Executive approves regulation ordering the professional practice of the social worker

The Executive Branch approved the Regulations of Law No. 30112, Law on the Professional Practice of the Social Worker, through Supreme Decree No. 016-2026-TR, published this Wednesday, September 30, 2026, in the Legal Norms section of the Official Gazette El Peruano. The regulation consists of four chapters and fourteen articles and applies to all social workers practicing in the public and private sectors, regardless of the contractual modality. The instrument is endorsed by the President of the Republic, Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi; the President of the Council of Ministers, Luis Fernando Galarreta Velarde; and the Minister of Labor and Employment Promotion, Juan Manuel Kosme Sheput Moore.

The supreme decree was signed at the Government House in Lima on September 29, 2026, and complies with the Fifth Final Complementary Provision of Law No. 30112, which tasked the Executive Branch with regulating the law. To this end, Ministerial Resolution No. 422-2023-TR created a Multisectoral Working Group dependent on the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion, installed on November 17, 2023, and whose term ended on January 29, 2024. The commission provided for by law was to include representatives from the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion, the College of Social Workers of Peru, and representative associations of social workers.

The Multisectoral Commission for Regulatory Quality declared the Ex Ante Regulatory Impact Analysis inadmissible via electronic communication on April 20, 2026, considering that the regulation does not generate cost variations for companies, citizens, or civil society. Implementation is financed through the institutional budget of the involved public entities, without demanding additional resources from the Public Treasury, and the supreme decree and its regulations are published on the Single Digital Platform of the Peruvian State and on the digital sites of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion, and the National Authority for the Civil Service.

Requirements and principles of professional practice

Article 5 of the regulation requires, to practice within the national territory, a university professional degree in social work or social assistance duly registered with the National Superintendency of Higher University Education (SUNEDU) —foreign degrees must be recognized according to current regulations— and current professional membership and certification from the College of Social Workers of Peru. In the public sector, compliance with the job profile and the requirements of the applicable regulations is added.

Article 4 establishes the principles that guide the interpretation of the regulation:

• Recognition of the inherent dignity of the person.
• Promotion of human rights.
• Promotion of social justice.
• Promotion of the right to self-determination.
• Promotion of the right to participation.
• Respect for confidentiality and privacy.
• Professional integrity.

In the public sector, the practice is also governed by Law No. 27815, Law of the Code of Ethics of Public Function, and by the principles of the civil service or the corresponding special career path.

Fields of intervention and functions

Article 7 lists the fields of professional intervention, which are illustrative and not exhaustive: family and vulnerable populations; comprehensive and community health; occupational safety and health; rehabilitation and social reintegration; social gerontology and care for older adults; social and labor welfare in public and private entities; intervention in the educational system and university welfare; mediation, conciliation, and conflict management; human talent management and personnel selection; social management for development and social management; management of social services for public policies; professional ethics and deontology; forensic social work, social expert testimony, and the justice system; penitentiary and post-penitentiary intervention; organizational social work; community and territorial development; clinical social work and systemic family therapy; research and formulation of social projects; risk management, emergency response, disasters, and health crises; social protection and support for victims of violence against women and members of the family group; and teaching and research.

Among the functions in Article 8 are direct social intervention with social visits, the preparation of diagnostics, evaluations, and social, socioeconomic, and socio-familial reports, the formulation and management of social plans and projects, intervention in situations of risk, crisis, or emergencies, social education, and technical and expert advisory in administrative, judicial, or extrajudicial settings. The social report is defined as a technical-professional instrument intended for situational diagnosis, socio-familial assessment, and the intervention proposal.

Labor relations, rights, and training

In the private sector, the social worker is governed by the labor regime of private activity, also applicable to State companies subject to said regime; in the public sector, by the regime under which they maintain a link with the entity, except for special careers established by a law-level regulation. Article 11 obliges the employer to apply control measures for physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, and psychosocial risks in accordance with Law No. 29783, Occupational Safety and Health Law, and to provide tools and technological equipment.

Remuneration is determined according to the labor regime, qualification level, experience, and job responsibilities, and the employer must avoid situations of unjustified pay inequity. Facilities such as flexible schedules, study permits, and training leaves for postgraduate studies are also provided, prioritizing the barriers faced by women social workers. Promotion and career paths are subject to the procedures of the respective labor regime, and the directors of social work, social service, or social welfare units are appointed through a public merit-based competition, without this implying the creation of new organizational units.

Article 14 entrusts the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion with providing guidance and training on the labor regulations applicable to social work employees and employers, while the National Superintendency of Labor Inspection (Sunafil) provides technical assistance and training within the framework of its competencies.

The regulation orders for the first time the practice of a profession present in health, education, justice, social development, and human talent management, and establishes concrete obligations for public and private entities that hire social workers, from occupational risk control to pay equity and access to postgraduate training.

Source: Official Gazette El Peruano, Legal Norms, Wednesday, September 30, 2026, pp. 26-30 (official reference: 2559612-7).