Labor law in Paraguay

The main statute is Ley N° 213/1993, the Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley N° 496/1995. Constitutional labor protections appear in Articles 86 to 106, and Paraguay has ratified conventions including ILO C087, C098, C100, C111, C138 and C182. These rules generally apply to dependent intellectual, manual and technical work. Public servants are governed by special rules, and the labor code does not cover the armed forces or police. National rules apply across Paraguay without a separate department or municipal labor-law system, although the responsible office and practical access can vary by location. Minimum labor protection is binding. A contract clause that removes a statutory protection or reduces a mandatory benefit has no legal effect. Equality and non-discrimination apply to grounds including ethnicity, sex, age, religion, social status, political views and union activity. The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, known as MTESS, supervises labor rules, maintains the Registro Obrero Patronal, handles certain registrations and approvals, and provides mediation and conciliation. Its Dirección General de Inspección y Fiscalización carries out inspections, while the Dirección de Salud y Seguridad Ocupacional, or DSSO, deals with occupational health and safety. CONASAM supports minimum-wage recommendations, IPS administers compulsory social insurance, and labor courts decide disputes. An employment contract is consensual, bilateral and paid. It can generally be verbal or written, and an employment relationship is presumed when dependent work exists. The available contract forms include an indefinite term, a fixed term and work or service for a defined project. A missing written contract does not automatically remove material rights; the law, a collective agreement and local practice can still establish the relationship. It does create evidence and enforcement risks. The probationary period may last up to 30 days for domestic or unskilled work and up to 60 days for qualified workers or apprentices, subject to any specific technical agreement. Probation is paid and includes the normal benefits except prior notice and severance compensation. Paraguayan law also recognizes specific arrangements. Part-time work under Ley N° 6339/2019 covers 16 to 32 hours per week and requires a written contract; work above 32 hours per week is treated as full-time. Telework is regulated by Ley N° 6738/2021. Domestic work is covered by Ley N° 5407/2015 and Ley N° 6338/2019. Apprenticeship and training contracts have their own rules, and MIPYMES may use special contracts under Ley N° 7444/2025. The exact registration and documentary requirements depend on the arrangement and sector. Employers report employment information through the Registro Obrero Patronal, or REOP. Typical reportable events include hiring and leaving, pay, leave, prior notice, suspension, illness and workplace accidents. The general reporting period is 30 working days from the event under Decreto N° 1989/2024 and MTESS rules. IPS coverage begins at the start of work, including probation. Failure to formalize employment increases the difficulty of proving and enforcing rights but does not by itself eliminate statutory rights. Effective working time includes time during which the employee remains available for work. The ordinary daytime limit is eight hours per day and 48 hours per week between 06:00 and 20:00. Night work between 20:00 and 06:00 is limited to seven hours per day and 42 hours per week. Mixed schedules have limits of 7.5 hours per day and 45 hours per week. Workers aged 15 to 17 generally have a limit of six hours per day and 36 hours per week. Hazardous or unhealthy work is limited to six hours per day and 36 hours per week, with pay equivalent to an eight-hour day. Daily rest is at least 10 hours, and workers receive one weekly rest day, normally Sunday. Statutory public holidays are days of compulsory rest. Overtime is generally limited to three hours per day and 57 hours per week, subject to exceptions such as emergencies and continuous operations. Daytime overtime receives at least a 50 percent surcharge. Night work receives a 30 percent surcharge, night overtime receives a 100 percent surcharge, and work on a public holiday receives a 100 percent surcharge on the ordinary hourly wage. A written payslip should show the wage basis, days or hours, allowances and deductions. Lawful deductions include social-security contributions, advances, authorized union or cooperative contributions, an order from the competent authority and court-established damages. When a labor intermediary is involved, the employer can remain subsidiarily liable. The minimum wage is set through CONASAM recommendations and action by the Executive and MTESS. For the rates effective from 1 July 2026 under Resolución MTESS N° 670/2026, the listed rate for various activities is Gs. 3,044,000 per month, Gs. 117,077 per day and Gs. 12,683 per hour. The listed night-work rate is Gs. 3,957,200 per month, Gs. 152,200 per day and Gs. 18,844 per hour. The listed part-time hourly rates are Gs. 14,635 for daytime work and Gs. 21,743 for night work. The listed apprenticeship monthly rate is Gs. 1,826,400. Employers have to display the current applicable rates. Paying below the applicable minimum can lead to a penalty of 10 to 30 daily wages for each affected employee. The annual bonus, called aguinaldo, equals one twelfth of annual remuneration, including overtime and commissions. It is payable by 31 December or when employment ends, with a proportional amount due on departure. Vacation pay is paid before leave begins. After one uninterrupted year, annual leave is 12 days for up to five years of service, 18 days for more than five and up to ten years, and 30 days after more than ten years. Seasonal or piece-rate workers can receive proportional leave after 180 