Título Segundo. Contratos y Pactos de Trabajo

An individual employment contract, whatever its designation, is the economic-juridical bond by means of which a person (worker) is obligated to render to another (employer) his or her personal services or to perform a work for him or her personally, under the continued dependence and immediate or delegated direction of the latter, in exchange for remuneration of any kind or form.

In the case of managers, directors, administrators, superintendents, general heads of enterprise, technicians and other workers of a category analogous to those enumerated, such delegation may even fall upon the worker himself.

Exclusivity for the rendering of services or the performance of a work is not an essential characteristic of employment contracts, except in the case of incompatibility between two or more labor relationships, and it may only be required when so expressly agreed at the time of execution of the contract.

The circumstance that the employment contract is executed in the same document with another contract of a different nature or concurrently with another or others does not cause it to lose its nature and therefore the provisions of this Code are applicable to the respective relationship.

For the individual employment contract to exist and be perfected, it is sufficient that the employment relationship be initiated, which is the very fact of the provision of services or of the performance of the work under the conditions determined by the preceding article.

Whenever an individual employment contract is entered into and any of the parties breaches its terms before the employment relationship is initiated, the case must be resolved in accordance with the civil principles that oblige the party in breach to pay the damage and losses caused to the other party, but the respective trial falls within the jurisdiction of the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals, which must apply their own procedures.

Any provision of services or performance of work carried out in accordance with the characteristics specified in the preceding article must necessarily be governed in its various phases and consequences by the laws and legal principles relating to work.

It is understood that the employer may consent to the work laws and principles being applied from the entering into of the individual employment contract, even though the employment relationship has not been initiated.

The individual employment contract obligates, not only to what is established therein, but:

a)To observance of the obligations and rights that this Code or the international agreements ratified by Guatemala determine for the parties to the employment relationship, always, with respect to the latter, when they provide superior benefits for the workers than those that this Code creates; and

b)To the consequences derived from the contract itself according to good faith, equity, local use and customs or the law.

The working conditions governing a contract or employment relationship may not be fundamentally or permanently altered, except where there is express agreement between the parties or as authorized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, when the economic situation of the enterprise fully justifies it. Said prohibition shall be understood solely with respect to employment relationships that, in whole or in part, have conditions superior to the minimum protection that this Code grants to the workers.

The conditions or elements of the provision of services or performance of a work are: the subject matter or object; the form or manner of its performance; the time of its performance; the place of performance and the remuneration that the employer is obligated to pay.

If the individual employment contract does not expressly determine the service to be rendered, the worker shall be obligated to perform only that which is compatible with their strength, aptitudes, state or physical condition, and which is of the same kind as those forming the object of the business, activity or industry to which the employer is engaged.

Every individual employment contract shall be deemed to include at least the guarantees and rights granted to workers by the Constitution, this Code, its regulations, and other labor or social welfare laws.

The substitution of the employer does not affect existing employment contracts, to the detriment of the worker. The substituted employer remains jointly and severally obligated with the new employer for the obligations derived from the contracts or from legal provisions, arising before the date of the substitution and for up to a term of six months. Upon conclusion of this time limit, liability subsists solely for the new employer. For actions arising from acts or omissions of the new employer, the substituted employer shall in no case be liable.

Failure to comply with the individual employment contract or the employment relationship only obligates those who incur such failure to the respective economic liability, that is, to the benefits determined by this Code, its regulations and the other labor or social welfare laws, without coercion against persons being permitted in any case.

The individual work contract may be:

a)For an indefinite period, when no date is specified for its termination;

b)For a fixed term, when a date is specified for its termination or when the occurrence of any fact or circumstance has been foreseen, such as the completion of a work, which must necessarily put an end to the employment relationship. In this second case, account must be taken of the activity of the worker in itself as the object of the contract, and not the result of the work; and

c)For a specified work, when the price of the services of the worker is agreed globally or as a lump sum from the time the tasks begin until they conclude, taking into account the result of the work, that is, the work performed.

Although the worker receives advances on account for work performed or to be performed, the individual work contract must be understood to be for a specified work, provided that the conditions indicated in the preceding paragraph are met.

Every individual contract of employment must be deemed to have been entered into for an indefinite term, save lawful and express evidence or stipulation to the contrary.

Contracts entered into in an enterprise whose activities are of a permanent or continuous nature shall always be deemed contracts for an indefinite term, even though they were agreed for a fixed term or for a specified work, if upon expiry of said contracts the cause that gave rise to them subsists.

Consequently, fixed-term contracts and contracts for a specified work are exceptional in nature and may only be entered into in cases where so required by the accidental or temporary nature of the service to be rendered or of the work to be performed.

The individual employment contract may be verbal when it refers to:

a)Agricultural or livestock labor;

b)Domestic service;

c)Occasional or temporary work not exceeding sixty days; and

d)The performance of work for a specified work, provided that the value thereof does not exceed one hundred quetzales, and, if a time limit has been set for delivery, provided that such time limit is not greater than sixty days. In all such cases the employer is obligated to furnish to the worker, at the time the contract is entered into, a card or certificate that must contain only the start date of the employment relationship and the stipulated wage and, upon expiry of each pay period, the number of days or shifts worked, or the number of tasks performed or works completed.

In all other cases, the individual employment contract must be drawn up in writing, in three copies: one to be collected by each party at the time of its execution and another that the employer is obligated to cause to reach the *Administrative Department of Labor, directly or through the nearest labor authority, within fifteen days following its execution, modification or novation.

The written work contract must contain:

a)The given names, surnames, age, sex, marital status, nationality and domicile of the contracting parties;

b)The date of commencement of the employment relationship;

c)The indication of the services that the worker undertakes to provide, or the nature of the work to be performed, specifying to the extent possible the characteristics and conditions of the work;

d)The place or places where the services must be provided or the work performed;

e)The precise designation of the place where the worker lives when hired to provide services or perform work in a place different from that where the worker habitually lives;

f)The duration of the contract or the statement that it is for an indefinite term or for the performance of specified work;

g)The duration of the working hours and the hours during which they must be performed;

h)The wage, benefit, commission or share that the worker is to receive; whether it is to be calculated by unit of time, by unit of work or in any other manner, and the form, period and place of payment;

In cases in which it is stipulated that the wage is to be paid by unit of work, there must be stated the quantity and quality of material, the tools and implements that the employer agrees to provide and the state of preservation thereof, as well as the time during which the worker may have them at his disposal. The employer may not demand from the worker any amount for normal wear or accidental destruction of the tools as a consequence of their use in the work;

i)The other legal stipulations agreed upon by the parties;

j)The place and date of execution of the contract; and

k)The signatures of the contracting parties or the fingerprint of those who do not know how or are unable to sign, and the number of their domicile identity cards. The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare must print model contracts for each of the categories of work, in order to facilitate compliance with this provision.

