How Many Vacation Days Am I Entitled To
Article 130 of the Labor Code establishes that every worker in Guatemala has the right to 15 working days of paid vacation for each year of continuous service. This means:
- Full year: 15 working days of vacation
- Less than a year: Proportional = 15 × (months worked / 12)
- Each new year of continuous work: a new period of at least 15 working days (vacation is not accumulable from year to year to take together later, Art. 136)
- Minimum days worked: Art. 131 requires at least 150 days worked in the year; days of paid leave, illness or work accident count as worked
Working days: Art. 130 uses the term días hábiles, but the articles in the chapter on weekly rest, holidays and vacation (Arts. 126 to 137) do not define it. Art. 126 sets the work week at five to six days, depending on the custom of the business. On a Monday-to-Friday week, 15 work days are 3 calendar weeks.
How Vacation Is Paid
Vacation pay is set by Article 134: the average of the worker’s ordinary and extraordinary pay over the last year (the last three months in agricultural or livestock businesses), counted from the moment the worker earned the vacation, and it is paid in advance.
This means:
- If your salary is a fixed Q5,000/month with no overtime or commissions, the average is Q5,000.
- If you earn overtime or commissions, they enter the average, so your vacation pay can be higher than your base salary.
Corrected 24 September 2026: an earlier version quoted Article 134 as paying the salary of the month before the vacation. The Code says the average of the last year (or three months in agriculture), including extraordinary pay.
Cash Payment When Contract Ends (Article 133)
When the contract ends for any reason (resignation, dismissal, retirement) before the worker has taken accrued vacation, the employer must pay it in cash.
Calculation formula (Art. 134 base):
Daily vacation pay = (Average monthly ordinary pay + Average monthly extraordinary pay) / 30
Vacation payment = Daily vacation pay × Days owed
Article 134 sets the base (the average of ordinary and extraordinary pay over the last year, or the last three months in agricultural or livestock businesses). Dividing the monthly average by 30 is the convention this calculator uses to get a daily figure; Art. 134 does not state a divisor.
Example 1 — fixed salary, no overtime: Q6,000 a month, resigns after 12 months without taking vacation:
- Daily vacation pay: Q6,000 / 30 = Q200
- Days: 15 × 12/12 = 15 days
- Vacation payment: Q200 × 15 = Q3,000
Example 2 — with overtime: the same worker averaged Q900 a month in overtime during that year:
- Daily vacation pay: (Q6,000 + Q900) / 30 = Q230
- Vacation payment: Q230 × 15 = Q3,450
Example 3 — resigns after 6 months, fixed Q6,000 salary:
- Days: 15 × 6/12 = 7.5 days (proportional part, Art. 133)
- Vacation payment: Q200 × 7.5 = Q1,500
Corrected 24 September 2026: the calculator multiplied base monthly salary / 30 by the days and left out the overtime and other extraordinary pay that Art. 134 puts in the average. It now asks for both averages, plus any days omitted in earlier years that Art. 136 lets you claim at termination.
Important Rules About Vacation
Not negotiable. You can’t “sell” your vacation while the labor relationship is active. The employer must set your vacation within 60 days after you complete the year (Article 132), and it is not paid in cash while you are employed (Article 133).
Not accumulable. Article 136 says vacation is not accumulable from year to year to take a longer rest later. At termination, the worker can claim cash for vacation omitted in the last five years.
Taken without interruption. Article 136 says vacation is enjoyed without interruption; it can be split into two parts at most, and only when the nature of the work does not allow a long absence.
Can’t be substituted with additional work-off days. Article 130 grants paid vacation of at least 15 working days, and Article 133 allows cash only when the worker leaves without having taken them.
Accumulable at termination. Even if the worker resigns without cause, they retain the right to accrued proportional vacation in cash.
Difference Between Vacation and Asueto (Holiday)
| Aspect | Vacation | Asueto / Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Labor Code Art. 130 | Labor Code Art. 127 |
| Origin | One period for each year of continuous work | Days listed in Art. 127 |
| Quantity | At least 15 working days per year | The days Art. 127 lists (see below) |
| Timing | The employer sets the dates, within 60 days after the year is completed (Art. 132) | The dates in Art. 127 |
| Pay | Average of ordinary and extraordinary pay (Art. 134) | Paid (Art. 127); if worked, the time worked is paid as overtime on top of the holiday pay (Arts. 128-129) |
Under Art. 127, the paid holidays for private-sector workers are: January 1; Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday; May 1; June 30; September 15; October 20; November 1; December 24 (half day, from noon); December 25; December 31 (half day, from noon); and the day of the local festivity.
What if a holiday falls inside your vacation? Arts. 126 to 137 of the Labor Code do not address it: none of them says a holiday extends the vacation or is deducted from it. If you and your employer disagree, ask the General Labor Inspectorate (Inspección General de Trabajo).
Corrected 30 September 2026: this page said a holiday inside the vacation period gives you an additional vacation day. No article in the Labor Code’s holiday and vacation chapter (Arts. 126-137) says so. The holiday list now also includes Holy Saturday and the local festivity, which Art. 127 lists, and we corrected the claim that a worked holiday is paid double: the Code pays the time worked as overtime on top of the holiday pay.
What to Do If Your Employer Denies or Doesn’t Pay Vacation
If your employer refuses to give you vacation or pay the correct amount at termination:
- Request in writing. Send a letter requesting vacation, with a copy signed and stamped by the employer.
- Go to MINTRAB — General Labor Inspection, central office or departmental sub-delegation.
- Online: the Denuncias Laborales menu item on MINTRAB’s website links to seica.mintrabajo.gob.gt. Steps are in our labor complaint guide.
Documentation needed: labor contract, pay stubs, copy of DPI, exact dates worked.
Related Trámites
- Bono 14 Calculator — Mandatory annual benefit paid in July.
- Aguinaldo Calculator — Mandatory annual benefit paid in December/January.
- Severance Pay Calculation — Indemnification and other concepts at termination.
- Labor Complaint MINTRAB — How to file a complaint.
- RECIT MINTRAB — Individual employment contract registration.
Legal Sources
- Labor Code, Articles 126-129 — Five- to six-day week and weekly rest (126); paid holidays (127); worked holidays or rest days paid as overtime (128-129).
- Labor Code of Guatemala (Decreto 1441), Article 130 — Right to 15 working days of vacation per year.
- Labor Code, Article 131 — Minimum of 150 days worked in the year to qualify.
- Labor Code, Article 132 — The employer sets the dates within 60 days after the year is completed.
- Labor Code, Article 133 — No cash instead of vacation, except at termination (including the proportional part).
- Labor Code, Article 134 — Vacation pay: average of ordinary and extraordinary pay, paid in advance.
- Labor Code, Article 136 — Without interruption; at most two parts; not accumulable; last five years claimable at termination.
- Labor Code, Article 137 — Written record of vacation; without it, vacation is presumed not granted.
- Labor Code, Articles 164 and 191 — Domestic work is exempt from Arts. 126 and 127 (164); State and municipal workers are governed by their Statute, not the Code (191).
- Full text: Labour Code (Decreto 1441) — CENADOJ consolidated text
This page offers general guidance on Guatemala labor legislation. For specific cases (complex accumulations, labor suspensions, variable salary), consult a certified accountant or labor lawyer.