Countries › Panama › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Vacation and leave in Panama: 30 days per 11 months, 14 weeks of maternity leave, 3 days of paternity leave, sick leave fund and breastfeeding breaks

Vacation and leave in Panama: 30 days per 11 months, 14 weeks of maternity leave, 3 days of paternity leave, sick leave fund and breastfeeding breaks

Last verified: 2026-10-29 · Status: Stable

Workers earn 30 days of paid vacation for every 11 months of continuous work, which cannot be waived for money and can be accumulated for at most two periods. Pregnant workers get 14 weeks of paid maternity leave (six before and eight after birth), are protected from dismissal without court approval, and the employer tops up the social security subsidy. Fathers get three working days of paid paternity leave, every worker builds a paid sick leave fund of 12 hours per 26 days worked, and Ley 498 of 2025 sets breastfeeding breaks and lactation rooms.

Panama's currency, the balboa (B/.), is at par with the US dollar, which circulates as legal tender; the Superintendencia de Bancos states that the balboa's value is on a par with the US dollar (checked 29 October 2026). USD figures therefore equal the balboa figures.

Key facts

Paid vacation per 11 months of continuous work	30 daysCódigo de Trabajo art. 54, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Maximum vacation periods that may be accumulated	2 periodsCódigo de Trabajo art. 59, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Paid maternity leave	14 weeksCódigo de Trabajo art. 107 (Ley 44 de 1995), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Paid paternity leave (private sector)	3 working daysLey 27 de 2017 art. 3, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Paid sick leave fund	144 hours per yearCódigo de Trabajo art. 200, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Women of childbearing age above which a lactation room is required	20 womenLey 498 de 2025 art. 40, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Exchange rate used for USD conversions	1 PAB per USDBalboa at par with the US dollar (Superintendencia de Bancos), as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Every worker is entitled to 30 days of paid vacation for each 11 months of continuous work, at the rate of one day per eleven days of service. Pay is one month's salary for monthly paid staff or four and a third weeks for weekly paid staff, using the average of the last 11 months or the last base salary, whichever is more favorable. Vacation pay must be paid three days before the vacation starts, and on termination unused days are paid in proportion at one day per eleven days worked.
Example: Monthly salary B/.2,000: vacation pay B/.2,000 for 30 days. An employee leaving after 110 days of service is owed 10 days of proportional vacation. / US$2,000 salary: US$2,000 vacation pay.Código de Trabajo (Decreto de Gabinete 252 de 1971), arts. 52 and 54, 1971-12-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Vacations must be taken without interruption and may be split into at most two equal parts only where a collective agreement allows it and the worker agrees each time. The employer sets the date with two months' notice and cannot schedule it more than three months after the right arose without the worker's express consent and the labor authorities' involvement.Código de Trabajo (Decreto de Gabinete 252 de 1971), arts. 56 and 57, 1971-12-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Vacation cannot be exchanged for money. It may be accumulated for up to two periods by agreement notified to the labor authority, which may prohibit it within 20 days; when accumulated, the worker must take at least 15 paid days in the first period.Código de Trabajo art. 59, last paragraph added by Ley 44 de 1995 art. 6, art. 59, 1995-08-12 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. While a worker is on sick leave or vacation, the employer cannot start, adopt or notify any disciplinary or termination measure, on pain of nullity, and limitation periods are suspended. Hospitalization during vacation interrupts the vacation if notified within five days.Código de Trabajo art. 55; art. 60 as replaced by Ley 44 de 1995 art. 7, arts. 55 and 60, 1995-08-12 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. From the start of employment each worker builds a sick leave fund of 12 hours for every 26 days worked, up to 144 hours a year, usable with full pay for proven non occupational illness or accident. It may be accumulated for two consecutive years and used in the third. Medical certificates must meet formal requirements to be valid.Código de Trabajo art. 200, paragraphs 3 and 4 added by Ley 44 de 1995 art. 30, art. 200, 1995-08-12 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. A pregnant worker is entitled to paid maternity leave for the six weeks before and the eight weeks after birth, never less than 14 weeks in total. The employer pays the difference between the Caja de Seguro Social maternity subsidy and the worker's pay, and pays it all where the Caja is not obliged to. No disciplinary or termination measure may be started or notified during the leave.Código de Trabajo art. 107 as replaced by Ley 44 de 1995 art. 14, art. 107, 1995-08-12 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. A pregnant worker may be dismissed only for just cause and with prior court authorization. If dismissed without it, she can present a medical certificate of pregnancy within 20 days and must be reinstated with back pay from the dismissal date; between 20 days and three months later she can still demand reinstatement, with back pay only from the certificate date.Código de Trabajo (Decreto de Gabinete 252 de 1971), art. 106, 1971-12-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. A private sector worker whose wife or stable partner gives birth is entitled to three working days of paid paternity leave from the date of birth, giving the employer one week's notice of the expected date and then the birth certificate. During the leave he may not work for another employer or on his own account.Ley 27 de 23 de mayo de 2017, arts. 1 to 5, 2017-05-23 official text · verified 2026-10-29