Full evidence of the written contract may only be established with the respective document. The lack thereof or the omission of any of its requirements shall always be imputed to the employer and if, upon request of the labor authorities, he fails to exhibit it, the work stipulations asserted by the worker shall be presumed true, unless there is evidence to the contrary.

The verbal contract may be proven by the general means of evidence and, for such purpose, workers in the service of the same employer may be witnesses.

Minors of either sex who are fourteen years of age or older, and insolvent and bankrupt persons, also have capacity to contract their work, to receive and dispose of the agreed remuneration and, in general, to exercise the rights and actions derived from this Code, its regulations and the social welfare laws.

The specific capacities referred to in the preceding paragraph are only for work purposes, and consequently do not otherwise affect the state of minority or, as applicable, the state of incapacity due to insolvency or bankruptcy.

The judicially declared interdiction of the employer does not invalidate the acts or contracts that the interdicted person has entered into with their workers prior to such declaration.

Contracts relating to the work of young persons under fourteen years of age must be entered into with their legal representatives and, in the absence thereof, the authorization of the General Labor Inspectorate is required.

The proceeds of the work of the minors referred to in the preceding paragraph must be received by their legal representatives or by the person having charge of their care, as determined by the General Labor Inspectorate in the authorizations referred to in this article.

If a worker is hired to provide services or to execute a work within the territory of the Republic, but in a place different from that where said worker habitually lives at the time the contract is entered into, the following rules shall be observed, provided that the separation between both places is greater than fifteen kilometers:

a)When the worker is compelled to make daily round-trip journeys, the employer shall pay to such worker the fares or the reasonable expenses required thereby; and

b)When the worker is compelled to live at the site where the work is to be performed, the employer shall only pay him the reasonable expenses of the outbound and return journeys before and after the contract is in force. If the work lasts sixty days or less, said expenses shall be paid only for the worker; but if the contract is of longer duration and the wife or concubine and relatives who live with and are economically dependent on him are compelled to live in the place where the work is to be performed or in the vicinity thereof, the worker is entitled to also be paid the reasonable transportation expenses of such persons, including food and lodging for all during the journey.

In the cases contemplated in this subsection, the employment relationship shall be deemed to have commenced from the beginning of the outbound journey.

It is prohibited to enter into contracts with Guatemalan workers for the provision of services or performance of works outside the territory of the Republic, without prior permission from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, which shall not authorize the recruitment, nor the embarkation or departure thereof, while the following requirements are not fulfilled to its entire satisfaction:

a)The recruiting agent or the company on whose behalf it acts must undertake to keep permanently domiciled in the capital of the Republic and for the entire time that the contract or contracts remain in force, an attorney-in-fact with sufficient power to settle any claim filed by the workers or their family members with respect to performance of what was agreed;

b)The recruiting agent or the company on whose behalf it acts must pay the transportation expenses abroad, from the place where the worker habitually lives to the place of work, including those arising from crossing borders and in compliance with migration provisions or for any other similar cause.

Such expenses also include those of the persons or family members of the worker who go with him, if they have been permitted to accompany him;

c)The recruiting agent or the company on whose behalf it acts must deposit in a national banking institution, to the order of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, the prudential sum set by the latter or, failing that, must post sufficient bond to guarantee the repatriation expenses of the workers or, as applicable, of the family members or persons agreed to accompany them and also, to guarantee payment of the claims filed and justified before the national labor authorities, which shall be the sole competent authorities to order payment of the indemnities or benefits that on such grounds are due.

Repatriation shall take place upon termination of the respective contracts, for whatever cause such termination occurs, except where said workers, family members or accompanying persons state before a diplomatic or consular representative of Guatemala or, failing that, by means of an authentic or public document, sent to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, their formal refusal to return to the country, and extends to the place of origin residence thereof.

Said deposit or bond shall be cancelled partially or totally, as the recruiting agent, the company on whose behalf it acts or the respective attorney-in-fact proves that in one, several or all of the contracts the aforementioned obligations and the others to which this article refers have been fulfilled; and

d)The recruiting agent or the company on whose behalf it acts must execute in writing the contracts of the workers concerned, in four copies, one for each party and two which said agent or company must submit to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, at least five days prior to the embarkation or departure of the interested parties.

The Executive Branch shall send one of those copies to the diplomatic representative of Guatemala in the place where the contracts are to be performed or, failing that, to the respective consular representative, and entrust to one or the other public official the greatest possible vigilance with respect to the manner in which they are performed; said representative shall send to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare specific reports each month and, extraordinarily, whenever warranted.

In said contracts there shall be deemed included the clause that all expenses referred to in subparagraphs a), b) and c) of this article are borne exclusively by the recruiting agent or the company on whose behalf it acts, as well as the other provisions protective of the worker contained in this Code.

In said contracts the manner in which the workers are to be housed and transported and the form and conditions under which they are to be repatriated shall be specified.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare shall not authorize the contracts referred to in the preceding article, in the following cases:

a)If the workers are minors;

b)If the workers do not satisfactorily guarantee the provision of maintenance to those economically dependent on them;

c)If it deems that the emigrant workers are necessary for the national economy; and

d)If it deems that in the contracts the dignity of Guatemalan workers is harmed or that they have been hired under inferior conditions with respect to the rights corresponding to the national workers of the country where they are to render their services, provided that the legislation of said country contains guarantees superior to those established in this Code, or that in any manner they may be harmed.

The restrictions set forth in the two preceding articles do not apply to degreed professionals nor to those technicians whose work requires highly qualified knowledge.

All provisions of this chapter must be applied to the modalities regulated in the following ones, unless there is a statement to the contrary therein.

A collective work contract is one entered into between one or more trade unions of workers and one or more employers, or one or more trade unions of employers, by virtue of which the trade union or trade unions of workers undertake, under their liability, that some or all of their members shall perform specified work, by means of remuneration that must be fixed individually for each of them and received in the same manner.

The collective labor contract must always be entered into in writing, in three copies: one for each party and another which the employer is obligated to deliver to the *Administrative Department of Labor, directly or through the nearest labor authority, within the fifteen days following its execution, modification or novation.

The existence of the collective labor contract may only be proved by means of the respective document and the lack thereof gives rise to the trade union or trade unions of workers being released from the liability they have assumed under the preceding article and to said contract being transformed into as many individual employment relationships as workers are bound by it.

In every collective labor contract there must be expressed the full name of the parties entering into it, the enterprise or section of the enterprise or workplace covered by it, and the other stipulations of the written individual labor contracts.

