Peru gives 30,600 small firms 20 working days to file a pay policy

Peru gives 30,600 small firms 20 working days to file a pay policy

29 October 2026: Peru's labour inspectorate, Sunafil, has sent letters to 30,600 micro-enterprises telling them to submit a documented salary policy within 20 working days, and it describes having no such policy as a "very serious" labour infringement. Most of those deadlines will run through November, depending on when each employer acknowledges receipt.

Not yet independently verified. Sunafil's press note does not name the law behind the requirement or state the fine, and we have not read one of the letters. It gives the 20 working days as running from the day after receipt is acknowledged. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

Who received the letters, and where

The letters went to active micro-enterprises in wholesale and retail trade, general services, health, manufacturing and agriculture. Delivery was through each employer's electronic mailbox, the casilla electronica.

More than half are in Metropolitan Lima:

• Metropolitan Lima: 15,637
• Arequipa: 2,137
• La Libertad: 1,755
• Lambayeque: 1,021
• Piura: 925
• Ica: 805

What an employer has to send back

The policy has to be submitted through the same electronic mailbox, within 20 working days counted from the day after the employer acknowledges receipt. Sunafil also asks employers to check their pay schemes, so that any difference between workers rests on objective and reasonable criteria and involves no direct or indirect discrimination on the grounds of sex.

The inspectorate treats two failures as very serious: having no salary policy at all, and not informing staff of it in time. A firm that writes a policy for this letter but never tells its employees has therefore met only half the point.

These are letters that induce compliance, not yet inspections, although a firm that ignores one may well hear from the inspectorate again. Sunafil scheduled a live legal clinic on its YouTube channel for 4pm on Friday 6 November, for employers with questions.

Why a small employer's mailbox matters here

The clock starts from a notice in an electronic mailbox, and micro-enterprises often leave that kind of account to an outside accountant. An owner who has not opened the casilla in weeks may have less time than they think, so the first thing to do is to check it and find the date of receipt.

Firms outside Peru have a stake as well. A foreign company with a small Peruvian entity, or an outsourcer running payroll for one, should confirm that someone is watching the mailbox, and that a policy exists for that entity rather than only at group level.

For software vendors selling to this market, the requirement is a concrete need: a pay-band document that can be produced and shown to have been shared with staff. We list 13 payroll software products, and a provider serving Peruvian micro-employers can reasonably be asked whether it holds such a document and a record of when staff received it.

Related on TrustList:

• Peru sets make-up non-working days for the papal visit, 11 to 16 November
• India raises the EPFO wage ceiling to Rs 25,000 a month: employees earning Rs 15,000 to 25,000 now come under mandatory PF
• UK sets six-month unfair dismissal rule for 1 January in Act timetable

Sources

• Sunafil (gob.pe): Sunafil sends more than 30,000 letters to companies across the country on equality and salary policy, 29 October 2026, 29 October 2026