Labor Newsletter - September 2025
Themes
EMPLOYMENT NEWS
Employment protection established for workers with cancer.- The main changes introduced by Law No. 32431 are as follows:
- Dismissal on the grounds of a cancer diagnosis, its treatment, or its effects is null and void. This applies even if the worker is on probation, is classified as a trusted employee, or works less than four hours per day.
- If a worker is unable to continue in their job due to physical or cognitive conditions related to cancer, the employer must adapt the job to the worker's new conditions without reducing their remuneration.
The Executive Branch has 60 business days from the effective date of the Law to bring regulatory standards and other provisions into line with the provisions of the Law.
New provisions are established for the pension system. The most relevant aspects of the Regulations of the Law on Modernization of the Pension System, approved by Supreme Decree No. 189-2025-EF, are as follows:
- Three cases of mandatory affiliation are established: for those who reach the age of majority; for those who are of legal age and are not affiliated; and for those who start working or become self-employed.
- The Secure and Transparent Affiliation Platform (PAST) is created as the only official channel for affiliation to the provisional system.
- A contribution is created for the consumption of goods or services by affiliates, provided that they are supported by sales receipts or electronic credit or debit notes. It is equivalent to 1% of the total annual amount of these expenses.
- The Supplementary Retirement Fund for Fishery Workers is created. The monthly contribution is equivalent to 5% of remuneration.
The Regulations of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Law are published. The main provisions with an impact on the labor sphere, approved by Supreme Decree No. 115-2025-PCM, are as follows:
- Classification of risks in the use of AI: misuse, high risk, and acceptable risk.
- AI-based systems designed to analyze, classify, or infer sensitive data about individuals based on their biometric data in order to deduce or infer their union membership, among other data, are classified as misuse and are therefore prohibited.
- High-risk use—permitted under certain conditions and/or controls—includes AI-based systems designed to determine the selection, evaluation, hiring, and termination of employees or job applicants, as well as to establish working conditions.
- When employers use AI systems classified as high-risk or acceptable risk, they must comply with certain obligations. For example: establishing internal regulations to safeguard security and privacy; promoting internal education and awareness among workers about the risks associated with AI use; among others.
- If employers use high-risk AI systems, in addition to the above obligations, they must comply with the following: inform users about the purpose of the AI-based system, its main functionalities, and the type of decisions it can make; maintain an up-to-date and accessible record of the principles of the system's operation, the data sources used, the logic of the algorithm, and the expected social and ethical impacts; etc.
The Regulation will enter into force on January 22, 2026; however, various provisions will enter into force progressively depending on the sector of the company.
INSPECTIONS
It is confirmed that not all wage differences constitute discrimination and that in order to sanction this misconduct, the prohibited grounds must be expressly identified. - The Labor Inspection Court (TFL) declared null and void the resolutions that sanctioned a company for alleged wage discrimination (Resolution No. 1155-2025-SUNAFIL/TFL-First Chamber).
The inspectors proposed a penalty for failing to objectively justify wage differences between workers performing the same duties (assemblers and graders), applying the aggravated type of Article 25.17 of the Regulations of the General Labor Inspection Law (RLGIT), which penalizes discrimination on prohibited grounds.
However, the TFL confirms that not every wage difference constitutes discrimination. Discrimination only occurs when the difference lacks proportional and reasonable justification. It also reiterates that the offense regulated in Article 25.17 RLGIT seeks to penalize discrimination based on prohibited grounds (origin, sex, economic status, unionization, etc.).
In this case, although wage differences without apparent objective justification were verified, the previous instances did not prove or analyze that these differences were due to a prohibited ground, so it was not appropriate to apply the aggravated penalty or classify the conduct as harmful to fundamental rights.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Speeding would rule out employer liability in a workplace accident. This was stated by the TFL in a recent ruling in which the employer was held liable for a fatal accident caused by a truck driver.
The authority pointed out that the cause of the accident was the failure to have a Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (IPER) matrix in accordance with the law, which includes all specifications regarding truck driving, as well as a Written Safe Work Procedure (PETS) that establishes speeds, unit proportions, route gradients and slopes, etc.
However, the TFL revoked the penalty because the accident was caused by the driver's excessive speed, as demonstrated by the police report.
The ruling is in line with recent binding precedents of the TFL, in the sense that substandard acts by workers break the causal link and exempt the employer from administrative liability.
REMINDER OF THE MONTH
Inductive letter from SUNAFIL requesting information on the Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, and Control Determination (IPERC) matrix. Among other documents, SUNAFIL is requesting employers to submit evidence of consultation with workers for the preparation or updating of the IPERC 2025 matrix, as well as the matrix itself.