The representatives of the trade union or trade unions must prove their legal standing to enter into the collective contract by means of certification that they are legally registered, issued by the *Administrative Department of Labor or, failing that, an authentic copy of the agreement that ordered their registration, and also by the record of the Assembly that so agreed it. The side of the non-unionized employers must prove its representation in accordance with ordinary law.

If within the same enterprise there are several trade unions of workers or workers belonging to several trade unions, their respective collective contracts may coexist; but the conditions of a collective contract that entail greater advantages for its workers than those established by another collective contract for a different sector or group of workers must be applied to the latter whenever work performed under equal conditions is involved.

If, once a collective employment contract has been signed, the employer withdraws from the employers' trade union or employer group that concluded it, said contract must always continue to govern the relationship of that employer with the trade union or trade unions of its workers that are parties to the same contract.

The individual obligations and rights arising from a collective contract shall not be affected by the dissolution of the trade union of workers or of the trade union of employers that is a party thereto.

The trade union that signs a collective work contract bears liability for the obligations undertaken by each of its members and may also exercise the rights and actions that individually pertain to them.

The trade union that is a party to a collective labor contract may exercise the rights and actions arising therefrom, to demand its compliance and, where applicable, obtain payment of the benefits or indemnities due, against:

a)Its own members;

b)Other trade unions that are parties to the contract;

c)The members of the trade unions referred to in the preceding subsection; and

d)Any other person bound by the contract.

Individuals bound by a collective labor contract may only exercise the rights and actions arising therefrom, to demand its performance and, where applicable, to obtain payment of the benefits or indemnities due, against other individuals or trade unions or enterprises that are parties to the contract, when failure to perform causes them individual harm.

When an action founded on a collective labor contract has been brought by an individual or a trade union, he or the other trade unions affected thereby may appear in the litigation, by reason of the collective interest that its resolution may have for their members.

A collective agreement on working conditions is one entered into between one or more trade unions of workers and one or more employers, or one or more trade unions of employers, for the purpose of regulating the conditions under which work is to be performed and other matters relating thereto.

The collective agreement on working conditions has the character of professional law and all individual or collective contracts existing or subsequently entered into in the enterprises, industries or regions that it affects must be adapted to its rules.

The provisions of Articles 45 to 52 inclusive are applicable to the collective agreement on working conditions insofar as they are compatible with the essentially normative nature thereof.

The stipulations of the collective agreement on conditions of work have the force of law for:

a)The parties that have signed it;

b)All persons who, at the time the agreement enters into force, work in the enterprise or production center to which it refers, to the extent that said workers are benefited thereby and even when they are not members of the trade union or trade unions of workers that have entered into it; and

c)Those who in the future enter into individual or collective contracts within the same enterprise or production center affected by the agreement, on the understanding that such contracts may not be entered into on conditions less favorable to the workers than those contained in the collective agreement.

Every employer that employs in its enterprise or in a given production center, if the enterprise by the nature of its activities must distribute the performance of work in several zones of the country, the services of more than one-fourth of its unionized workers, is obligated to negotiate with the respective trade union, when it so requests, a collective agreement.

To that end the following rules shall be observed:

a)The percentage referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be calculated on the totality of the workers who render their services in said enterprise or given production center.

b)If within the same enterprise or production center there are several trade unions, the collective agreement shall be negotiated with the one having the greatest number of workers directly affected by the negotiation, in which case it may not be concluded on conditions less favorable to the workers than those contained in the contracts in force, within the enterprise or production center itself; and

c)When it concerns an enterprise or a production center which by the nature of its activities employs workers belonging to different professions or trades, the collective agreement shall be negotiated with the group of the trade unions that represents each of the professions or trades, provided they agree among themselves. In the event that they do not reach such agreement, the trade union corresponding to each profession or trade may demand that a collective agreement be negotiated with it, to determine the conditions relating to said profession or trade within the aforementioned enterprise or production center.

For the negotiation of a collective agreement on conditions of work, the respective trade union or employer shall transmit to the other party, for its consideration, through the nearest administrative labor authority, the draft agreement in order that it be discussed through direct negotiation or with the intervention of an administrative labor authority or any other amicable conciliator or conciliators. If, thirty days having elapsed after the request was presented by the respective trade union or employer, the parties have not reached full agreement on its stipulations, either of them may resort to the labor tribunals, filing the corresponding collective dispute, so that the point or points in disagreement may be resolved. For this purpose, if possible, together with the list of petitions there shall be presented proof of the agreed points, specifying in said list those others with respect to which there was no agreement. If such proof cannot be presented, in the list of petitions there shall be recorded the points on which there is agreement and those on which there is not, so that the Conciliation Tribunal may verify these matters.

The procedure to be followed in this case is that contemplated in the twelfth title of this Code.

The collective agreement on conditions of work must be drawn up in writing in three copies, under penalty of nullity ipso jure. Each of the parties must retain one copy and the third must be sent to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, directly or through the nearest labor authority. The agreement may begin to take effect at any time after its receipt by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, for which purpose the public official responsible for delivering the copy must give a written acknowledgment that it has reached his hands.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare must study the text of the agreement without loss of time and, in the event that it contains any violation of the provisions of this Code, or of its regulations or of the social welfare laws, must order the parties to conform to the provisions of law.

In the collective agreement on conditions of work, the following must be stipulated:

a)The professions, trades, activities and workplaces covered by it;

b)The duration of the agreement and the day on which it is to take effect. It is understood that its validity may not be fixed for a term of less than one year nor more than three, but on each occasion it shall be deemed automatically extended for a period equal to that stipulated, if neither of the parties denounces it at least one month prior to the respective expiry;

A copy of the denunciation must be delivered to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, within the two working days following its filing, plus the term of distance;

c)Such other lawful stipulations as the parties may agree upon, such as those relating to working hours, rest periods, annual leave, wages or minimum wages. A clause by virtue of which the employer undertakes to admit as workers only those who are unionized is invalid; and

d)The place and date of execution of the agreement and the signatures of the parties or of their representatives.

The denunciation of a collective agreement on conditions of work does not imply the termination or reduction of the benefits contained therein, its sole effect being to leave the parties at liberty to negotiate a new agreement.

