Overtime Pay Guatemala 2026: Calculator + Rules (Labor Code Art. 121)

In Guatemala, horas extras (overtime) are effective work beyond the ordinary legal workday or a shorter workday agreed in the contract, paid with at least 50% more than the applicable minimum wage or higher agreed wage under Article 121. Ordinary and overtime hours together are generally limited to 12 hours a day, subject to the qualified statutory exceptions in Article 122. Read the official Labor Code.

Quick summary

The surcharge applies to the applicable wage, including a higher wage agreed with the employer. A shorter contractual workday can trigger overtime before the general ordinary-shift limit is reached. Work on a weekly rest day or an asueto (paid holiday) has its own conditions and payment rules, explained below.

Overtime rules — checked 23 October 2026

What Is Overtime in Guatemala

Overtime or extraordinary workday refers to effective hours worked that exceed the ordinary workday established in the Labor Code (Article 116):

• Daytime ordinary shift: 8 hours daily / 44 hours weekly
• Nighttime ordinary shift: 6 hours daily / 36 hours weekly
• Mixed ordinary shift: 7 hours daily / 42 hours weekly

Any hour worked above these limits is overtime and must be paid with a minimum 50% surcharge over the ordinary rate (Article 121).

Shorter contractual workdays and excluded time

Article 121 also covers effective work beyond a shorter workday agreed in the contract. It excludes time spent correcting errors attributable solely to the worker during the ordinary workday, and time resulting from inactivity during that workday when the inactivity is attributable to the worker. Article 121, official text.

Official Formula for Calculating Overtime

Hourly rate = Ordinary monthly salary / 240

Regular overtime (Art. 121)        = Hourly rate × 1.5
Worked rest day/holiday (Arts. 128-129) = Hourly rate × 1.5, on top of that day's wage

The 240 comes from the convention: 30 days × 8 hours/day (standard daytime shift).

For other shifts:

• Nighttime: salary / (30 × 6) = salary / 180
• Mixed: salary / (30 × 7) = salary / 210

Practical Examples

Case 1 — Worker with Q6,000 salary, works 10 regular overtime hours:

• Hourly rate: Q6,000 / 240 = Q25
• Overtime rate: Q25 × 1.5 = Q37.50/hour
• Total: Q37.50 × 10 = Q375.00

Case 2 — Worker with Q4,500 salary, works 8 hours on Sunday (rest day):

• Hourly rate: Q4,500 / 240 = Q18.75
• Pay per hour worked on the rest day (as overtime): Q18.75 × 1.5 = Q28.13/hour
• Additional total: Q18.75 × 1.5 × 8 = Q225.00, on top of the monthly salary (which already covers the rest day)

Case 3 — Worker at 2026 minimum wage (Q4,002.28), 5 regular overtime hours:

• Hourly rate: Q4,002.28 / 240 = Q16.68
• Overtime rate: Q16.68 × 1.5 = Q25.01/hour
• Total: Q25.01 × 5 = Q125.07

Case 4 — September 15 holiday, Q8,000 worker works 4 hours:

• Hourly rate: Q8,000 / 240 = Q33.33
• Pay per hour worked on the holiday (as overtime): Q33.33 × 1.5 = Q50.00/hour
• Additional total: Q50.00 × 4 = Q200.00, on top of the monthly salary (which already covers the holiday)

When Each Rate Applies

Regular Rate (1.5×) — Article 121

Applies when the worker labors more than 8 hours in a daytime shift (or more than 6 in nighttime, or more than 7 in mixed). Example:

• Your normal schedule: Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm with lunch break (8 hours)
• Employer asks you to stay until 8pm one day
• The 3 additional hours (5pm-8pm) are regular overtime
• Paid at 1.5× your hourly rate

Worked Rest Day or Holiday — Articles 128-129

The Code does not say “double pay”: it requires that, on top of the wage for that day, the time worked be paid computed as overtime (Art. 128). A monthly or fortnightly salary already includes unworked rest days and holidays (Art. 129). Example:

• Your rest day is Sunday, but employer needs you to work
• ALL hours worked that Sunday are paid as overtime (1.5× the rate), from the first hour
• That payment comes on top of your monthly salary, which already covers Sunday as a rest day

Conditions for rest-day and holiday work: Article 128 permits this work in companies performing work of a very special nature or continuous work, as determined by the regulations, or in concrete, very qualified cases determined by the Inspección General de Trabajo (General Labor Inspectorate). Article 129 bases rest-day and holiday pay on the daily average of ordinary and extraordinary wages earned in the immediately preceding week. For a monthly or fortnightly wage, unworked rest days and holidays are implicitly included; when those days are worked, the time is computed as extraordinary work using the ordinary and extraordinary wages earned during the last month or fortnight, as applicable. Articles 128–129, official text.

