What to do when SUNAFIL inspects your company
A SUNAFIL inspection in Peru can start without notice. What a foreign-owned employer should do on day one, who should speak, and how to control the timeline.
Knowledge centre
Employment law insights for Peru
Reference guides and insights on the employment decisions that create the most exposure in Peru. Each piece separates the statute, the authority’s approach and our recommendation, cites official sources and explains Peruvian institutions for international readers.
Reference guides
- Guide · International employers Employing in Peru: a guide for international companies
- Guide · Inspections Labor inspections in Peru: a SUNAFIL guide for employers
- Guide · Hiring Employment contracts in Peru: an employer’s guide
- Guide · Termination Termination of employment in Peru: grounds, procedure and exposure
- Guide · Working time and pay Working time in Peru: hours, overtime and control
- Guide · Benefits Mandatory employee benefits in Peru: a compliance guide for employers
- Guide · Outsourcing Outsourcing and staffing in Peru: rules, limits and risks for employers
- Guide · Compliance Employment compliance in Peru: building a system that works
- Guide · Risk Employment risk in Peru: identifying, sizing and reducing exposure
Stages of a labor inspection in Peru, from order to sanction
The labor inspection process in Peru, stage by stage: investigation, compliance orders, infringement report, sanction procedure, appeals and collection.
Documents SUNAFIL can request, and how to keep them ready
Which employment records SUNAFIL can request in Peru, from payroll and payslips to attendance and safety files, and how foreign-owned employers keep them ready.
How labor fines are calculated in Peru
How labor fines are calculated in Peru: severity, affected workers, company size, UIT-based caps, small-business rules and repeat offences, with 2026 figures.
What happens if a company ignores a SUNAFIL request
What happens when a company in Peru misses a SUNAFIL request deadline: obstruction infringements, compliance orders, lost fine reductions, electronic notices.
Curing labor infringements in Peru to reduce fines
How curing a labor infringement reduces a SUNAFIL fine in Peru: the 90% reduction before the report, the 30% and 50% fine rules, and the conditions that apply.
Preparing for a SUNAFIL appearance summons
How to prepare for a SUNAFIL appearance summons in Peru: who should attend, which documents to bring, virtual sessions and what to do before signing the record.
Common employer mistakes during a labor inspection in Peru
The labor inspection mistakes that most often raise employer exposure in Peru, from obstruction and missed deadlines to inconsistent records, and how to avoid them.
Employment contracts in Peru: elements, forms and risk
How an employment contract works in Peru: the three defining elements, the presumption of indefinite employment, contract forms and the risks of global templates.
Fixed-term employment contracts in Peru: types, limits and requirements
Fixed-term contracts in Peru require an objective cause, written form and registration. The nine types, their maximum terms and the five-year cap, explained for employers.
When fixed-term contracts become indefinite in Peru
Fixed-term contract reclassification in Peru: the statutory triggers, the signs of simulation inspectors look for, and the dismissal and reinstatement exposure it creates.
Fixed-term contracts for new or increased activity in Peru
The Peruvian fixed-term contract for new or increased activity: when a start-up or expansion justifies it, the three-year limit, drafting the cause and common errors.
Fixed-term contracts for market needs in Peru: requirements and errors
When a Peruvian employer can use the market needs contract: temporary non-cyclical demand increases, the five-year limit, evidence of the cause and common drafting errors.
Probationary periods in Peru: duration, extension and termination
The probation period in Peru: the three-month rule, written extensions for qualified, trust and management roles, and what employers can and cannot do during probation.
Hiring foreign employees in Peru: quotas, contracts and immigration status
Hiring foreign employees in Peru: the 20% headcount and 30% payroll limits, exemptions, the foreign-worker contract, its approval and the immigration status required to work.
Dismissal for serious misconduct in Peru: grounds, proof and procedure
Dismissal for misconduct in Peru requires a statutory falta grave, objective proof and a written pre-dismissal procedure. What foreign employers must get right.
The notice of charges before a dismissal in Peru: content, timing and common errors
The pre-dismissal notice in Peru (carta de preaviso) defines what the employer can prove later. What it must contain, the response period and errors to avoid.
The employee’s right of defense before dismissal in Peru
Before a dismissal in Peru, the employee has a statutory right to respond to the charges. What that right requires in practice and how employers should handle it.
Unfair dismissal in Peru: statutory severance and reinstatement risk
Unfair dismissal in Peru can cost statutory severance of 1.5 monthly salaries per year, capped at 12, or reinstatement under constitutional case law. How to size the risk.
Resignation, mutual termination and dismissal in Peru: choosing the right exit
A mutual termination agreement in Peru (mutuo disenso) is often the safest exit. How it compares with resignation and dismissal, and how to document it.
How to document workplace misconduct in Peru so it holds up in court
Documenting misconduct in Peru decides whether a dismissal survives. How to run an internal investigation, preserve evidence and build a file a labor judge will accept.
Disciplinary measures in Peru: warnings, suspension and proportionality
Disciplinary action in Peru ranges from warnings to unpaid suspension and dismissal. How to choose a proportionate measure, document it and align group policies.
Mistakes that undermine a dismissal in Peru, and how to avoid them
Dismissal mistakes in Peru turn justified terminations into severance or reinstatement claims. The errors foreign employers make most often, phase by phase.
