Nicaragua EOR & PEO

Female employees in Nicaragua are entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, with four weeks to be taken before the birth and eight weeks after. Usually, 60% of normal salary is covered by social security payments and 40% is covered by the employer.

Fathers are not entitled to any paternity leave as standard, but some employers do choose to offer an allowance as part of their benefits packages.

In addition, female employees are entitled to to up to 30 days of ‘flexible’ paid parental leave. This need not be taken continuously, and should be negotiated with the employer.

To receive full maternity leave benefits, a woman must be the primary caregiver of a newborn child or a child they have recently adopted. Employees must have also been employed with the same company for at least 10 of the previous 13 months. Additionally, employees need to meet local residency requirements, earn less than $150,000 in the preceding fiscal year, and not return to work during the period in which they are receiving maternity leave.

Spouses or partners of the female employee on maternity leave are entitled to two week’s paid leave. This is paid for by the government, so long as the employee is not already receiving paid leave from their employer. It is also paid at the national minimum wage.

In addition, employees are entitled up to 12 months unpaid parental leave.