Recruiting and hiring are important steps for every growing company, no matter where you’re located. When expanding to Guatemala, you’ll need to find talented candidates to fill your open positions, while following the country’s employment compliance laws throughout the entire process.
These requirements are on top of growing your company to a new location and handling compensation, benefits, payroll, and more.
Recruiting in Guatemala
In Guatemala, all official transactions are conducted in Spanish. However, more than 20 Mayan languages exist. Some of the largest Maya groups include:
- Mam
- K’iche’
- Kaqchikel
- Q’eqchi’
The first step to hiring and recruiting in Guatemala is knowing where to find the right talent. More recruiters are starting to use information from social networking sites. You can also use websites with classifieds or job search engines to advertise your positions.
A few job boards to consider are:
- Opcion Empleo
- Computrabajo
- Tecoloco
- Go Abroad
Legal and background checks
Employers do not have any specific restrictions against carrying out background checks on potential employees in Guatemala, but the Guatemalan Constitution says you cannot use police or criminal records to restrict anyone’s right to work.
If the background check involves accessing personal information that isn’t voluntarily disclosed by the applicant, however, the potential hire must provide written consent.
Laws against discrimination in Guatemala
The Guatemalan Labor Code also prohibits any type of discrimination that would affect an individual’s access to work. You cannot discriminate against someone based on:
- Gender
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Language
- Age
- Religion
- Political beliefs
- Economic situation
- Education
- Illness, including HIV/AIDS
- Disability
If companies display any kind of discrimination while hiring in Guatemala, it can be punished with prison time or a fine. More severe penalties may be applied if the discrimination is based on language, culture, or ethnicity.
How to hire employees in Guatemala
Guatemala’s employment compliance laws require companies hire employees with either a fixed- or indefinite-term employment contract. These contracts must be in writing, and you’ll need to produce 3 copies of each. The employee keeps a copy, the employer retains another, and the third must be delivered to the Directorate General of Labor within 15 days of hiring the employee.
We recommend writing the employment contract in the local language. By law, every contract should include important hiring terms such as job duties, schedule, compensation, benefits, entitlement and termination terms, and related factors. All salary and compensation amounts should be in quetzales instead of another currency.
Guatemala employment laws
When you hire employees in Guatemala, you need to meet or exceed all employment laws. For example, Guatemala’s employment compliance laws stipulate that employees should work a 44-hour week. Employers need to approve all overtime before an employee works any additional hours.
Employers with more than 3 employees are obligated to register their employees with the Social Security Institute and include their start date, social security number, salary amount, and more. Employees who have never reported to social security must apply for identification and social security ID numbers.
Onboarding in Guatemala
Once employees fill out the right paperwork, you can onboard them using a process that makes the most sense for your company. You can onboard multiple employees at one time to streamline the process or work with employees 1-on-1.
We recommend reviewing the employment contract during the employee’s first day or week. It’s also a good idea to provide any training the employee will need to succeed in their new position.
Grow globally with G-P.
G-P never forgets that behind every hire is a human being. That’s why we’ve backed our fully customizable suite of global employment products with our robust team of HR and legal experts, so we can remain at your side, ready to support you as you build your global teams. With the #1 Global Growth Platform, you have the recruitment tools and services you need to find your perfect full-time or contract match.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you recruit, hire, and onboard anyone, anywhere.