9. A breastfeeding mother may take 15 minutes every two hours or half an hour twice a day during working hours to express milk or feed her child, counted as paid working time and not including travel to the lactation room; the employer and worker agree how she takes it. Employers with more than 20 women of childbearing age must have a lactation room meeting Ministerio de Salud standards; others must provide a private space within their means. The right lasts until the child is six months old, extended to twelve months for expressing milk.Ley 498 de 13 de noviembre de 2025 (subrogating Ley 50 de 1995); Código de Trabajo art. 114 as worded by Ley 135 de 2020, Ley 498 arts. 38 to 41; Código de Trabajo art. 114, 2025-11-13 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Ley 498 of 13 November 2025 replaced Ley 50 de 1995 on breastfeeding; it covers public and private sector mothers working in person or remotely, excludes travel time to the lactation room from the break and ties the lactation room duty to more than 20 women of childbearing age.

Leave	Length	Who pays	Source
Annual vacation	30 days per 11 months worked	Employer	Código de Trabajo art. 54
Maternity	14 weeks (6 before, 8 after birth)	Caja de Seguro Social subsidy, employer pays the difference	Código de Trabajo art. 107
Paternity	3 working days	Employer	Ley 27 de 2017 art. 3
Sick leave fund	12 hours per 26 days worked, 144 hours a year, accumulable two years	Employer	Código de Trabajo art. 200
Breastfeeding breaks	15 minutes every 2 hours or 30 minutes twice a day	Employer (paid working time)	Ley 498 de 2025; Código de Trabajo art. 114

Main paid leave entitlements, Código de Trabajo, Ley 27 de 2017 and Ley 498 de 2025.

Worked example

An employee earning B/.1,200 (US$1,200) a month resigns after 7 months.
She has worked about 213 days, so she is owed about 19 days of proportional vacation (213 divided by 11), roughly B/.760 (US$760) at B/.40 a day on a 30 day month basis.
She is also owed the accrued part of the current thirteenth month installment and any unpaid salary.

Step by step

Track vacation accrual per worker from the hiring date and schedule leave with two months' notice.
Pay vacation pay three days before the leave starts.
On notice of pregnancy, flag the worker in HR systems: any dismissal needs prior court authorization.
Register lactation room compliance if more than 20 women of childbearing age work on site.
Do not issue warnings or dismissals while a worker is on vacation, sick leave or maternity leave.

Common traps

Paying cash instead of granting vacation does not discharge the obligation.
Dismissing a pregnant worker without prior court approval leads to reinstatement with back pay, even if the employer did not know of the pregnancy.
Any measure notified during vacation or sick leave is void, and the clock for disciplinary action stops.
The employer must top up the maternity subsidy to full pay, and pay it in full if the worker is not covered by the Caja de Seguro Social.

Sources

← Pay rules and the thirteenth month salary in Panama: what counts as salary, fortnightly payment, deductions and the décimo tercer mesTermination and severance in Panama: just cause, stability after two years, the seniority premium, 3.4 weeks per year indemnity and the cesantía fund →

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