App-based delivery and ride-hailing workers in Peru: what does labor law say today?

Is there a law for app workers?

We found none published as of 30 September 2026. We checked Congress’s bill system. The 2021-2026 Congress ended in July 2026. This is what it showed for that term:

A bill binds no one. Even after a first vote, it is not law until it is published in El Peruano. Two bills on this subject were carried over into the new Congress; see «Possible changes ahead» below.

There is one trap in the Congress system. Bill 00866/2021-CR, on benefits for delivery riders, shows as “published”. That is because it was merged into Ley 32123, the pension system modernization law. It is a pension law, not a law on platform work.

The Labor Ministry (MTPE) says as much in its 2025 report on platform work: «Persisten debates en torno a la definición de la relación jurídica entre las partes» (debate continues over how to define the legal relationship between the parties). It adds that automatic SIS enrolment and the 2024 pension reform «no han sido diseñados específicamente para responder a las características de esta modalidad de trabajo» (were not designed specifically for this kind of work). The report is not a legal norm, but it shows the State has not settled the question.

What does apply: the general rules

With no special law, the general rules for anyone who works apply. The key one is article 4 of the consolidated Labor Productivity and Competitiveness Law (DS 003-97-TR):

«En toda prestación personal de servicios remunerados y subordinados, se presume la existencia de un contrato de trabajo a plazo indeterminado.»

(Wherever there is personal, paid and subordinate service, an open-ended employment contract is presumed.)

That is three elements, and the same law defines each:

• Personal service (art. 5): the services «deben ser prestados en forma personal y directa sólo por el trabajador como persona natural» (must be provided personally and directly by the worker as an individual).
• Pay (art. 6): it is «el íntegro de lo que el trabajador recibe por sus servicios […] cualquiera sea la forma o denominación que tenga» (everything the worker receives for the services, whatever it is called). Calling it “earnings” or a “fare” changes nothing.
• Subordination (art. 9): you work «bajo dirección» (under the direction) of someone who can set rules for the work, give the necessary orders and «sancionar disciplinariamente» (impose discipline).

If all three are present, the law presumes an open-ended employment contract, whatever the app’s terms call you.

Why apps are still in dispute

The law does not mention apps. Applying the three elements to app work is exactly what is being argued. None of this is written in a norm; these are the questions that get raised.

No single row decides it. An inspector or a judge looks at your whole situation.

Two tools that work in your favor

In a Sunafil inspection, facts beat paperwork. Ley 28806 (art. 2.2) says that «en caso de discordancia, entre los hechos constatados y los hechos reflejados en los documentos formales debe siempre privilegiarse los hechos constatados» (where facts found and formal documents disagree, the facts found always prevail). The terms and conditions you accepted are a document; what the inspector finds about how you actually work counts for more.

In a labor lawsuit, the New Labor Procedure Law (Ley 29497, art. 23.2) says: «Acreditada la prestación personal de servicios, se presume la existencia de vínculo laboral a plazo indeterminado, salvo prueba en contrario» (once personal service is proven, an open-ended employment relationship is presumed unless proven otherwise). If you prove you did the work yourself, the platform has to prove you were not an employee.

Neither guarantees the outcome. We did not review court rulings or Sunafil decisions on platforms, so we cannot tell you how similar cases went.

Insurance and accidents

We found no norm requiring apps to give you SCTR (work-risk insurance) or other accident cover if you have no employment contract. The Labor Ministry’s 2025 report says, about its working group: «Se discutieron aspectos relacionados con la aplicabilidad del Seguro Complementario de Trabajo de Riesgo (SCTR)» (whether SCTR applies was discussed). Discussed, not settled.

If your account is deactivated

Many riders and drivers lose their account without explanation. Complaining as a consumer has limits when the app is your work tool; we explain that, with sources, in account blocked or suspended on an app. If your case is that you were an employee, the dispute goes through labor channels, under the rules on this page. No norm yet says what an account deactivation means in app work.

What this page does not cover

• How your app income is taxed (recibo por honorarios, fourth category): see fourth and fifth category income tax.
• A traditional employer paying you through recibos por honorarios: see disguised employment in Peru.
• Your rights as a passenger or customer of an app: see taxi and ride-hailing apps.
• What Ley 32123 says about pensions for self-employed workers: we did not review it for this page.
• The ILO convention on platform work: not covered, because we did not check whether Peru has ratified it.