working days or 180 daily wages. The employer should grant leave within six months after the entitlement arises and give written notice 15 days in advance. Leave normally begins on a Monday or the next working day. Late granting can result in double payment and rest. If employment ends before leave is taken, compensation is due, and compensation can be doubled after dismissal. Under Resolución N° 1290/2024, leave may be divided at the employee's request into periods of at least six working days. Pregnancy and parenthood receive special protection. Ley N° 5508/2015 provides 18 weeks of maternity leave and protections connected with parenthood and adoption. Breastfeeding time is 90 minutes per day until the child is seven months old and may be extended by medical certification up to 24 months. Violations can lead to a penalty of 50 to 100 daily wages for each affected worker, doubled for repeated violations. Resolución MTESS N° 195/2026, effective from 1 July 2026, establishes prevention, investigation and response measures for discrimination, violence and harassment. An employer has three working days to begin an investigation and take protective or corrective measures, with a six-month period to adapt internal systems. Employment of children under 14 is prohibited. Workers aged 14 to 17 may perform only protected, non-hazardous work. The limit is four hours per day and 24 hours per week for ages 14 to 16, and six hours per day and 36 hours per week for ages 16 to 18. A child or adolescent attending school has a four-hour daily limit. Night work between 20:00 and 06:00 is not allowed. A Registro del Adolescente Trabajador, or RAT, is obtained through CODENI at the adolescent's place of residence, and the employer reports the employment within 72 hours. The employer cannot use the PFTI or TIP procedures. MTESS and the Dirección General de Protección a la Niñez y Adolescencia supervise these matters. Employers have duties to prevent workplace accidents and occupational illness and to report them. DSSO and MTESS can inspect occupational health and safety, while IPS provides systems for illness, maternity, occupational risks and retirement. Employers pay compulsory contributions monthly. The general IPS regime covers health and retirement, although special regimes may cover health only. The employer reports the employee from the first day of work. Workers have freedom of association, the right to form unions, collective bargaining rights and the right to strike or organize a work stoppage within the legal framework. Unions obtain registration and legal personality through MTESS's Departamento de Registro de Organizaciones Gremiales. Collective agreements and union-related stability protections can apply. A company with more than ten employees generally needs an internal work regulation, known as an RIT, for certain disciplinary measures. The RIT is submitted for approval through REOP, costs one daily wage and has to include rules against violence and discrimination. A suspension temporarily interrupts work and does not end the employment relationship. Resolución MTESS N° 1361/2025 has applied since 15 January 2026. A suspension based on payment or raw-material shortages, force majeure or an employer obstacle can require documentary support and MTESS review. Suspensions for illness, workplace accidents, statutory leave or a lawful strike generally require registration rather than prior approval. The employer still has to communicate the suspension to the employee and report it through REOP. Employment ends only for legally recognized reasons. During probation, prior notice and severance compensation generally do not apply. For an indefinite contract, employer notice is 30 days for up to one year of service, 45 days for more than one and up to five years, 60 days for more than five and up to ten years, and 90 days after more than ten years. Notice should be written or otherwise authentically provable, including through MTESS. During notice, the employee receives two hours per day or one day per week to look for work. Missing employer notice can create liability for the full notice-period wage. An employee who leaves without notice can owe up to half of that period's wage. Unjustified dismissal generally creates compensation of 15 daily wages for each year of service or fraction exceeding six months, plus notice pay. If the stated cause cannot be proved, an additional claim of up to one year's wages may arise. A justified employee departure can follow the same severance logic. A voluntary resignation generally leaves the employee entitled to wages, unused leave and aguinaldo, but normally not the seniority-based severance payment. A worker can file a complaint online with MTESS, use a regional office or contact the labor service through WhatsApp at 0993 308 100. MTESS offers free voluntary mediation and conciliation, and a lawyer is not compulsory for mediation. Under Resolución N° 780/2026, MTESS can pursue documented wage differences through an accelerated procedure: the complaint is forwarded within 24 hours and the procedure starts within a maximum of three working days. The worker can then use, or alternatively go directly to, a Juzgado Laboral. Labor courts hear individual and collective disputes and union-recognition cases. Asunción also provides an online Mesa de Entrada, and appeals go to the Tribunal de Apelación Laboral. Most labor claims have a one-year limitation period from when the claim arises. A 60-day period applies to matters including statutory termination, prior notice and compensation for unjustified dismissal, counted from the separation. An employer's right to dismiss immediately for a cause expires 30 days after learning of that cause. A lawsuit, acknowledgment of the claim, force majeure or a private settlement effort can interrupt limitation. Calculate the applicable period before relying on mediation or filing a court claim.