On June 15, 2018, Law N ° 30792 was published, through which it is established that the days of prenatal and postnatal rest should be considered as effectively worked days, with the purpose of protecting the right to pay for labor benefits of working mothers who have enjoyed maternity leave.

To this end, said Act provides for the modification of subparagraph a) of article 2 of Legislative Decree No. 892, “a rule that regulates the participation of workers in the profits of companies”, in the following terms:

Article 2.- The workers of the companies included in this Legislative Decree participate in the profits of the company, through the distribution by it of a percentage of the annual income before taxes. The percentage referred is as follows:

  • Fishing Companies 10%
  • Telecommunications companies 10%
  • Industrial Companies 10%
  • Mining Companies 8%
  • Wholesale and Retail Trade Companies and Restaurants 8%
  • Companies that carry out other activities 5%

This percentage is distributed as follows:

  1. a) 50% will be distributed according to the days worked by each worker, understanding as such the actual days actually worked. For this purpose, the days of prenatal and postnatal rest of the worker are considered days worked.

Also providing for the modification of the first paragraph of article 1 of Law 26644, “Law of Rest for Maternity”, in the following terms:

Article 1.- Specify that it is the right of the pregnant worker to enjoy 49 days of prenatal rest and 49 days of post-natal rest. The enjoyment of prenatal rest may be deferred, partially or totally, and accumulated with the postnatal, at the decision of the pregnant worker. Such decision must be communicated to the employer at least two months before the expected date of delivery. The days of prenatal and postnatal rest are considered as days actually worked for the purpose of calculating the profits.