Discover the global hiring and employment landscape in Venezuela—once one of the most prosperous countries in South America, now offering unique challenges and opportunities. Despite economic complexities, Venezuela remains rich in natural resources, including vast oil reserves, which present potential for businesses willing to navigate its market intricacies.
Explore the employment essentials including payroll, personal income tax, statutory contributions, annual leaves, minimum wage, terminations, visa requirements, and more. Gain valuable compliance insights for a smooth entry into the dynamic Venezuela market with Slasify's global premium HR platform.
| Capital | Caracas |
| Currency | Venezuelan Bolívar (VES) |
| Payroll Cycle | Monthly or Semi-monthly |
| Minimum Wage | VES 130 per month |
| Annual Leave | 15–30 days |
| Personal Income Tax | 6%–34% |
Taxpayers in Venezuela shall have their taxes be assessed according to their taxable income in tax units (TU). Effective 2023, the value of TU is equivalent to VES 9 per unit.
Non-residents are taxed at a flat rate of 34% on their gross employment income, whereas tax residents are subject to the following progressive tax rates:
| Taxable Income (TU) | Progressive Tax Rate (%) |
|---|---|
| Up to 1000 | 6 |
| 1000–1,500 | 9 |
| 1,500–2,000 | 12 |
| 2,000–2,500 | 16 |
| 2,500–3,000 | 20 |
| 3,000–4,000 | 24 |
| 4,000–6,000 | 29 |
| Over 6,000 | 34 |
There are no local taxes on employment income in Venezuela.
Contributions made for the Mandatory Social Security Regime and Employment Benefit Regime shall be calculated based on the employees' regular wages of up to the following ceilings:
| Mandatory Social Security Regime Contribution | Employment Benefit Regime Contribution | |
|---|---|---|
| Contributory Wage Ceiling | 5 times the minimum wage | 10 times the minimum wage |
| Contribution Rate | Note | |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory Social Security Regime Contribution | 9%–11% | This contribution rate will depend on the company's risk qualification. |
| Employment Benefit Regime Contribution | 2% | - |
| Housing Regime Contribution | 2% | This contribution shall be calculated based on the employee's total "integral" salary. |
| Employee Training Contribution (INCES) | 2% | - |
| Workplace Prevention, Conditions and Environment Contribution (LOPCYMAT) | 0.75%–10% | This contribution rate varies depending on the risk associated to the company, as determined by the Instituto Nacional de Prevención, Salud y Seguridad Laborales. |
| Contribution Rate | Note | |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory Social Security Regime Contribution | 4% | - |
| Employment Benefit Regime Contribution | 0.5% | - |
| Housing Regime Contribution | 1% | This contribution shall be calculated based on the employee's total monthly salary. |
| Employee Training Contribution (INCES) | 0.5% | The employee's portion of this contribution shall be calculated based on their annual profit sharing bonus. |
An employee's salary may be stipulated per unit of time, per unit of work, per piece, per task or per commission.
The employee and employer shall agree on the period set for salary payments, which may not be longer than a fortnight, but may be up to a month if the employee receives food and housing from the employer.
The national minimum wage in Venezuela is set at VES 130 per month.
Employers must distribute among all their employees at least 15% of the liquid profits they have obtained at the end of their fiscal year. This obligation will have, with respect to each employee, as a minimum limit, the equivalent of 30 days' salary and as a maximum limit, the equivalent of 4 months' salary.
To determine the amount that corresponds to each employee, the total of the distributable profits shall be divided by the total salaries earned by all employees during the respective year. The amount corresponding to each employee will be the result of multiplying the quotient obtained by the amount of wages they earned during the respective annual exercise.
Regardless of profits, for-profit employers shall be obligated to pay their employees, within the first 15 days of December of each year or at the time established in the collective agreement, an amount equivalent to at least 30 days' salary.
If the employee's profit share is greater than what is paid on December of the year, the difference must be paid within 2 months immediately following the day of the closing of the fiscal year.
An employment relationship may end either due to the mutual agreement of the contracting parties, unilateral dismissal, retirement or other causes beyond the control of either parties.
Employers can unilaterally dismiss their employees only if they have a justified reason to do so, while employers can usually resign as long as it is carried out spontaneously and free of coercion.