Maximum working hours in Peru: the 8/48 rule, averaging and exemptions
Maximum working hours in Peru: the 8-hour/48-hour constitutional limit, averaging for rosters, exempt roles and what foreign employers must document.
Overtime in Peru: pay, consent and control
Overtime in Peru explained for employers: voluntary nature, 25% and 35% premiums, time off in lieu, imposed overtime and the records SUNAFIL expects.
Atypical and cumulative work schedules in Peru: designing compliant rosters
How rotating schedules work in Peru: averaging over the cycle, 14x7 and other mining rosters, overtime within rotations, rest, night work and documentation.
Meal breaks in Peru: duration, timing and whether they count as work
Meal break rules in Peru: the 45-minute minimum, why the break falls within the working day, when it counts as working time and how to record it.
Night work in Peru: hours, the pay floor and shift rotation
Night work in Peru for employers: the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. window, the minimum wage plus 35% pay floor, shift rotation and how night premiums affect payroll.
Computable pay in Peru: the base for CTS, bonuses and severance
Computable remuneration in Peru: which pay items form the base for CTS, gratificaciones and severance, how regular variable pay is averaged, and what stays out.
Remunerative and non-remunerative payments in Peru: structuring pay and bonuses
Non-remunerative payments in Peru: the legal test, the statutory list, working-condition payments and how the classification changes payroll cost and bonus design.
Annual leave in Peru: entitlement, the récord vacacional and scheduling
Annual leave in Peru: the 30-calendar-day entitlement, the attendance test known as récord vacacional, scheduling rules and how global leave policies must adapt.
Accrued unused leave in Peru: how the triple-pay rule works and how to avoid it
Unused vacation in Peru: how the indemnity for leave not taken on time works, what it really costs, how to provision it and how to keep leave balances from expiring.
Splitting and advancing annual leave in Peru: what the rules allow
Split vacation in Peru: how annual leave can be divided into blocks, advanced, accumulated or reduced to 15 days, and the written formalities each option needs.
CTS in Peru: the severance deposit explained for employers
CTS in Peru explained for employers: the May and November deposits, the computable base, the employee’s bank account, the temporary withdrawal law and common errors.
Gratificaciones: Peru’s July and December bonuses and what they cost
Gratificaciones in Peru: the statutory July and December bonuses, pro-rating, the extraordinary bonus linked to EsSalud and the real annual cost of an employee.
Final settlement on termination in Peru: what must be paid and how
Final pay in Peru: what the termination settlement includes, how pro-rated leave, bonuses and CTS are calculated, the CTS certificate and common employer errors.
Outsourcing requirements under Peruvian law: the business autonomy test
Outsourcing law in Peru: the autonomy test under Law 29245, what a service contractor must prove, and what the court ruling on D.S. 001-2022-TR changed.
Outsourcing vs. staffing agencies in Peru: choosing the right model
Using a staffing agency in Peru? How labor intermediation differs from outsourcing, when agencies are allowed, the 20% cap, the bond and client liability.
When outsourcing is recharacterized in Peru: warning signs and exposure
Outsourcing recharacterization in Peru: the signs inspectors look for, how contractor staff become client employees, and how joint liability builds exposure.
Managing outsourced personnel in Peru without creating an employment relationship
Managing contractor staff in Peru: what client managers may and may not do with outsourced personnel, and how to adapt global vendor policies to local law.
What to check before hiring an outsourcing provider in Peru
Outsourcing provider due diligence in Peru: what to verify before signing, the contract clauses that matter and how to monitor a contractor’s labor compliance.
How an employment audit works in Peru: scope, method and remediation
How an employment audit in Peru works for multinationals: scope beyond the group HR audit, evidence tested, findings matrix and a remediation plan that holds.
Building an employment compliance program in Peru for a multinational group
How to build an employment compliance program in Peru that localizes group policies: obligation matrix, clear ownership, monitoring controls and evidence.
Internal work rules in Peru: when they are mandatory and how to localize the handbook
Internal work rules in Peru become mandatory above 100 workers. What they must contain, how they are approved and delivered, and how to align them with a group handbook.
Sexual harassment prevention in Peru: employer duties beyond the global speak-up policy
Peru’s sexual harassment law sets committees, protective measures and reporting deadlines that global speak-up policies miss. What employers must do, step by step.
Occupational health and safety obligations in Peru: what the group EHS standard does not cover
Peru’s health and safety law (Law 29783) requires a joint committee or supervisor, risk assessment, four trainings a year, medical exams and statutory records.
Identifying and sizing employment liabilities in a Peruvian subsidiary
How to identify, classify and size employment liabilities in a Peruvian subsidiary, and present defensible ranges to group finance and auditors.
Employment due diligence in Peruvian transactions
Labor due diligence in Peru for investors and deal counsel: scope, data room request list, typical red flags and how findings shape price, warranties and indemnities.
Ten employment risks to review before closing a deal in Peru
Ten pre-closing employment risks in Peru that buyers and deal counsel should review, with why each one matters and what to request from the target before signing.
Annual employment compliance calendar for Peru
A month-by-month Peru employment compliance calendar for CFOs and HR leads: CTS deposits, July and December bonuses, profit sharing, safety and recurring payroll duties.