Countries › Peru › Guide › 16. What is normal abroad but not here › Thirty calendar days of paid vacation, with a triple penalty if not taken

Thirty calendar days of paid vacation, with a triple penalty if not taken

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

Abroad paid vacation is often two to four weeks and can lapse; in Peru every worker earns 30 calendar days of paid vacation per full year of service, paid before the vacation starts. Vacation can be split at the worker's written request and reduced to 15 days only by written agreement with 15 days of extra pay. If it is not taken within the following year the employer owes the vacation pay plus an indemnity of one more monthly salary, and untaken or partial vacation is paid out at exit.

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 amounts use the 2026 UIT of S/ 5,500 set by Decreto Supremo Nº 301-2025-EF, as cited in SUNAT Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 000016-2026/SUNAT. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Paid vacation per full year of service	30 calendar daysDL 713 art. 10, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Minimum vacation to enjoy if the rest is sold back	15 calendar daysDL 713 art. 19, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Indemnity for vacation not taken within the following year	1 monthly salaryDL 713 art. 23, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. The worker is entitled to 30 calendar days of vacation for each full year of service, provided the minimum attendance record is met: at least 260 days of actual work in the year for six day weeks and 210 days for five day weeks.
Cost to do it: One month of pay per year without work.
Example: An employee hired on 1 March 2026 earns the right to 30 days on 1 March 2027.Decreto Legislativo Nº 713, Descansos remunerados (8 November 1991), Art. 10, 1991-11-08 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Vacation pay equals what the worker would normally earn if still working, using the CTS computable remuneration, and must be paid before the vacation starts. The employer must record the vacation dates and payment in the payroll records.
Cost to do it: One monthly remuneration, paid in advance.
Example: An employee on S/ 5,000 going on vacation on 1 December is paid the S/ 5,000 vacation pay before that date. / About US$1,448.Decreto Legislativo Nº 713, Art. 15, 16 and 20, 1991-11-08 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Vacation must be enjoyed without interruption, but at the worker's written request it can be split: 15 calendar days in blocks of seven and eight days, and the rest in blocks of less than seven days, down to one day. By written agreement vacation can be reduced from 30 to 15 days with compensation of 15 days of pay, charged only to the part that can be split into blocks under seven days. Rest days can also be advanced by written agreement against future vacation.
Cost to do it: Buying back 15 days costs half a month of pay on top of the vacation pay.
Example: An employee on S/ 5,000 who agrees in writing to take 15 days and sell 15 receives S/ 5,000 of vacation pay plus S/ 2,500 of compensation and works the other 15 days. / About US$2,173 in total.Decreto Legislativo Nº 713, art. 10, 17 and 19 as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1405 (12 September 2018), Art. 10, 17 and 19, 2018-09-12 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Decreto Legislativo Nº 1405 of 12 September 2018 allowed splitting vacation into blocks as short as one day and limited the 15 day reduction to that split portion.

4. Workers who do not enjoy their vacation within the year after the one in which they earned it receive one remuneration for the work done, one remuneration for the vacation earned and not taken, and an indemnity of one remuneration for not having taken it; the indemnity is not subject to contributions or taxes.
Cost to do it: One extra monthly salary as indemnity per untaken vacation period.
Example: If an employee on S/ 5,000 never takes the vacation earned on 1 March 2026 by 1 March 2027, the employer owes S/ 5,000 of vacation pay plus a S/ 5,000 indemnity on top of the salary for the work done. / About US$2,897 on top of salary.Decreto Legislativo Nº 713, Art. 23, 1991-11-08 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Workers who leave after a full year and the attendance record without taking vacation are paid the full vacation pay; partial years (vacaciones truncas) are paid by twelfths and thirtieths of the remuneration for each month and day worked.
Cost to do it: Proportional vacation pay at exit.
Example: An employee on S/ 5,000 who leaves 7 months into a vacation year is paid seven twelfths, S/ 2,916.67. / About US$844.92.Decreto Legislativo Nº 713, Art. 22, 1991-11-08 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Scenario	Amount owed	USD
30 days taken	S/ 5,000 vacation pay, paid in advance	US$1,448
15 days taken, 15 sold back	S/ 5,000 plus S/ 2,500	US$2,173
Not taken within the following year	S/ 5,000 vacation pay plus S/ 5,000 indemnity	US$2,897
Exit after 7 months of a vacation year	S/ 2,916.67	US$845

Vacation scenarios for a S/ 5,000 a month employee (USD at S/ 3.452)

Worked example

A team of 20 employees on S/ 5,000 who all let a vacation period lapse creates S/ 100,000 of indemnities, about US$28,969, on top of the vacation pay.

Step by step

Keep a vacation calendar per employee and agree dates in advance; if there is no agreement the employer sets them.
Pay vacation pay before the leave starts and record dates and payment in the payroll.
Document any split or 15 day reduction with a written request or agreement.
Make sure each vacation period is taken within the year after it is earned to avoid the indemnity.
Include truncated vacation in every final settlement.

Common traps

Letting vacation accumulate creates an extra monthly salary of liability per period.
Selling back more than 15 days is not allowed.
Vacation pay uses the CTS computable base, so regular variable pay counts.
Splitting vacation needs the worker's written request; the employer cannot impose blocks.

Sources

← Working hours: 48 a week, voluntary overtime with a 25 to 35 percent premiumA family allowance for every worker with children →

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