. The minimum monthly disability pension is 50% of the insured's basic monthly earnings or HNL 1,500 (Honduran lempiras), whichever is greater. The maximum monthly disability pension is 80% of the insured's basic monthly earnings. The constant-attendance supplement is worth up to 50% of the disability pension.

In case of work injury, there are 2 types of benefits that are paid - temporary disability and permanent disability.