Domestic workers’ rights in Honduras

There is no separate law for domestic work: it sits in the Código del Trabajo, articles 149 to 164. That chapter grants some rights of its own and, to be clear about it, removes others that every other worker has.

Who counts as a domestic worker

Under Article 149, domestic service is that provided for payment to a person who does not pursue profit and seeks only to use, in their home, the continuous services of the worker. Article 150 adds that these are people habitually and continuously engaged in cleaning, care and other household tasks.

Article 151 lists the occupations covered: housekeepers, wet nurses, cooks, nannies, private drivers, servants, childminders, laundresses and others of the same kind.

Rest: 10 hours a day, but no public holidays

This is the biggest difference from other workers. Article 154 states that domestic work is not subject to the provisions on rest days, public holidays or national holidays. In exchange it establishes:

Source: Article 154, Código del Trabajo.

Holiday: yes, and on the full scale

Article 156 is short and clear: domestic workers shall also be entitled to paid holiday like all workers. That means the scale in Article 346, which rises with length of service — 10 days in the first year, 12 in the second, 15 in the third and 20 from the fourth. Lists that simply say “15 days” are over-simplifying.

If you are mistreated, you can leave and be paid

Article 160 gives two concrete termination rights:

• Mistreatment by the employer or by people in the household, or an attempt to induce you into a criminal or immoral act: you may terminate the contract and claim one month’s wages.
• If you are not paid the wage owed: you may also terminate the contract, with compensation of 7 days’ wages if you have less than a year of service, or one month if you have a year or more.

Notice and probation period

Source: Article 158. Where notice is not given, the corresponding amount may be paid instead.

Careful: compensation is calculated on the cash wage only

Article 153 presumes that a domestic worker’s remuneration includes, besides the cash payment, food and lodging. But Article 161 provides that notice pay and compensation are paid taking into account only the remuneration in cash. Meals and the room count as part of the wage while you work, but they do not count when calculating what you are owed on leaving.

Other rights in the chapter

• Night school — Article 155 requires the employer to give the domestic worker the opportunity to attend night school.
• Illness in the household — under Article 162, any infectious illness of the employer or of those living in the house entitles the worker to terminate the contract.
• Hospitalisation — Article 164 requires the employer to arrange and pay for the worker’s admission to the nearest hospital or centre when the illness requires hospitalisation or isolation.
• Health certificate — Article 157 allows the employer to require one before formalising the contract.