National holidays in Guatemala (mandatory paid rest days):

• January 1 (New Year)
• Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday
• May 1 (Labor Day)
• June 30 (Army Day)
• September 15 (Independence)
• October 20 (1944 Revolution)
• November 1 (All Saints)
• December 24 (Christmas Eve, half day)
• December 25 (Christmas)
• December 31 (New Year’s Eve, half day)
• The day of the local patron festivity (Art. 127)

Maximum Overtime Hours Limit

Article 122 of the Labor Code generally prohibits working more than 12 hours total per day (ordinary shift + overtime), subject to its very qualified statutory exceptions. This means a maximum of:

• 4 overtime hours/day (over 8h daytime shift)
• 6 overtime hours/day (over 6h nighttime shift)
• 5 overtime hours/day (over 7h mixed shift)

If the employer forces you to work more outside the statutory exceptions: it’s illegal, but the hours MUST still be paid. Additionally, the employer faces fines and potential complaints at MINTRAB.

Exceptions and prohibited overtime: Article 122 allows very qualified exceptions determined in the applicable regulations, or where an accident or imminent danger threatens people, establishments, machinery, installations, plantations, products or crops and workers cannot be replaced or their work suspended without evident harm. Employers may not order or permit overtime in work that is inherently unhealthy or dangerous. In a public calamity, the same exception applies when the extra work is necessary to avert or mitigate it; work performed in those circumstances must be paid as ordinary work. Article 122, official text.

What Doesn’t Count for Overtime Calculation

The base salary for overtime is only ordinary monthly salary. NOT included:

• Q250 incentive bonus (Decreto 78-89)
• Bono 14 or Aguinaldo
• Extraordinary commissions
• Occasional gratifications
• Per diem and expense reimbursements
• Transport reimbursements

Note that this is not the base for every benefit: for the Code’s indemnities and benefits, Article 93 defines full salary as pay earned in ordinary and overtime hours, and severance uses the average of the last six months (Art. 82 lit. b).

What to Do If Your Employer Doesn’t Pay Overtime

1. Document hours worked. Keep timecards, WhatsApp messages from the employer asking you to stay, emails, witnesses.

2. Request payment in writing. Send a letter or email to the employer requesting overtime payment with calculation detail. Request acknowledgment of receipt.

3. File complaint at MINTRAB:

   • General Labor Inspection (MINTRAB or departmental delegation)
   • MINTRAB complaints line: 1511
   • Online portal: with DPI

4. Employer sanctions:

   • Fine of 6 to 12 monthly minimum wages (~Q24,014-Q48,027 in 2026) — Art. 272 lit. c of the Labor Code, as reformed by Decreto 7-2017, for preceptive provisions of Title III on working hours or rest days
   • If the Inspectorate frames it as unpaid wages instead of an hours violation, literal a) applies: 8 to 18 monthly minimum wages (~Q32,018-Q72,041)
   • Correcting the breach and saying so when you pay exonerates 50% of the fine (Art. 272 as reformed)
   • Retroactive payment of owed hours
   • Late interest

Hourly Rate by Salary (Quick Table)

Related Trámites

• Bono 14 Calculator — Mandatory annual benefit in July.
• Aguinaldo Calculator — Mandatory annual benefit, paid in December and January.
• Vacation Calculator — Days accrued and cash value.
• Minimum Wage Guatemala 2026 — Official table by sector and zone.
• Labor Complaint MINTRAB — How to file a complaint.

Legal Sources

• Labor Code — official MINTRAB PDF.

• Constitution — official MINTRAB PDF.

• Constitution, Article 102 (g) and Labor Code (Decreto 1441), Articles 116-117 — Ordinary shifts (daytime 8h/44h, nighttime 6h/36h, mixed 7h/42h).

• Labor Code, Article 121 — Establishes the 50% minimum surcharge (1.5×) for overtime.

• Labor Code, Article 122 — Maximum limit of 12 hours per day.

• Labor Code, Articles 128-129 — Work on the weekly rest day or a holiday: time worked is paid as overtime, on top of that day’s wage.

• Labor Code, Article 164 — Domestic work is not subject to the workday limits; its own rest rules.

• Labor Code, Article 127 — List of mandatory paid national holidays.

• Full text: Labour Code (Decreto 1441) — CENADOJ consolidated text

This page offers general guidance on Guatemala labor legislation. For specific cases (complex mixed shifts, rotating shifts, special contracts), consult a certified accountant or labor lawyer.