PERU Law and Practice Contributed by: Alvaro Echeandía, Alfred Kossuth Wieland, Pilar Santillán Meza and Rodrigo Varillas Cueto, Thorne, Echeandia & Lema Abogados
conducted with intent, abuse of powers or gross negligence. Managers are liable before the corporation, the shareholders and third parties for the damages caused by failure to fulfil their obligations, intent, abuse of powers and gross negligence. Man - agers are also liable, jointly with the members of the board of directors, when they participate in acts that trigger the liability of the latter or when, knowing the existence of such acts, do not inform them to the board of directors or the shareholders’ meeting. Peruvian legislation does not include a concept of “piercing the corporate veil”. However, some local jurists consider that such doctrine can be applied, exceptionally, in cases of abuse of law and fraud on the legal entity, only if there is no other available solution in the legal framework. 4. Employment Law 4.1 Nature of Applicable Regulations The Peruvian legal system is governed by the Political Constitution of Peru, which regulates the fundamental right to work, as the basis of social well-being and a means of personal fulfil - ment. In addition, the Peruvian state, in labour matters, is bound by the standards established in the fundamental conventions of the ILO, which are part of the legal system and of constitutional rank. In relation to these, the ILO Governing Body identified ten conventions, within the full range of international instruments, that were described as “fundamental” to guarantee the basic labour rights of all people in the workplace. Of the ten, eight fundamentals have been ratified by Peru. These ILO conventions deal with freedom of association, including the right to form and join trade unions, and the effective recognition of the
right to collective bargaining; elimination of any forced or compulsory labour; effective abolition of child labour; the elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation; and respect and promotion of a safe and healthy work environ - ment. Peru contemplates the co-existence of labour regimes. The main ones are the general work - ing regime (regulated in the Single Harmonised Text of Legislative Decree No 728, Labour Pro - ductivity and Competitiveness Law, approved by Supreme Decree No 003-97-TR), special regime for micro and small businesses (MYPE), the spe - cial agrarian regime (Law No 27360) and the civil construction regime (regulated by various col - lective conventions by branch of activity). These regimes apply to more than 90% of the formal workers in the private sector. The establishment of special regimes for the private sector comes, generally, with fewer labour rights in comparison to the general labour regime, which include the following labour social rights and benefits: compensation for time of service (one monthly remuneration for each year of service); legal additional payments (two ordinary remunerations annually); vacations (30 calendar days for each year of service); utilities (percentage to be distributed depending on the firm’s line of business); minimum vital remunera - tion (PEN1,130); and social security in pensions (at the worker’s expense between 12% and 13%) and in health (at the employer’s expense of 9% with each worker’s monthly remuneration as a base). In matters of occupational safety and health, all economic and service sectors must comply with Law No 29783, Law on Safety and Health at Work, which applies to all employers and employees subject to the labour regime of the
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