| Employee's action justifying dismissal | Employer's action justifying resignation |
|---|---|
| Lack of probity or immoral conduct at work | Lack of probity or immoral acts that offends the employee or members of their family |
| Physical violence, except in legitimate defense | Physical violence |
| Insult or serious lack of respect and consideration due to the employer, their representatives or the members of their family | Insult or serious lack of respect and consideration due to the employee or the members of their family |
| Intentional act or serious negligence that affects occupational health and safety | The substitution of the employer when the employee considers the substitution inconvenient for their interests |
| Omissions or imprudence that seriously affect work safety or hygiene | Omissions or imprudence that seriously affect work safety or hygiene |
| Serious breach of the obligations imposed by the employment relationship | Serious breach of the obligations imposed by the employment relationship |
| Abandonment of work as defined in Article 79 of LOTT | Any act constituting an indirect dismissal as defined in Article 80 of LOTTT |
| Workplace harassment or sexual harassment | Workplace harassment or sexual harassment |
| Unjustified absence from work for 3 business days in a one-month period, which will be counted from the first absence | |
| Material damage caused intentionally or with gross negligence | |
| Revelation of manufacturing, fabrication or procedure secrets |
In addition to the above, the employee's resignation shall be considered just in cases where the employee has been dismissed without just cause and, after ordering their reinstatement, they decide to terminate the employment relationship instead.
In any case, employers dismissing an employee must inform the Substantiation, Mediation and Enforcement Judge of their jurisdiction, indicating the causes that justify the dismissal, within 5 business days, lest the dismissal be deemed unjust.
In the event of a resignation without just cause, the employee must observe the following notice period:
| Length of service | Notice period |
|---|---|
| After 1 month of service, up to 6 months | 1 week |
| After 6 months of service, but less than 1 year | 2 weeks |
| After 1 year of service | 1 month |
Either party may terminate the employment relationship without prior notice if there is justified cause for immediate termination. However, such cause may not be invoked if 30 consecutive days have elapsed since the day in which the relevant party had or should have had knowledge of the fact that constitutes the justified cause to terminate the relationship by unilateral will.
All employee shall be entitled to the receive social benefits, or severance, that rewards them for their service in the event of their termination. These social benefits will be protected, calculated and paid as follows:
| Employer's guarantee deposits | Calculation of severance entitlement |
|---|---|
|
The employer shall deposit as a guarantee of severance for each employee an amount equivalent of 15 days' salary each quarter, calculated based on their last salary earned. The right to this deposit is acquired from the moment the quarter begins. Furthermore, after the first year of service, the employer shall deposit an additional 2 days' salary per year of service, cumulative up to 30 days' salary. |
When the employment relationship ends for any reason, the benefits shall be calculated based on 30 days' salary for each year of service or a fraction greater than 6 months calculated at the last salary. The employee shall receive as social benefits the amount that is greater between the total of the guarantee deposited and the calculation made at the end of the employment relationship. |
| This guarantee deposit shall be made either in an individual trust or a National Social Benefits Fund in the employee's name, or any other manner as prescribed in Article 143 of LOTTT. | If the employment relationship ends before the first 3 months, the payment corresponding to the employee for social benefits will be 5 days' salary per month worked or fraction thereof. |
The employer must inform the employee quarterly, in detail, of the amount that was deposited or credited as a guarantee of their social benefits.
There are no statutory regulations surrounding probationary periods in Venezuela, though the first month of employment where no notice period is required for termination is often taken as a probationary period.
Standard working hours in Venezuela are subject to a maximum of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.
When the day includes periods of day and night work, it is considered a mixed day and may not exceed 7.5 hours per day or 37.5 hours per week. When the mixed shift has a night period of more than 4 hours, it shall be considered a night shift in its entirety.
Night shift refers to work performed between 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., which shall be paid with a 30% surcharge on the salary agreed for the day shift. To calculate what corresponds to the employee due to night work, the normal salary earned during the respective shift will be taken as the basis.
Note: Working hours for night shifts shall not exceed 7 hours per day or 35 hours per week, with any extension of the night shift into daytime hours also being considered night work.
Employees shall be entitled to at least an hour of break period per day of work, with no work allowed for more than 5 consecutive hours without break.
Employees shall have the right to leave their place of work during break periods. Where this is not possible for reasons of service or force majeure, at least 30 minutes of the break period shall be attributed as effective time worked.
In addition to their regular breaks, working mothers may also be entitled to two 30-minute breastfeeding breaks without any reduction in pay during their breastfeeding period to breastfeed their children in a designated lactation room. If there is no designated breastfeeding rooms, the breaks shall be 1.5 hours each.
Overtime refers to hours that are worked outside the ordinary work day, and should be of a temporary or accidental nature to deal with unforeseen events or emergency work.
Overtime hours are subject to a maximum of 10 hours per week and 100 hours per year, provided that the total working hours, including overtime, do not exceed 10 hours per day. Employees working overtime shall be paid with at least a 50% surcharge on the salary agreed for the ordinary day.
The permission of the Labor Inspectorate will be required for the performance of overtime work, lest the overtime be paid with double the surcharge, without prejudice to any applicable sanctions. In unforeseen and urgent cases, overtime may be worked in accordance with the provisions of LOTTT without prior permission from the Labor Inspector, provided that it is notified the next business day and that the causes are duly verified.