In order for the collective agreement to be extended with force of law to all employers and workers, unionized or not, of a given branch of industry, economic activity or region of the country, the following is necessary:

a)That it be recorded in writing, in three copies, one for each party and another to accompany it together with the request referred to in subparagraph d);

b)That it be signed by the trade union or trade unions or group of employers that have in their service two-thirds of the workers who at that time are occupied therein;

c)That it be signed by the trade union or trade unions comprising two-thirds of the unionized workers at that time in the branch of industry, economic activity or region in question;

d)That either of the parties address a written request to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare so that, if the Executive Branch deems it advisable, it declares its extensive obligatoriness; the petition, if the requirements referred to in subparagraphs b) and c) are met, must be published immediately and three consecutive times in the Diario Oficial and in one of the privately owned newspapers of greatest circulation in the Republic, granting a non-extendable term of fifteen days, counted from the last publication, for any employer or workers’ trade union that is directly or undoubtedly affected, to formulate a reasoned opposition against the mandatory extension of the agreement; and

e)That, upon expiration of said term without opposition having been formulated or those filed having been rejected, the Executive Branch issue an agreement declaring its obligatoriness insofar as it does not conflict with the laws of public interest and of a social nature in force, and the territorial circumscription, enterprises or industries to be covered. It is understood that the collective agreement declared of mandatory extension must be applied notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in the individual or collective contracts that the enterprises it affects have executed, except on those points on which the stipulations of such contracts are more favorable to the workers.

For the purposes of this subparagraph, when a timely opposition is filed, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare must grant a hearing for ten common days to the party filing it and to the signatories of the agreement, so that all may allege what they deem pertinent; this term begins to run from the day following that on which the last notification or personal notice by a labor inspector was effected and, once elapsed, the aforementioned Ministry must issue a final opinion; in the event of sustaining the opposition, it must endeavor to reconcile the parties by submitting to them a new draft collective agreement, which if approved by them, must be declared of mandatory extension on the terms referred to in the preceding paragraph.

The Executive Branch must fix the term during which the agreement is to be in force, which may not be less than one year nor more than five years. Said term shall be automatically extended on each occasion for a period equal to that fixed, if neither of the parties expresses in a memorial addressed to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, at least one month prior to the respective expiry, its intention to terminate the agreement.

In the event of timely notice of termination by either of the parties, the collective agreement shall cease to be in force at the moment the stipulated term elapses.

Any collective agreement in force may be revised by the Executive Branch, if the parties by common agreement so request in writing before the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.

The Executive Branch in this case and in that of the second paragraph of the preceding article, must verify that the petitioners meet the majority provided for in subsections b) and c) of Article 59, before proceeding to the formal repeal of the accord that gave extensive force to the collective agreement and to the issuance of the corresponding new accord.

Internal work rules is the set of rules prepared by the employer in accordance with the laws, regulations, collective agreements and contracts in force affecting him, with the object of preparing and regulating the rules to which he and his workers must obligatorily subject themselves by reason of the execution or specific performance of the work.

It is not necessary to include in the internal work rules the provisions contained in the law.

Every employer who permanently employs ten or more workers in its enterprise is obligated to prepare and put into force its respective internal work rules.

All internal work rules must be previously approved by the General Labor Inspectorate; must be brought to the knowledge of the workers fifteen days in advance of the date on which it is to take effect; must be printed in easily legible characters and must be kept constantly posted, at least, in two of the most visible places of the workplace or, failing that, must be supplied printed in a booklet to all the workers of the enterprise in question.

The provisions contained in the preceding paragraph must also be observed for any amendment or repeal made by the employer to the internal work rules.

The Internal Work Rules must comprise the rules of a technical and administrative nature necessary for the proper operation of the enterprise; those relating to hygiene and safety in work, such as directions to prevent occupational risks from materializing and instructions for rendering first aid in case of accident and, in general, all such others as are deemed necessary for the maintenance of discipline and the proper care of the property of the enterprise. In addition, it must contain:

a)The hours of entry and exit of the workers, the time allotted for meals and the rest period during the workday;

b)The place and time at which the workdays must begin and end;

c)The various types of wages and the categories of work to which they correspond;

d)The place, day and time of payment;

e)The disciplinary provisions and procedures for applying them. It is prohibited to deduct any sum from the wage of the workers as a fine. Suspension from work, without enjoyment of wage, shall not be ordered for more than eight days, nor before having heard the interested party and the fellow workers whom he indicates. Nor may this sanction be imposed, except in the cases expressly provided for in the respective regulation;

f)The designation of the persons of the establishment before whom requests for improvement or claims in general must be presented and the manner of formulating such requests and claims; and

g)The special norms pertinent to the various kinds of work in accordance with the age and sex of the workers and the norms of conduct, appearance and personal decorum which they must observe, as required by the nature of the work.

In addition to those contained in other articles of this Code, in its regulations and in the social welfare laws, the following are obligations of employers:

a)To send, within the non-extendable time limit of the first two months of each year, to the corresponding administrative office of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, directly or through the labor authorities of the place where the respective enterprise is located, a printed report, which at a minimum must contain the following data:

1)Total expenditures incurred for wages, bonuses and any other economic benefit during the previous year, with due separation of outlays for ordinary and extraordinary workdays.

2)First and last names of their workers with indication of approximate age, nationality, sex, occupation, number of days each one has worked and the wage individually corresponding to them during said year.

The administrative labor authorities must provide all kinds of facilities to comply with the obligation imposed by this subsection, whether by having the forms they deem appropriate printed, by assisting small employers or those lacking schooling to correctly complete said forms, or in some other manner.

The provisions of this subsection are not applicable to domestic service.

b)To prefer, in equality of circumstances, Guatemalans over those who are not and those who have previously served them well over those who are not in that situation;

c)To show workers due consideration, abstaining from verbal or physical mistreatment;

d)To timely provide workers with the implements, instruments and materials necessary to perform the agreed work, supplying them in good quality and replacing them as soon as they cease to be efficient, provided that the employer has agreed that they shall not use their own tools;

e)To provide a secure place for the safekeeping of the worker's instruments and implements, when these must necessarily be kept at the place where the services are rendered. In this case, the register of tools must be made whenever the worker so requests;

f)To allow the inspection and supervision carried out by the labor authorities in their enterprise to verify compliance with the provisions of the Labor Code, its regulations, agreements of the International Labour Organization ratified by Guatemala, the collective pacts or agreements in force in the enterprise and other labor standards. In compliance with said obligation, employers or their representatives shall:

1.Duly attend to the labor authorities, providing them with the facilities for the performance of their work;

2.Appear personally or through an employer representative, pursuant to Article 4 of this Code;

3.Cooperate on the occasion of visits and other inspection actions;

4.Give their opinion on matters relating to the inspection; and,

5.Facilitate the information and documents necessary for the performance of inspection functions.

