Peru: Bereavement Leave Regulation Published

Peru Supreme Decree No. 013-2023-TR (“regulation”) was published on Dec. 24, 2023. It clarifies the scope of an employee’s right to five days of paid bereavement leave due to the death of direct family members.

The main provisions are as follows:

• The leave applies to all employees in the private sector, both in the general and special regimes.
• Employees are entitled to five calendar days of paid leave for the death of spouses, parents, children and siblings.
• When the death occurs in a place other than where the workplace is located, the leave will be extended for additional days to allow the employee to travel. The number of additional days of leave will be determined in accordance with the General Table of Distance Terms approved by Administrative Resolution No. 288-2015-CE-PJ or the corresponding rule that replaces it.
• To use it, the employee must request the bereavement leave from the employer through a communication indicating the start date and its duration.
• At the end of the leave, the employee must present documentation proving their relationship with the deceased family member.
• If the leave has been extended, it must also be proven that the death occurred in a geographical location other than the location of the workplace. If it is not possible to present documentation proving this, the employee must issue a sworn statement indicating the place where the family member died.
• The employer is empowered to supervise the proper use of the leave. The worker must cooperate in this regard.

Unfortunately, the regulation does not specify from what day the leave must be used. However, we believe that, to fulfill its purpose, the leave must be used immediately or within a short period of time after the death. If the employee does not request it within that time, it would make no sense to grant it later.

Luis Miguel Almendariz, Monica Pizarro, Karen Bustamente and Elizabeth Zamudio are attorneys with Baker McKenzie in Lima, Peru. © 2024 Baker McKenzie. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission of Lexology.

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