Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Domestic workers in the Dominican Republic: Convention 189, the 2022 resolution and the RD$13,000 minimum

Domestic workers in the Dominican Republic: Convention 189, the 2022 resolution and the RD$13,000 minimum

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Changing

Household workers have a special title in the code, with Resolución 14-2022 bringing in Convention 189 rights such as an eight hour day and 44 hour week. The minimum wage is RD$13,000 a month since May 2025. They have no notice or cesantía unless agreed, and social security runs through a pilot plan with fixed monthly payments.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.9007 per US dollar for 29 October 2026, as shown on its home page on the verification date, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Minimum monthly wage, domestic workers	13000 DOPResolución CNS-02-2025, as of 2025-05-01 · in force
Maximum week	44 hoursResolución 14-2022 Fourth, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Paid vacation after a year	14 working daysResolución 14-2022 Seventh, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Fixed pilot plan contribution at 2022 values	859.43 DOP a monthResolución CNSS 551-08 Third, as of 2022-08-25 · in force
Exchange rate used for USD conversions	60.9007 DOP per USDBanco Central reference selling rate, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Domestic workers do household tasks exclusively and habitually, without profit for the employer. Staff of a condominium are not domestic workers.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 258, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Domestic contracts are ruled solely by this title of the code. Room and board count as 50% of cash salary, unless agreed otherwise.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 259 and art. 260, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. The contract should preferably be written, signed in three originals and sent to the Ministry to be registered. The employer must register domestic workers in the way the Ministry sets.Resolución 14-2022, Second, 2022-08-25 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. The contract states the parties, address, start date, type of work, pay and pay period, hours, vacation and rest, food and lodging if any, and exit terms.Resolución 14-2022, Third, 2022-08-25 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Hours cannot exceed eight a day or 44 a week, with 36 hours of weekly rest. Work on the rest period pays 100% more or a compensating rest.Resolución 14-2022, Fourth, 2022-08-25 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: Added limits that the code's art. 261 did not have.

6. Salary cannot be under the sector minimum, and pay periods cannot exceed a month.Resolución 14-2022, Fifth, 2022-08-25 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. The minimum wage is RD$13,000 a month from 1 May 2025.Resolución CNS-02-2025, Second, 2025-04-08 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: Replaced Resolución 11-2022.

8. Christmas salary of one twelfth is due by 20 December, and the worker gets 14 working days of vacation after a full year.Resolución 14-2022, Sixth and Seventh, 2022-08-25 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. At the end of the contract the worker gets Christmas salary and unused vacation, or the proportion of both, but no notice pay or cesantía unless agreed.Resolución 14-2022, Tenth, 2022-08-25 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. Domestic work by anyone under 18 is prohibited, and private employment agencies cannot deduct from wages to collect their fees.Resolución 14-2022, Ninth and Twelfth, 2022-08-25 official text · verified 2026-10-30

11. A domestic worker who catches an illness directly from a family member keeps full pay until recovery.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 265, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

12. CNSS created a pilot plan in 2022 for domestic workers in the contributory subsidized regime, with a fixed RD$859.43 a month: RD$571.50 from the employer, RD$28.50 from the worker and RD$259.43 from the State. Multiple employers each pay the fixed amount. The amount is to be revised when per capita values change.Resolución CNSS 551-08, First and Third, 2022-08-25 official text · verified 2026-10-30

13. Benefits of the pilot include basic health cover, disability and survivor pension rules and occupational risk, with maternity of 14 weeks and sickness subsidies at 60% or 40% calculated on the sector minimum.Resolución CNSS 551-08, Fifth, 2022-08-25 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Item	Domestic worker	General rule
Hours	8 a day and 44 a week	Same
Vacation	14 working days	14, then 18
Christmas salary	One twelfth	One twelfth
Notice and cesantía	None unless agreed	Yes
Minimum wage	RD$13,000	By sector

Domestic workers against the general rule

Worked example

A family pays RD$20,000 a month (US$328.40). At year end the Christmas salary is RD$20,000 (about US$328.40). If the job ends after two years there is no cesantía, only pending vacation and Christmas salary.

Step by step

Write the contract in three originals.
Register it with the Ministry.
Check age and identity documents.
Agree hours, breaks and rest in writing.
Ask the TSS about enrolment under the pilot.
Pay Christmas salary by 20 December.

Common traps

Art. 263 of the code says two weeks of vacation and Resolución 14-2022 says 14 working days, so use the longer one.
We did not find a more recent CNSS update, so treat the RD$859.43 as the 2022 figure and confirm it with the TSS.
Bill text in 2026 would have moved these rules into the code, but it did not pass.
A condominium's staff are ordinary workers, with full severance rights.

Sources

← Labor inspections, claims and penalties in the Dominican Republic: short deadlines, fast courts and fines in minimum salariesApprentices, minors and internships in the Dominican Republic →

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