Employees shall not work more than 5 days per week, with them having the right to 2 days of continuous paid rest during each workweek. The days of weekly rest generally include Sundays.
Employees may be required to work on their rest days if their work cannot be interrupted for reasons of public interest, technical reasons or eventual circumstances. In any case, those who render services on Sundays or their weekly rest days must be remunerated as follows:
| Hours worked | Remuneration |
|---|---|
| 4 hours or more | A full day's salary and compensatory rest in the week immediately following the Sunday or rest day worked |
| Less than 4 hours | Half day's salary and compensatory rest in the week immediately following the Sunday or rest day worked |
Employees have the right to be paid for holidays or rest days when they have rendered service during the working days of the weekly workday. When a monthly salary has been agreed, payment for holidays and mandatory rest days will be included in the remuneration.
Work during holidays shall be suspended unless there are exceptions justifying otherwise. There are 14 days of public holidays in Venezuela for 2024.
| Holiday | Date |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | January 1 |
| Carnival | February 12–13 |
| Maundy Thursday | March 28 |
| Good Friday | March 29 |
| Declaration of Independence | April 19 |
| Labor Day | May 1 |
| Battle of Carabobo | June 24 |
| Independence Day | July 5 |
| Simon Bolivar's Day | July 24 |
| Indigenous Resistance Day | October 12 |
| Christmas Eve | December 24 |
| Christmas Day | December 25 |
| New Year's Eve | December 31 |
Employees may be required to work on their rest days if their work cannot be interrupted for reasons of public interest, technical reasons or eventual circumstances. Those performing work on holidays shall be paid the salary corresponding to that day, plus 150% of their normal salary for the work performed.
Note: No compensatory rest are generally given for employees required to work on holidays unless the day coincides with a Sunday or the employee's weekly rest day.
Employees who have completed a year of continuous service are entitled to 15 working days of paid annual leave, which shall then increase by an additional day of paid leave per year of service thereafter, up to a maximum of 30 days.
In addition to their normal remuneration, employers must also pay their employees a special vacation bonus equivalent to at least 15 days' normal salary, plus a day for each year of service up to a total of 30 days' normal salary.
Employers must ensure the effective enjoyment of paid annual leave in accordance with the mutual agreement of the concerned parties, though they can be postponed or brought forward at the employee's request in the following circumstances:
| Adjustment of annual leave entitlement | |
|---|---|
| To allow for the accumulation of leave | Employee can request for the accumulation of up to 2 periods. |
| To make the leave coincide with school vacation | Annual leave can be postponed or brought forward to make it coincide with school vacations. |
Aside from the above cases, annual leave cannot be postponed beyond 3 months from the date on which the entitlement arose.
The employment relationship shall be suspended in the event that a non-occupational illness or an accident incapacitates the employee from the provision of their service for a period not exceeding 12 months.
The employer is obligated to pay the difference between the employee's salary and what is paid by the relevant social security entity for the duration of the leave. If the employee is not affiliated with the social security regime granting them such payments due to the employer's fault, the employer is obligated to pay the employee's entire salary.
Pregnant employees are entitled to 6 weeks of pre-natal leave and 20 weeks of post-natal leave, with longer periods being possible if the employee has an illness that, according to a medical opinion, prevents them from working. Furthermore, the following shall apply:
| Longer maternity leave period | |
|---|---|
| Delivery occurs after the expected date | Pre-natal leave shall be extended until the date of delivery, and the duration of the post-natal rest may not be reduced |
| Pre-natal leave not used in full | When the employee does not use all their pre-natal leave due to medical authorization, birth occurring before the expected date or any other circumstance, the unused time will be accumulated to the post-natal leave period. |
Note: The employee who is granted the adoption of a child under 3 years old shall have the right to paid maternity leave for a period of 26 weeks starting from the date on which the child is placed with the family.
Employees are entitled to 14 continuous days of paid paternity leave, counted from the birth of their child or from the date an adopted child or adolescent is placed with their family.
While there are no other statutory parental leave, employers are obligated to grant their employees' request to take their accrued leave immediately after the end of their paternity or post-natal maternity leave
The employment relationship shall be suspended without pay in the following cases:
| 1. | Employee is required to comply with their constitutional duty to provide civil or military service |
|---|---|
| 2. | When there is a collective conflict declared in accordance with the LOTTT |
| 3. | When the employee is undergoing a criminal proceeding, as long as it does not result in their conviction |
| 4. | When the employee is granted permission to care for their spouse, ascendants and descendants up to the first degree of consanguinity for the time agreed between the parties |
| 5. | During the leave granted to the employee by the employer to carry out studies or for other purposes of interest to the employee |
| 6. | Unforeseen events or force majeure that have as a necessary, immediate and direct consequence, the temporary suspension of work not exceeding 60 days, in which case an authorization must be requested from the Labor Inspectorate within 48 hours following the occurrence of such events |
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