g)To pay the worker the wage corresponding to the time the worker loses when prevented from working through the fault of the employer;

h)To grant workers the necessary time to exercise the vote in popular elections, without reduction of wage;

i)To deduct from the worker's wage the ordinary and extraordinary dues payable to the worker's respective trade union or cooperative, provided that the interested party himself or the respective legally constituted organization so requests. In this case, the trade union or cooperative must prove its legal personality only once and make such collection in receipt books authorized by the *Administrative Department of Labor, demonstrating at the same time that the dues whose deduction is requested are those authorized by its bylaws or, in the case of extraordinary dues, by the general assembly;

j)To seek by all means within their reach the literacy education of their workers who need it;

k)To maintain in commercial or industrial establishments where the nature of the work so permits, a sufficient number of chairs intended for the rest of workers during the time compatible with their functions;

l)To provide rural workers who have their dwelling on the farm where they work with the firewood indispensable for their domestic consumption, provided that the farm in question produces it in a quantity greater than that which the employer needs for the normal operation of the respective enterprise. In this case the forestry laws must be complied with and the employer may choose between giving cut firewood or indicating to the rural workers where they may cut it and with what care they must do so, in order to avoid damage to persons, crops or trees;

m)To allow rural workers who have their dwelling on the land of the enterprise where they work; to take from dams, ponds, springs or water sources such water as they need for their domestic uses and those of the animals they keep; to use the natural pastures of the farm for the feeding of animals which, in accordance with the employment contract, they are authorized to keep; to keep pigs tied or penned and poultry within the enclosure in which the dwelling provided to them on the farm is located, provided that said animals do not cause damage or losses or that the labor or health authorities do not issue a provision to the contrary; and to use the uncultivated fruits found on the farm in question and which the employer does not customarily use, provided that the worker limits himself to collecting the quantity that he and the family members living with him can personally consume;

n)To allow rural workers to use the fruits and products of the plots of land granted to them;

ñ)To grant leave with pay to workers in the following cases:

1.When the death of the spouse or of the person with whom the worker is joined in a de facto union occurs, or of the parents or child, three (3) days.

2.When contracting marriage, five (5) days.

3.For the birth of a child, two (2) days.

4.When the employer expressly authorizes other permits or leaves and has indicated that these shall also be paid.

5.To answer judicial summons for the time required for the appearance and provided that it does not exceed half a day within the jurisdiction and one day outside the department in question.

6.For the performance of a trade union function, provided that it is limited to the members of the Executive Committee and does not exceed six days in the same calendar month, for each of them. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the employer shall grant leave without pay to the members of said Executive Committee who so request, for the time necessary to attend to the duties of their office.

7.In all other cases specifically provided for in the agreement or collective agreement on working conditions.

Employers are prohibited from:

a)Inducing or requiring their workers to purchase their consumer articles from specified establishments or persons;

b)Demanding or accepting money or other compensation from workers as a gratuity for them to be admitted to work or for any other concession or privilege relating to working conditions in general;

c)Compelling or attempting to compel workers, whatever means are adopted, to withdraw from the trade unions or lawful groups to which they belong or to join one or another;

d)Influencing their political decisions or religious convictions;

e)Retaining by their sole will the tools or objects of the worker whether as a guarantee or as compensation or under any other title not transferring ownership;

f)Making or authorizing compulsory collections or subscriptions among their workers, except those imposed by law;

g)Directing or permitting work to be directed in a state of drunkenness or under the influence of narcotic drugs or in any other analogous abnormal condition; and

h)Performing any other act that restricts the rights that the worker has under the law.

In addition to those contained in other articles of this Code, in its regulations and in the social welfare laws, the obligations of the workers are:

a)To perform the contracted service under the direction of the employer or their representative, to whose authority they are subject in all matters concerning the work;

b)To execute the work with appropriate efficiency, care and diligence and in the agreed form, time and place;

c)To return to the employer the unused materials and to keep in good condition the instruments and tools provided to them for the work. It is understood that they are not liable for normal deterioration nor for that caused by fortuitous event, force majeure, poor quality or defective construction;

d)To observe good customs during work;

e)To provide the necessary assistance in case of disaster or imminent risk in which the persons or interests of the employer or of a fellow worker are in danger, without right to additional remuneration;

f)To submit to medical examination, whether when requesting admission to work or during employment at the request of the employer, to verify that they do not suffer from any permanent incapacity or any occupational, contagious or incurable disease; or at the request of the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security, for any reason;

g)To keep the technical, commercial or manufacturing secrets of the products in whose production they participate directly or indirectly, with all the more fidelity the higher the position of the worker or the liability they have to keep them by reason of the occupation they perform, as well as the reserved administrative matters whose disclosure may cause harm to the enterprise;

h)To strictly observe the preventive measures agreed by the competent authorities and those indicated by the employers, for the safety and personal protection of themselves or of their fellow workers, or of the places where they work; and

i)To vacate within a period of thirty days, counted from the date on which the employment contract terminates, the dwelling provided to them by the employers, without need for the proceedings of the eviction trial. After said period, the judge, at the request of the latter, shall order the eviction, the matter to be processed in the form of an incidental proceeding. However, if the worker obtains new work before the expiry of the time limit stipulated in this subsection, the labor judge, in the manner indicated, shall order the eviction.

Workers are prohibited from:

a)Abandoning work during working hours without justified cause or without permission from the employer or from their immediate supervisors;

b)Engaging, during work or within the establishment, in political propaganda or propaganda contrary to the democratic institutions created by the Constitution, or performing any act that signifies coercion of the liberty of conscience established therein;

c)Working in a state of drunkenness or under the influence of narcotic drugs or in any other analogous abnormal condition;

d)Using the implements or tools supplied by the employer for a purpose other than that for which they are normally intended;

e)Carrying weapons of any kind during working hours or within the establishment, except in special cases duly authorized by the laws, or when they are cutting or pointed-cutting instruments that form part of the tools or implements inherent to the work; and

f)The commission of acts or the violation of work rules that constitute manifest acts of sabotage against the normal production of the enterprise.

The violation of these prohibitions must be sanctioned, for purposes of this Code, only in the manner provided in Article 77, subparagraph h), or, as applicable, in Articles 168, second paragraph, and 181, subparagraph d).

There is suspension of the employment contracts when one or both parties forming the labor relationship cease, partially or totally, for a time, to perform any of their respective fundamental obligations (performance of the work and payment of the wage), without such contracts thereby terminating nor the rights and obligations emanating therefrom being extinguished.

The suspension may be:

a)Partial individual, when it affects an employment relationship and one of the parties ceases to perform its fundamental obligations;

b)Total individual, when it affects an employment relationship and both parties cease to perform their fundamental obligations;

c)Partial collective, when by the same cause the majority or all of the employment relationships in force in an enterprise or workplace are affected, and the employer and its workers cease to perform their fundamental obligations; and

d)Total collective, when by the same cause the majority or all of the employment relationships in force in an enterprise or workplace are affected, and the employer and its workers cease to perform their fundamental obligations.

