Full Time vs. Part Time
© Антон Медведев / Adobe Stock

Full Time vs. Part Time

3 min.

Employers and employees will have greater opportunities for economic growth with the opening that Guatemala had to the part-time contract (as other Latin American countries are doing, through Governmental Agreement 89-2019 in the Diario de Centro América, in force for Guatemala from July 5, 2019. This allows a permanent employee to be hired for 4 to 6 hours a day. Previously, a day-time worker could be hired in a dependency relationship, not exceeding 8 hours a day and 44 hours a week.

Employers may have a greater number of employees by paying them according to the time worked, which will reduce the informality and allow recruiting more talent, have a greater number of employees at schedule of mutual convenience. This could represent a better profit margin by incurring lower labor costs, and for the Company it represents a higher rate of employment and productivity.

Likewise, students will be able to enjoy of the Social Security and work benefits at an early age, working 4 to 6 hours a day in formal employment, allowing them to acquire experience while completing their studies, which was previously a limitation in Guatemala. Also, We appreciate how attractive it can be for “millennials” who have demonstrated to aspire for professional autonomy. This would allow them to earn a high fixed salary, and the same time develop their own ideas and projects, making them an entrepreneurial generation.

This legislation will help Guatemala to improve its position in the Global Competitiveness Index. An example that demonstrates this, is in several cities in the United States: the part-time industry is the fastest growing in the last fifteen years in cities such as Chicago and San Francisco – cities with a wide range of jobs.

Entities with greater benefits for permanent part-time employment

The consulting firms, auditors, lawyers and systems engineers in Guatemala, such as ECOVIS Guatemala, will be able to have permanent part-time talent for specific projects that require the investment of 20 or 30 hours of work per week, which was previously a limitation because it required us to hire them permanently for 40 or 44 hours per week.

Other examples of industries that will hire more people are as follows:

  • 45 Language Schools, which hire teachers for 4 or 6 hours a day and could hire 15 or 20 part-time professionals instead of 10 full-time teachers.
  • 46 Restaurants that hire waiters for 4 or 6 hours a day, because they open their doors to the public only for lunch or dinner.
  • 47 Companies that need support in projects that have morning or evening schedules.
  • Women with young children will also benefit, to be employed in permanent part-time jobs, contributing to the family budget.

    On October 3, 2019, the Constitutional Court of Guatemala ordered the suspension of part-time contracting regulations.

Contact us:

CEO in Guatemala
Byron Méndez Sagastume
CEO & Managing Partner
Mobile: +502 5528 2953