Bonuses, CTS and vacation in Peru: when and how much

Bonuses: two months’ pay a year

Ley 27735 gives private-sector workers the right «a percibir dos gratificaciones en el año», one for Fiestas Patrias and one for Christmas. Each equals the pay you receive at the time it is due (article 2), and they «serán abonadas en la primera quincena de los meses de julio y de diciembre» (article 5).

The extra payment

Since Ley 30334 (article 3), the EsSalud contribution the employer would have paid on the bonus does not go to EsSalud: it is handed to the worker as a bonificación extraordinaria. The law does not write «9%». It says the amount is that of the contribution. Because the contribution rate is 9% (or 6.75% where the worker is on a private EPS plan), in practice you receive that percentage on top of the bonus. We put it that way because the figure comes from the EsSalud rate, not from the text of Ley 30334.

CTS: two deposits a year

Compensación por Tiempo de Servicios accrues from the first month of employment (DS 001-97-TR, article 2). In May and November the employer deposits as many twelfths of your computable pay as full months you worked in the half-year (article 21), and the deposit must be made «dentro de los primeros quince (15) días naturales de los meses de mayo y noviembre de cada año» (article 22).

It goes into the CTS account you choose at a bank or caja. It is not an end-of-contract payment: it is a fund that builds up.

Holidays: 30 days, and triple holiday pay

Decreto Legislativo 713 (article 10) grants 30 calendar days of paid holiday for each full year of service, to be taken within the following year.

If you do not take them in that following year, article 23 requires the employer to pay three things: pay for the work performed, pay for the untaken rest, and an indemnity of one further month’s pay. That is the triple vacacional. The indemnity is not owed to managers or employer representatives who decided not to take their holidays.

General regime versus MYPE regime

Only an employer registered in REMYPE may apply the special regime. If it is not registered, you are owed the full general regime whatever the company’s size.

The general-regime column comes from Decreto Legislativo 713, Ley 27735, DS 001-97-TR and the Labour Productivity and Competitiveness Act (article 38); the MYPE columns from articles 50, 55 and 56 of the consolidated MYPE Act.

Not sure which applies to you? The MYPE classifier works it out from your annual sales and REMYPE registration.

Other rights worth knowing

• Probation: 3 months (LPCL, article 10). It can be extended in writing to 6 months for qualified or trusted staff and to 12 for management. During probation you have every benefit; only protection against arbitrary dismissal is missing.
• Arbitrary dismissal: the Constitution (article 27) guarantees adequate protection; the LPCL (article 38) turns it into an indemnity of one and a half months’ pay per full year, capped at twelve months. Under MYPE, the amounts in the table above.
• Breastfeeding hour: one hour a day until the child turns one (Ley 27240, as amended by Ley 28731).
• Paternity leave: 10 calendar days; 20 or 30 in the special cases the law sets (Ley 29409, article 2, as amended by Ley 30807).

What the employer risks

Not depositing CTS in full and on time is a serious infraction (item 24.5). Breaching the rules on holidays and rest is very serious (item 25.6). The fine comes from the DS 008-2020-TR table by employer size and workers affected. As always: Sunafil fines, the courts pay you.

Foreign workers

Same benefits, same dates. A foreign employee on the payroll gets the same bonuses, CTS and holidays as a Peruvian under the same regime.

Calculate it

The bonus, CTS and vacation calculator projects your next payment from your pay, start date and regime. Go to the calculator.

Did your employer also skip your EsSalud registration?

The EsSalud contribution (9% of your pay) is separate from your bonuses, CTS, and vacation, but it often fails alongside them when an employer isn’t complying with its obligations. Check EsSalud: affiliation and what to do if your employer doesn’t register you.

Never chose between AFP and ONP?

Your pension contributions (AFP or ONP) are deducted from your pay, separately from your bonuses, CTS, and vacation. Check AFP vs. ONP: which to choose and what happens if you never decided if you’re not sure which system you’re in.

What happens to your vacation if you leave before completing a full year?

If you leave before completing a full year of service, you don’t lose your vacation rights — you’re owed a proportional payment called truncated vacation pay. See how it’s calculated in truncated vacation pay in Peru: how it’s calculated when you leave.