An individual employment contract should be in writing and identify the parties, work, pay, schedule and duration. Employers can submit contracts through the MTPS Oportunidades Empresa service; the authority has up to 20 working days to review the submission and issue an acknowledgment. No official fee is listed for this worker-facing contract procedure. Telework under Decreto 600 is a contractual working arrangement, and its rights and duties generally remain governed by labor law. Daytime work runs from 06:00 to 19:00 and night work from 19:00 to 06:00. The usual maximum is 8 hours per day and 44 hours per week for daytime work, or 7 hours per day and 39 hours per week for night work. Dangerous or unhealthy work has lower limits of 7 hours per day and 39 hours per week during the day, or 6 hours per day and 36 hours per week at night. Workers aged 14 or 15 may work no more than 6 hours per day or 34 hours per week and may not work at night. Night work receives a 25% premium, while overtime is paid at the basic wage plus 100%; night overtime also includes the night premium. Special schedules require MTPS approval, normally within 20 working days, and the application fee is USD 50. Approved arrangements can include extra work to free Saturday or Sunday, continuous night overtime, a split schedule of up to three parts within 12 hours, municipal or essential-service needs, or a different rest day. The legal tender is the US dollar. From June 1, 2025, the monthly minimum wage is USD 408.80 in commerce, industry and services; USD 402.32 in textile maquila and garment manufacturing; USD 305.23 in sugarcane work and coffee processing; and USD 272.53 in coffee production, agriculture, fishing and other agricultural activities. The Consejo Nacional del Salario Mínimo sets these rates. Equal work must receive equal pay, and deductions from wages are limited by law. The annual bonus, called aguinaldo, has a minimum of 15 days of pay after 1 to less than 3 years of service, 19 days after 3 to less than 10 years, and 21 days after 10 years or more. Under Decreto 433, payment is made between October 20 and December 20, with proportional payment for employment lasting less than one year. A statutory public holiday, called asueto, is normally paid; working on it by agreement adds a 100% premium. Semana Santa from Sunday through Saturday is a statutory holiday period. After one year of continuous work, annual leave is 15 days with an additional 30% payment. Pregnancy protection begins when pregnancy starts and continues until six months after postnatal leave. A dismissal does not end the employment relationship during this protected period unless a legally relevant cause existed before the pregnancy. Under Article 113-A, a labor judge may order reinstatement on the court's initiative or on request. Maternity leave totals 16 weeks through the Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro Social (ISSS), with 10 weeks required after birth. The ISSS maternity subsidy is generally 100% of the basic salary when the worker has at least 16 contribution weeks in the previous 12 months. Paternity leave is 3 days for birth or adoption. Until six months after childbirth, breastfeeding time may last up to one paid hour per day, divided into two breaks and separate from the meal break. Workers may report discrimination, workplace harassment, sexual harassment, violence, pregnancy-test discrimination, or discrimination based on HIV status, disability, chronic illness, sex, race or religion to the MTPS. Employers must protect occupational safety and health and maintain an occupational-risk prevention programme. A Comité de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional (CSSO) is generally required from 15 employees or when ordered by the Dirección General de Previsión Social. CSSO accreditation costs USD 100 and the training certificate costs another USD 100. Illness and ordinary accidents may qualify for an ISSS subsidy of 75% after the applicable waiting rules and limits. A work-accident subsidy can begin on the second day and last up to 52 weeks. The accident must be reported to the MTPS. Registration with the ISSS and an AFP pension system is relevant to formal social-security coverage. Workers may form sindicatos, federaciones and confederaciones. The Departamento Nacional de Organizaciones Sociales (DNOS) within the MTPS grants legal personality to a union. The application normally includes a founding assembly record certified by a notary or the MTPS, two copies of the statutes and identity documents; the stated maximum processing time is 30 working days. A resolution and publication in the Diario Oficial follow approval. A worker who leaves a union can submit a desafiliación request through the DNOS, with a stated maximum of 20 working days. Collective agreements are registered with the MTPS using the original agreement, two copies, proof of both parties' legal personality, assembly minutes and a preamble; private-sector registration has a maximum of 5 working days. Public-sector agreements follow the Ley del Servicio Civil. Union dues require authorization. Labor conflicts commonly move from trato directo to conciliación and then arbitration, while strikes and employer lockouts are subject to statutory requirements and procedures. The Código de Trabajo covers termination without employer liability, termination requiring judicial involvement, employer-initiated dismissal, mutual consent, resignation and dismissal. For an indefinite contract ended without justified cause, compensation is generally 30 days of basic salary for each year of service plus the proportional part of an incomplete year, subject to a minimum of 15 days. Ending a fixed-term contract early without cause can require payment of the remaining contractual wages, capped by the corresponding indefinite-contract entitlement. Under Decreto 592, a private-sector worker who has more than two years with the same employer and has not previously received the benefit may qualify for a voluntary-resignation payment, typically 15 days of salary per year. Resignation notice is usually 15 days, or 30 days for a management position, and employer acceptance is not required. Failure to pay the resignation benefit can create a legal presumption of unfair dismissal. The MTPS calculator is informative. If an employer refuses to receive the resignation or provide proof of receipt, the worker can notify the resignation through the MTPS within 20 working days. A worker can file an MTPS complaint online, at one of 14 departmental or regional offices, or through call center 130. Typical complaints concern unpaid wages, minimum wage, overtime, aguinaldo, vacation, working time, night-work premiums, missing ISSS or AFP registration, pregnancy protection, harassment, union discrimination, reinstatement and workplace accidents. Individual conciliation can be oral or written before the MTPS Dirección General de Trabajo and can last up to 20 working days; no fee is listed for this worker-facing procedure. The Dirección General de Inspección de Trabajo handles inspections. An administrative sanction procedure includes written notice, 10 working days for a hearing and defense, evidence and a final hearing before a decision. A worker must bring a court claim before a Juzgado de lo Laboral when a judicial ruling or enforcement is required. Many termination claims, dismissal compensation claims and specified contractual claims have a 60-day limitation period under Article 610, while other Código de Trabajo claims generally have a 60-day period under Article 616. MTPS conciliation may affect the running of a limitation period, so the deadline should be secured immediately. Special administrative fees also exist for matters such as an internal work regulation, a solvencia laboral certificate and other employer procedures; the fact sheet lists USD 50 for an internal regulation, USD 500 for solvencia laboral, and the separate occupational-safety fees stated above.
Labor law in El Salvador
Labor law in El Salvador sets rules for private employment, including contracts, working time, pay, workplace protection, worker representation, disputes and termination. The Código de Trabajo is the main statute, while public and municipal employment generally follows separate legal regimes. The Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social (MTPS) handles labor administration, inspections, conciliation and union registration, while labor courts decide claims and enforce judgments. National rules apply throughout El Salvador without separate departmental or municipal labor regimes for ordinary private employment.
Tip
Treat labor-law problems in El Salvador as both evidence and deadline matters. Check your contract, pay, working time, social-security registration and protected status before choosing between MTPS conciliation, an inspection or a labor-court claim. Secure any 60-day limitation period immediately, especially after dismissal or unpaid wages.