The following are grounds for partial individual suspension of the contracts of work:

a)Remunerated leaves, rest periods and annual leave imposed by law or granted by the employer with enjoyment of wage;

b)Illnesses, occupational risks that have occurred, pre- and post-natal rest periods and other analogous social risks that produce proven temporary incapacity to perform the work; and

c)The obligation to work without enjoyment of additional wage imposed by Article 63, subparagraph e).

In the cases provided for by subparagraphs a) and b) of the preceding article, the worker is relieved of his obligation to perform the agreed work and the employer is obligated to pay the corresponding wage. In the cases provided for by subparagraph b) of the preceding article, if the worker is protected by the benefits of the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security, correlative to the social risks enumerated in said subparagraph, the employer must pay only the contributions ordered by the regulations issued by the Institute.

In the cases provided for by subparagraph b) of the preceding article, if the worker is not protected by the correlative benefits of the Institute mentioned in the preceding paragraph, or if the liability of the employer is not established in another form by the legal provisions, the sole obligation of the latter is to grant leave to the worker, until his full recovery, provided that his recovery occurs within the indicated time limit, and in accordance with the following rules:

a)After continuous work of more than two months and less than six, the employer must pay the worker half wage for one month;

b)After continuous work of six or more months but less than nine, the employer must pay the worker half wage for two months; and

c)After continuous work of nine or more months, the employer must pay the worker half wage for three months.

To the benefits ordered by the three preceding subparagraphs, the rules contained in subparagraphs a), b), c) and d) of Article 82 shall apply.

If, upon expiration of the time limits determined by this article, during which the employer is obligated to pay half wage, the cause that gave rise to the suspension persists, the provisions of the following article shall govern.

It is understood that in all these cases the employer, during the suspension of the employment contract, may place another worker on an interim basis and dismiss the latter, without liability on his part, when the holder of the position returns.

The following are causes for total individual suspension of the contracts of employment:

a)Leaves or rest periods without enjoyment of wage agreed upon by employers and workers;

b)The cases provided for in Article 66, subsection b), once the periods during which the employer is obligated to pay half wage, as referred to in said Article, have elapsed; and

c)Pretrial detention, simple imprisonment and minor arrest decreed against the worker.

This rule shall govern, in the case of pretrial detention, provided it is followed by an order amending it, by a judgment of acquittal, or if the worker obtains his release on bond, only where the crime for which he is prosecuted is not alleged to have been committed against the employer, his relatives, his representatives or the interests of one or the others. However, in this latter case, the worker who obtains amendment of the pretrial detention order or a judgment of acquittal shall have the right to have the employer cover the wages corresponding to the time that the proceedings should last in accordance with the respective procedural rules, except for the period during which the worker rendered his services to another employer while at liberty during the conduct of the proceedings.

It is the obligation of the worker to give notice to the employer of the cause preventing him from attending work, within the five days following that on which his pretrial detention, simple imprisonment or minor arrest began, and to resume his work within the two days following that on which he obtained his liberty. If he fails to do so, the employer may terminate the contract, without either party incurring liability, unless the suspension must continue pursuant to subsection b) of Article 66.

In these cases the rule of the last paragraph of Article 67 shall govern.

At the request of the worker, the warden or head of the jail, under penalty of a fine of ten to five hundred quetzales, to be imposed by the respective labor judge, shall issue to him the necessary certificates for evidence of the matters referred to in the second paragraph of this Article.

The right to terminate the employment contract without just cause may not be exercised by the employer while the individual, partial or total suspension is in force. With just cause, the employer may do so at any time.

The worker may indeed terminate his employment contract without just cause while the suspension is in force, provided that he gives the prior notice required by law, and with just cause omitting such notice.

The following are causes of partial collective suspension of the employment contracts:

a)The legally declared strike, the causes of which have been deemed attributable to the employer by the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals;

b)The cases provided for in articles 251 and 252, second paragraph;

c)The lack of raw material to carry out the work, provided it is attributable to the employer, as declared by those tribunals; and

d)The causes listed in the following article, provided that the employers have agreed beforehand or agree afterwards to pay their workers, during the period the suspension is in force, their wages in part or in full.

In the case of subparagraph a) the rule of article 242, second paragraph, shall apply, and in the case of subparagraph c) the tribunals must determine at their discretion, according to the merits of the record, the amount of lost wages that the employer must pay to its workers.

They are causes of total collective suspension of the employment contracts, in which both parties are relieved of their fundamental obligations, without liability for them:

a)A legally declared strike, whose causes have not been deemed attributable to the employer by the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals;

b)A legally declared lockout;

c)Lack of raw material to carry out the work, provided it is not attributable to the employer;

d)Death or incapacity of the employer, when it has as a necessary, immediate and direct consequence the suspension of work; and

e)Other cases constituting force majeure or fortuitous event when they have as a necessary, immediate and direct consequence the suspension of work.

In the circumstances provided for in subparagraphs c), d) and e) of the preceding article, the Executive Branch, by agreement issued through the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, may issue emergency measures that, without harming employer interests, result in relief of the workers' economic situation.

The collective suspension, partial or total, takes effect:

a)In case of strike or lockout, from the day on which one or the other is carried out, provided that this occurs within the terms established by this Code; and

b)In the other cases, from the end of the day of the event that gave rise to it, provided that the employer initiates before the General Labor Inspectorate the full verification of the cause on which it is based, within the three days following the aforementioned day.

If the General Labor Inspectorate concludes that the alleged cause does not exist or that the suspension is unjustified, it must declare the request unfounded so that the workers may exercise their power to deem their contracts terminated, with liability for the employer.

While a collective suspension caused by a legal strike or lockout is in force, the rules of Articles 240 and 247 respectively shall govern.

While a collective suspension caused by other causes is in force, the employment contracts may be terminated, provided that more than three months have elapsed since such suspension began and that the employers pay the benefits under Articles 82 or 84 corresponding to each of their workers, or that the latter, as applicable, give the legal prior notice.

The resumption of work must be notified to the General Labor Inspectorate by the employer, for the sole effect of deeming terminated, without need for express declaration and without liability for the parties, the contracts of the workers who do not appear within the fifteen days following that on which said Inspectorate received the respective written notice.

The General Labor Inspectorate must undertake to inform the workers of the resumption of work, and to facilitate its work the employer must provide all pertinent information requested of him.

If for any reason, the Inspectorate fails to locate, within the third day counted from when it received all the information referred to in the preceding paragraph, one or more workers, it must notify the interested parties of the resumption of work by means of a notice to be published three consecutive times in the Official Gazette and in another one of private ownership that is among those of greatest circulation in the territory of the Republic. In this case, the fifteen-day period runs for said workers from the day on which the first publication was made.

