Guatemala
Knowledge Base

Justified Dismissal

Article 77. The following just causes that entitle the employer to terminate the employment termination of the employment contract, without liability on his part:
• When the worker conducts himself during his work in an openly immoral manner or resorts to slander, calumny, or any other means against his employer or his representatives in the management of the work
• When the employee commits any of the acts listed in the preceding paragraph against a co-worker, during the time the work is being performed, provided that as a consequence discipline is seriously disturbed or the work is interrupted
• When the worker, outside the place where the work is being performed and during working hours, resorts to slander, libel, or acts of violence against his employer or against his representatives in the management of the work, provided that such acts have not been provoked and that, as a consequence thereof, the coexistence and harmony for the performance of the work is made impossible
• When the employee commits a crime or offense against property to the detriment of the employer, any of his fellow workers, or to the detriment of a third party within the establishment; likewise, when he intentionally causes, through carelessness or negligence, material damage to machines, tools, raw materials, products, and other objects immediately or undoubtedly related to the work
• When the employee reveals the secrets referred to in Article 63, paragraph (g)
• When the employee fails to attend work without the employer’s permission or a justified cause, for two complete and consecutive working days or six half working days in the same calendar month. The justification for the non-attendance must be made at the time of resuming work if it has not been done before
• When the worker manifestly refuses to adopt the preventive measures or to follow the procedures indicated to avoid accidents or illnesses; or when the worker refuses, in the same manner, to abide by the rules or instructions that the employer or his representatives in the management of the work indicate to obtain the greatest efficiency and performance in the work
• When he violates any of the prohibitions of Article 64, or the duly approved Internal Labor Regulations after the employer warns him once in writing. The warning shall not be necessary in the case of drunkenness when, as a consequence thereof, the life or safety of the persons or property of the employer is endangered
• When the employee, upon entering into the contract, has induced the employer into error, pretending to have qualities, conditions, or knowledge that he does not possess, or presenting references or personal attestations whose falsity is later proven by the employer, or performing his work in a manner that demonstrates his incapacity to perform the work for which he has been hired
• When the worker suffers the penalty of major arrest or is imposed correctional imprisonment by an executed sentence
• When the employee incurs any other serious breach of the obligations imposed by the contract
It is understood that whenever the dismissal is based on a fact that is also punished by criminal law, the employer’s right to file the corresponding actions before the common criminal authorities shall remain unaffected.

Unjustified Dismissal

Any employee who is dismissed for an unjustified cause is entitled to compensation for damages, equivalent to one month’s salary for each full year of service. If the service is less than one year, a proportional amount. In addition, the proportional amount of productivity bonus, Christmas bonus and vacation days must be paid.