The current and main laws that rule employment in Honduras are the Labor Code and reforms; National Program of Employment per Hour and Bylaws and dispositions of social security and the minimum wage.

The entities in charge of accomplishing the employment and labor laws are the Secretariat of Labor and Social Security Institution.

Contracts may be oral or written.  The Labor Code authorizes the verbal contract in cases of:
a) Domestic service;
b) Incidental or temporary work not exceeding sixty (60) days;
c) A given work which value does not exceed two hundred 200.00 Lempiras (almost us$10), and, if it has been stated time for delivery, provided it is not more than sixty (60) days and,
d) A farming or ranching, unless in the case of industrial or commercial enterprises from agriculture or livestock.

In other cases the lack of a written contract is attributed to the employer. This means that in case of conflict it will be assumed that the facts alleged by the employee are true except proof of the contrary.

The written contract must contain:
a) Name, surname, age, sex, marital status, profession or occupation, address, origin and nationality of the parties, number, place and date of issue of the identity card of the parties, and when they are not obliged to carry them, will be referred to any other authentic document or verify the identity by two competent witnesses who also sign the contract;
b) The designation of the services that the worker is obliged to pay, or the nature of the work to be performed, if possible specifying the characteristics and working conditions;
c) The duration of the contract or the expression of being open ended and the date it will start to work. When working relationship preceded the writing of the contract award shall be entered also the date the employee began providing services to the employer;
d) The place or places where services should be provided or performed the work;
e) The place at which the worker must live, where the provision of services shall be in place other than the place where he usually lives under the agreement and the employer is obliged to provide accommodation;
f) The time of the working day and times to be provided;
g) If the work is to be performed per unit of time, labor, task or piece, or two (2) or more of these systems at a time, according to the demands of the tasks;
h) The salary, profit, commission or participation that should receive the worker, whether to calculate per unit time, per unit of work or otherwise, and how, time and place of payment;
In contracts requiring that wages be paid at piece rates, it must state the amount and quality of materials, tools and supplies that the employer agrees to provide and the condition thereof, and as long as the worker can have them at your disposal.

The employer cannot require the worker any amount in respect of normal wear or accidental destruction of the tools because of their use in the workplace.

i) Full name of the people living with the worker and who are financially dependent on him;
j) the employer to provide benefits in the form of room, light, fuel, food, etc., if the employer is obliged to provide them, and the estimate of its value;
k) Other provisions agreed upon by the parties;
l) Place and date of the contract, and,
m) Signature of Contracting and when they don´t know how to sign or cannot sign shall state that fact and it will be allowed digital finger printing and another person will sign at his request.

Honduran labor law allows individual employment contracts for a limited time or determined time.
a) For a limited time, when specified date for completion is planned or when the occurrence of any event or circumstance as the construction of a work which has necessarily to terminate the employment relationship. In the latter case, one must take into account the worker's activity in itself, as an object of the contract, and not the result of the work, and,
b) For work or services, when set globally or on a raised the price of the worker's services, since they start work until they conclude, taking into account the outcome of the work, ie the work done.

Although the worker receives advances to good account of the work performed or to be performed, the individual employment contract is meant to work as long as they meet certain conditions indicated above.

The contract for work or services will last until the full execution of the one or to the overall performance of the other.

The probationary period of an employment contract is 2 months or 60 days according to the maximum probation period permitted by law.
Regarding working hours, the labor code sets forth the following provisions:

The maximum working time of 44 hours is equivalent to 48 hours of pay. The worker must stick to what he has signed in the contract. If the worker makes fewer hours than he is entitled to may suffer deductions from wages. If  instead more hours than arranged  are done and justified  the worker must request payment for overtime working hours.

Workers who work outside the ceilings the regular working hours or who exceed the lower agreed by the parties shall be entitled to payment of overtime to be paid as follows:
-With 25% surcharge on the day shift salary when provided in the daytime;
-With a 50% surcharge on the day shift salary when provided in the night time;
-With a 75% surcharge on the income of the night shift when extension of that.
Licenses and holidays:

The Labor Code provides for the right vacation for each year continuous work. It also states that employees are entitled to be paid national holidays and statutory.
The Labor Code provides that sick leave must be paid by the employer up to 6 months. A percentage of the license is paid by the employer and other IHSS.

The employee may take sick leave for 6 months with the right to pay the employer and the IHSS.
The employer is only obliged to grant such licenses to two days in each calendar month and no more than 15 days in the same year: the worker paid leave so you can meet the obligations imposed by public law, if of severe domestic calamity duly established to carry out trade union committees or to attend a funeral of a colleague.

The Labour Code provides the following types of work:
a) Working indefinitely;
b) For a limited time;
c) For work or services.
In these ways of working the Code does not set the hourly employment scheme whereby a person working part-time under contract to be regulated by the Labor Code must be paid with the salary for full-time.

The recent National Program for Employment law promotes the working time per hour which is paid at the rate of hours worked, for example 3 hours.
Nondiscrimination and foreign employees:

The Labor Code prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, political beliefs or economic status.
For hiring foreigners the same Code provides guidelines for the percentage that can be contracted in some cases the alien must possess expertise that the employer has failed to employees or local candidates.

No numerical limitation while applications meet the requirements stipulated by the Ministry of Migration and Labor. Visas can be granted to reside in the country with work permits in Honduran company.

The spouses of authorized workers or visa to reside for a work permit would be dependent no option to work in these conditions migration. However, if a company hires them can change the immigration status of the dependent visa and apply for residence in the country with work permits.

The law requires that 90% of employees must be made ​​up of Hondurans. An employer who hires a worker who has no right to work in such jurisdiction shall be liable to a fine imposed by the Ministry of Labor.

For further information in labor law contact Ricardo Padilla rpadilla@central-law.com