There is termination of employment contracts when one or both of the parties forming the employment relationship put an end to it, effectively ceasing it, whether by the will of one of them, by mutual consent or for cause attributable to the other, or where the same occurs by provisions of the law, in which circumstances the rights and obligations arising from said contracts are extinguished.

The following are just causes authorizing the employer to terminate the employment contract without liability on the employer's part:

a)When the worker behaves during his or her work in an openly immoral manner or resorts to insult, calumny or physical violence against the employer or the representatives thereof in the direction of the work;

b)When the worker commits any of the acts listed in the preceding subsection against a fellow worker, during the time the work is being performed, provided that as a consequence thereof discipline is seriously disrupted or work is interrupted;

c)When the worker, outside the place where the work is performed and during working hours, resorts to insult, calumny or physical violence against the employer or against the representatives thereof in the direction of the work, provided that such acts were not provoked and that, as a consequence thereof, coexistence and harmony for the performance of the work are rendered impossible;

d)When the worker commits any crime or misdemeanor against property to the detriment of the employer, of any of his or her fellow workers or to the detriment of a third party inside the establishment; likewise when the worker intentionally, through carelessness or negligence, causes material damage to machines, tools, raw materials, products and other related objects, in a manner immediately or unquestionably connected with the work;

e)When the worker reveals the secrets referred to in subsection g) of Article 63;

f)When the worker fails to attend work without permission from the employer or without justified cause, for two complete and consecutive working days or for six half working days in the same calendar month. Justification for the absence must be provided at the time work is resumed, if it has not been provided before;

g)When the worker manifestly refuses to adopt preventive measures or to follow the prescribed procedures to avoid accidents or illnesses; or when the worker in the same manner refuses to comply with the rules or instructions that the employer or its representatives in the direction of the work clearly indicate to obtain the greatest efficiency and performance in the work;

h)When the worker violates any of the prohibitions of Article 64, or of the duly approved internal work rules, after the employer has warned him or her once in writing. Such warning shall not be necessary in the case of drunkenness when, as a consequence thereof, the life or safety of persons or of the property of the employer is endangered;

i)When the worker, upon entering into the contract, has misled the employer, claiming to have qualities, conditions or knowledge that he or she evidently does not possess, or presenting to the employer references or personal attestations whose falsity the employer subsequently proves, or performing his or her work in a manner that clearly demonstrates his or her incapacity in the performance of the work for which he or she was hired;

j)When the worker suffers the penalty of major arrest or is sentenced to correctional imprisonment, by final judgment; and

k)When the worker incurs any other serious breach of the obligations imposed on him or her by the contract.

It is understood that whenever the dismissal is based on an act also sanctioned by criminal laws, the right of the employer to bring the corresponding actions before the ordinary criminal authorities is reserved.

Termination of the employment contract pursuant to one or more of the causes listed in the preceding article takes effect from the time the employer communicates it in writing to the worker, indicating the cause of the dismissal, and the latter effectively ceases their work, but the worker enjoys the right to summon the employer before the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals, before the term of the limitation period elapses, for the purpose of the employer proving the just cause on which the dismissal was based. If the employer does not prove such cause, the employer must pay the worker:

a)The compensations to which the worker may be entitled under this Code; and

b)As damage and losses, the wages that the worker has failed to receive from the moment of the dismissal until payment of their compensation, up to a maximum of twelve (12) months of wage, and court costs.

The following are just causes entitling the worker to terminate his employment contract, without liability on his part:

a)When the employer does not pay him the full wage to which he is entitled, on the date and at the place agreed or customary. Deductions authorized by law remain unaffected;

b)When the employer, during work, commits a lack of probity or honesty, or conducts himself in an openly immoral manner or resorts to insult, slander or physical violence against the worker;

c)When the employer directly, one of his relatives, one of his dependents or one of the persons living in the house of the former, commits, with his authorization or tolerance, any of the acts listed in the preceding subsection against the worker;

d)When the employer, directly or through his family members or dependents, maliciously causes material damage to the worker's tools or implements;

e)When the employer or his representative in the direction of the work resorts to insult, slander or physical violence against the worker outside the place where the work is performed and during non-working hours, provided that such acts were not provoked and that as a consequence thereof coexistence and harmony for performance of the contract become impossible;

f)When the employer, a member of his family or his representative in the direction of the work or another worker is afflicted by a contagious disease, provided that the worker must remain in immediate contact with the person in question;

g)When there exists serious danger to the safety or health of the worker or his family, whether because the workplace lacks hygienic conditions, because of excessive unhealthiness of the region or because the employer fails to comply with the prevention and safety measures established by legal provisions;

h)When the employer, through his inexcusable imprudence or negligence, endangers the safety of the place where the work is performed or that of the persons found therein;

i)When the employer violates any of the prohibitions contained in Article 66;

j)When the employer or his representative in the direction of the work transfers the worker to a position of lower rank or with lower pay or fundamentally or permanently alters any other of his working conditions. However, in the case where the worker has been promoted to a position involving functions different from those performed by the interested party in the previous position, the employer within the trial period may return him to his original position, if he establishes the manifest incompetence of the latter in the performance of the position to which he was promoted. Where the promotion or increase in wage is made on a temporary basis, by virtue of qualified circumstances, the employer likewise incurs no liability in returning the worker to his original conditions; and

k)When the employer commits any other serious breach of the obligations imposed on him by the contract.

The rule contained in the final paragraph of Article 77 also applies in favor of workers.

The termination of the contract pursuant to one or more of the causes listed in the preceding article, constituting indirect dismissal, takes effect from the time the worker communicates it to the employer, the former in this case having immediately and effectively to cease performing their position. The time used in the delivery shall not be considered included within the employment relationship, but the employer must remunerate it to the worker in accordance with the wage corresponding to the latter. In the foregoing case, the employer enjoys the right to summon the worker before the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals and before the limitation period expires, in order to prove to the worker that the worker abandoned their work without just cause. If the employer proves the latter, in cases of contracts for an indefinite period, the worker must pay the employer the amount of the prior notice and the damage and losses caused thereby as prudentially estimated by said tribunals; and if they are fixed-term contracts or contracts for a specific work, the worker must satisfy the benefits indicated in Article 84.

The worker who deems himself indirectly dismissed likewise enjoys the right to sue their employer before the limitation period expires for payment of the indemnities and other applicable legal benefits.

In every contract for an indefinite period the first two months shall be deemed probationary, unless by mutual agreement the parties stipulate a shorter period.

During the probationary period either party may terminate the contract, by its own will, with just cause or without it, without incurring any liability.

Simulation of the probationary period is prohibited, for the purpose of evading recognition of the non-waivable rights of the workers and those arising from the employment contract for an indefinite period. If one or more companies hire workers to provide their services to another company, the latter shall be *jointly and severally liable to the affected workers, in accordance with the law.

