By: Natalia Cruz

We share information received from COHEP, which contains Decree No. 38-2022, published in La Gaceta, No. 35,909, of April 28, 2022. This decree repeals decree No. 354-2013 containing the Hourly Employment Law. In its article 3, it prohibits that it be invoked as grounds for dismissal of workers who work under the “Hourly Employment Law”. It will enter into force sixty (60) days after its publication in La Gaceta.

The objective of repealing Hourly Employment Law in Honduras, it is to give more stability and labor protection to employees, it is necessary to mention that hourly work in Honduras has been legally regulated since 1974 through Decree Law 121 of application of the minimum wage, where it indicates that people can be hired both for hours and for part-time if all labor rights are paid.

The employees who were contracted under this modality are now backed under the protection of the provisions related to Labor Law, contained in Chapter V “Of Labor” of the Title of the Declarations, Rights and Guarantees of the Constitution of the Republic, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Optional Protocol of San Salvador, Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Labor Code, the Minimum Wage Law, and other current legislation that recognizes the inalienable rights of workers in general.

In addition, it is strictly forbidden to invoke this Repeal Decree as a cause for dismissal of employees who were governed by the Hourly Employment Law, the employer who fails to comply with this provision will be civilly, administratively, and criminally liable as provided.