Countries › Peru › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Workplace health and safety in Peru: Ley 29783, committees from 20 workers, four trainings a year and liability for contractors

Workplace health and safety in Peru: Ley 29783, committees from 20 workers, four trainings a year and liability for contractors

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

Every employer must run a safety and health management system; companies with 20 or more workers need an internal safety regulation and a joint safety committee, while smaller ones have a supervisor chosen by the workers. Employers must give at least four safety trainings a year, hand each worker the internal regulation, attach safety recommendations to contracts, and report fatal accidents and dangerous incidents to the Ministry of Labor. The company that hosts contractors and staffing agencies is jointly liable for their safety failures, and deliberate breaches that endanger lives after official notice are a crime punishable by prison.

USD figures use S/ 3.452 per US dollar, the banking system selling rate published by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP for 27 October 2026, from the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú statistics series PD04640PD. UIT based amounts use the 2026 UIT of S/ 5,500 (Decreto Supremo Nº 301-2025-EF, as cited by SUNAT Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 000016-2026). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Workforce size requiring a safety committee and internal safety regulation	20 workersLey 29783 art. 29, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum safety trainings per year	4 trainingsLey 29783 art. 35 b), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum prison term for deliberate safety breaches causing death	8 yearsCódigo Penal art. 168-A (Ley 30222), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Host company jointly liable for contractors' safety failures it did not supervise	Yes flagLey 29783 art. 68, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. The employer must adopt a safety and health management system approach in line with international instruments and current law, with workers and their unions taking part in consultation, information and training.Ley Nº 29783, Ley de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo, Art. 17 and 19, 2011-08-20 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. Companies with 20 or more workers draw up an internal safety and health regulation and set up a joint safety and health committee; where there is a majority union, a union member joins as observer. In workplaces with fewer than 20 workers, the workers appoint a safety and health supervisor. Employers can contract third parties to manage the system, but keep the legal responsibility.Ley Nº 29783, Ley de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo as amended by Ley Nº 30222, Art. 26, 29 and 30, 2014-07-11 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. To build knowledge on safety and health, the employer must give each worker a copy of the internal regulation, hold at least four safety trainings a year, and attach the job's safety recommendations to the employment contract.
Cost to do it: Training and documentation costs; trainings must be within the working day under the law's training rules.Ley Nº 29783, Ley de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo, Art. 35, 2011-08-20 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. The employer at whose premises contractors, subcontractors, staffing agencies and worker cooperatives work alongside its own staff guarantees a management system covering everyone on site and the duty of prevention for all personnel, verifies that each employer has the required insurance, and supervises their compliance; if it fails, it is jointly liable for the resulting damages and compensation. The principal employer also responds directly for infractions arising from failure to guarantee safety.
Cost to do it: Joint liability for damages to contractors' workers if the host fails to verify insurance or supervise compliance.Ley Nº 29783, Ley de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo, Art. 68 and 103, 2011-08-20 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Every employer must inform the Ministry of Labor of every fatal work accident, dangerous incidents that endanger workers or the public, and other situations that endanger workers' life or physical or psychological integrity. Companies that contract works, services or labor from contractors or agencies must notify accidents, incidents and occupational illnesses of those workers.Ley Nº 29783, Ley de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo, Art. 82, 2011-08-20 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. Anyone who deliberately breaches safety and health rules, being legally obliged and having been previously notified by the authority, and thereby puts workers' life, health or physical integrity in imminent danger faces one to four years in prison; if a worker or third party dies or is seriously injured and the result was foreseeable, four to eight years for death and three to six years for serious injury.Código Penal art. 168-A as amended by Ley Nº 30222, Fourth complementary modifying provision, 2014-07-11 official text · verified 2026-10-28

7. Workers in activities on the high risk list must also be covered by occupational risk insurance (SCTR), paid by the employer.Ley Nº 26790, Art. 19, 1997-05-17 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Worked example

A Canadian mining contractor runs a site in Ancash with 120 workers plus 40 subcontractor staff.
With more than 20 workers it adopts an internal safety regulation and forms a joint committee, giving each worker a copy of the regulation and holding quarterly trainings (Ley 29783 art. 29 and 35).
It checks that the subcontractor has SCTR and other required insurance and audits its compliance, since otherwise it would be jointly liable for damages to those workers (art. 68; Ley 26790 art. 19).
When a dangerous incident occurs, it reports it to the Ministry of Labor and investigates (art. 58 and 82).

Step by step

Design a safety and health management system scaled to the risks of the activity (Ley 29783 art. 17).
Below 20 workers, have the workers appoint a supervisor; at 20 or more, adopt an internal regulation and set up the joint committee (art. 26, 29 and 30).
Schedule at least four trainings a year and attach the job's safety recommendations to each contract (art. 35).
Before contractors start on site, check their insurance and safety compliance and include them in your system (art. 68).
Report fatal accidents and dangerous incidents to the Ministry of Labor and keep the system's records updated (art. 28 and 82).
Buy SCTR cover for workers in high risk activities (Ley 26790 art. 19).

Common traps

Outsourcing work does not outsource safety responsibility: the host company remains jointly liable if it does not supervise (Ley 29783 art. 68).
Crossing 20 workers triggers the committee and internal regulation duties (art. 29).
Ignoring an authority's prior notice on safety measures can turn an administrative issue into a crime (Código Penal art. 168-A).
Safety records must be kept up to date and available to workers and the authority (art. 28).

Sources

← Remote work in Peru: Ley 31572 on telework, equipment and expense compensation, and the right to digital disconnectionLabor inspections, fines and claims in Peru: SUNAFIL, fines of up to 300 UIT, the four year limitation period and the 30 day dismissal deadline →

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