If the employment contract for an indefinite period terminates after the trial period has elapsed, by reason of unjustified dismissal of the worker, or for any of the causes provided for in Article 79, the employer must pay to the worker compensation for time served equivalent to one month's wage for each year of continuous service and, if the services do not reach one year, in proportion to the period worked. For purposes of computing continuous service, the date on which the employment relationship began shall be taken into account, whatever it may be.

Compensation for time served shall also be governed by the following rules:

a)Its amount may not be subject to set-off, sale or assignment, nor may it be attached, except pursuant to the terms of Article 97;

b)Its amount shall be calculated on the basis of the average of the wages earned by the worker during the last six months in which the contract has been in force, or the time worked, if such period has not been completed;

c)Continuity of work shall not be interrupted by illness, annual leave, leaves, legal strike or other analogous causes which under this Code suspend but do not terminate the employment contract;

d)A clause of the contract that tends to interrupt the continuity of services rendered or to be rendered is null ipso jure; and

e)An employer who dismisses a worker by reason of illness or permanent disability or old age is not obligated to satisfy such compensation, provided that the wage-earner concerned is protected by the corresponding benefits of the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security and, from the very moment of cessation of the contract, remains earning a disability, sickness or old-age pension whose actuarial value is equivalent to or greater than said compensation for time served.

If the pension covered by the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security is lower, according to its actuarial value as determined by said Institute in accordance with the worker's life expectancy, the employer remains obligated only to pay the worker the difference.

If the worker does not enjoy such protection, the employer remains obligated to pay the worker the compensation for time served to which he is entitled.

A worker who, by reason of permanent illness or disability or old age, is unable to continue performing the duties of his position and who retires for any of such circumstances, which he must previously justify, has the right to have the employer pay him fifty percent of the compensation provided for in this Article, provided that he does not enjoy the corresponding benefits of the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security, but if, while enjoying them, it only grants him a pension whose actuarial value is less than that to which he would be entitled under the immediately preceding rule, according to the life expectancy established for said worker by said Institute, the employer is only obligated to pay him, at the time of retirement, the resulting difference to complete such compensation. In the event that the pension established for the worker by the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security is greater than or equal to the compensation indicated in this paragraph, according to the stated norms, the employer has no obligation whatsoever.

The worker who wishes to terminate his indefinite-term contract without just cause or attending solely to his own will and once the probationary period has elapsed must give prior notice to the employer in accordance with what is expressly stipulated in said contract, or failing that in accordance with the following rules:

a)Before completing six months of continuous service, with at least one week of advance notice;

b)After six months of continuous service but less than one year, with at least ten days of advance notice;

c)After one year of continuous service but less than five years, with at least two weeks of advance notice; and

d)After five years of continuous service, with at least one month of advance notice.

Such notices must always be given in writing, but if the contract is verbal, the worker may give it in the same form where he does so before two witnesses; they may not be compensated by the worker paying the employer an amount equal to the current wage corresponding to the aforementioned time limits, unless the latter consents thereto; and the employer, once the worker has given him the respective notice, may order him to cease his work, whether for having found a substitute or for any other reason, without incurring liability thereby.

The rules of subparagraphs c) and d) of Article 82 are applicable to the prior notice. Likewise, that of subparagraph b) of the same legal text is applicable, in all those cases in which it is appropriate to calculate the monetary amount of the respective time limit.

In fixed-term contracts and contracts for the performance of a specific work, either party may terminate them, without just cause, before the expiration of the term or the completion of the work, by paying to the other the corresponding damages, as determined by a labor inspector or, if litigation has already arisen, as determined by the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals.

If the premature termination of the contract has been ordered by the employer, the damages that the employer must pay to the worker may not be less than one day's wage for each month of continuous work performed, or fraction of lesser time, if said term has not been agreed. This minimum of damages must be satisfied at the very moment of cessation of the contract and is deductible from the greater amount of damages that the labor authorities may subsequently determine.

The following are causes that terminate work contracts of any kind whatsoever, without liability for the worker and without extinguishing the rights of the latter or of his heirs or concubine to claim and obtain payment of the benefits or compensation that may correspond to them by virtue of what is ordered by this Code or by special provisions, such as those contained in the regulations issued by the Guatemalan Social Security Institute in the exercise of its powers:

a)Death of the worker, in which case, if the latter at the time of his decease did not enjoy the protection of said Institute, or if his economic dependents are not entitled to its correlative benefits for any reason, the obligation of the employer is to pay to said dependents the amount of one month of wage for each year of services rendered, up to the maximum limit of fifteen months, in the case of enterprises with twenty or more workers, and of ten months, if they are enterprises with fewer than twenty workers. Said compensation must be paid by the employer in monthly payments equivalent to the amount of the wage that for the same period the worker was earning. In the event that the benefits granted by the Institute in case of death of the worker are less than the stated rule, the obligation of the employer is limited to paying, in the indicated form, the resulting difference to complete this benefit;

The status as beneficiaries of the deceased worker must be proved before the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals, by means of certificates of the Civil Register or by any other pertinent means of evidence, without requiring the legal formalities that under ordinary law would be applicable, but the declaration that the judge makes in this respect may not be invoked except for the purposes of this subparagraph. The matter must be processed in an incidental proceeding; and

b)Force majeure or fortuitous event; insolvency, bankruptcy or judicial or extrajudicial liquidation of the enterprise; or incapacity or death of the employer. This rule governs when the facts to which it refers produce as a necessary consequence the absolute impossibility of performing the contract.

In these cases, the General Labor Inspectorate, or the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals if litigation has already arisen, must discretionarily fix the amount of the obligations of the enterprise as dismissal without in any case these being less than the amount of two days of wage, nor greater than four months of wage, for each worker. For this purpose, account must be taken, fundamentally, of the economic capacity of the respective enterprise, in harmony with the length of time each contract has been in force.

Notwithstanding the maximum limit established by the preceding paragraph, if the insolvency or bankruptcy is declared culpable or fraudulent, the rules of articles 82 and 84 shall be applied in the event that they give rise to greater benefits or compensation in favor of the workers.

The employment contract terminates without liability for the parties for any of the following causes:

a)By the advent of the term in fixed-term contracts and by the completion of the work in contracts for a specific work;

b)By the legal causes expressly stipulated therein; and

c)By mutual consent.

Upon the expiration of every employment contract, for whatever cause it terminates, the employer must give the worker a document that states only:

a)The date of their entry and exit;

b)The type of work performed; and

c)The ordinary and extraordinary wage earned during the last pay period.

If the worker so wishes, the certificate must also specify:

a)The manner in which they worked; and

b)The cause or causes of the termination of the contract.