Hire in Argentina
Country Overview
Employment Contracts
Working Hours
Employee Leave
Employee Benefits
Argentina PEO & Employer of Record Services
Global PEO Services (GPS) helps companies hire employees in Argentina without establishing a legal entity. All human resources, benefits, payroll, and tax needs for the employees are managed by the Global PEO, while the new hires and headquarter teams focus on your business goals.
When hiring employees in Argentina, establishing a subsidiary or branch office is not always the best route, as it’s often a lengthy and expensive process. Hiring via a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), or Employer of Record (EOR), is a faster and often more effective option – especially when starting up in a new country.
Global PEO Services hires the employees on your behalf, legally contracting them through our subsidiary in accordance with Argentina labor laws. As a result, the burden of compliance is on us and the employees can begin work for your company in a matter of days. PEOs/EORs provide you with a streamlined option for hiring employees, testing markets, and responding to growing business needs in Argentina. With Global PEO Services, you get control without taking on legal entity liabilities, contractor risks, or sacrificing on talent or speed to market.
Argentina - Country Overview
Argentina is one of the largest economies in South America that is undergoing an economic transformation. The long-term vision of the country with $600 billion GDP has a two-fold aim of social inclusion and global integration. Argentina offers investment opportunities in a wide range of industries including agriculture and livestock, manufacturing, and high tech innovations. Economic reforms have speeded up in the country through revamping the regulatory regime for imports, unification of exchange rates in agreement with international creditors.
Currency
Peso
Principal Language
Spanish
Government
Federal Presidential Representative Democratic Republic
Capital City
Buenos Aires
Major Cities
La Plata, Mendoza
Employment Contracts in Argentina
In Argentina, a written employment contract is not mandatory, however, an implicit contract is deemed to be in place as soon as an employer hires a worker. Up to 3 months of probation is permitted in which both the employer and employee can discontinue the employment relation. A notice of 15 days is a must for both employers and employees.
In case an organization rehires a person who was dismissed earlier, it cannot put the person under another probationary period. This condition eliminates the loophole of continually hiring and firing employees and making them work permanently on probationary terms.
Working Hours in Argentina
In Argentina, the usual work schedule is 8 hours per day and the maximum 48 hours per week. A minimum of 12 hours between the end of one shift and the start of the next is a must. Workers generally get off work at 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
Nationally, the law does not allow workers in both public and private establishments to work for more than 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week, including employees who do not get any remuneration for their work. An average workweek includes 45 hours including 5 hours of work done on Saturday. Night work is defined as any work done between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Employees’ total work hours at night cannot be more than 7 hours in a 24-hour period. Employees working in a hazardous work environment are not allowed to work more than 6 hours in a 24-hour period or 36 hours in a week.
Overtime Rules
Employees working more than 48 hours a week are entitled to overtime pay. Overtime work is compensated at 1.5 times the normal pay rate, and at 2 times the normal pay rate on holidays, Sundays, and later than 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Overtime work cannot be more than 30 hours per month or 200 hours in a year.
Employee Leave in Argentina
Employees in Argentina get the following public holidays:
- Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
- Carnival (2 days in February or March)
- March 24: National Day of Memory for Truth and Justice
- April 2: Veterans Day and Day of Those Who Died in Malvinas (Falklands) War
- Good Friday
- May 1: Labor Day
- May 25: First National Government
- June 20: Flag Day
- July 9: Independence Day
- Aug. 17: Death of General Jose de San Martin
- Oct. 12: Columbus Day (Di´a de Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural)
- Dec. 8: Immaculate Conception
- Dec. 25: Christmas
If Flag Day, the anniversary of the death of General Jose de San Martin or Columbus Day falls on a Tuesday or Wednesday, it is moved backward to Monday; if it falls on a Thursday or Friday, it is moved forward to the next Monday.
Jewish workers are entitled to the following days off:
- Passover (the first and last 2 days)
- Rosh Hashanah (first and second days)
Muslim workers are entitled to the following days off:
- Feast of Sacrifice
- Islamic New Year
- Completion of the Fast
Workers are paid double time for working on a holiday.
Annual Leave
The number of paid annual leaves employees would get depends on the duration of their work with the current employer. For employees who have:
- worked with an employer for less than 5 years, 14 days of vacation is paid
- worked with an employer for between 5 and 10 years, 21 days of vacation is paid
- worked with an employer for between 10 and 20 years, 28 days of vacation is paid
- worked with an employer for more than 20 years, 35 days of vacation is paid
If workers have not worked for an employer long enough to get paid vacation days, they are entitled to 1 day off for every 20 days of work. Employers need to grant vacation days between the Oct. 1 and April 30 of the subsequent year.
Maternity Leave
Women must take a paid leave from work 45 days before expected childbirth till 45 days immediately after the birth of their child. This leave is payable through the social security funds, or SIPA. Women can request to reduce this time away from work to a minimum of 30 days before and after their childbirth. In the case of pre-term births, women can take more days off than 45 days after the birth in order to complete 90 days’ off. For up to a year after giving birth, women are allowed to take 2 daily breaks for 30 minutes each for the purpose of breastfeeding.
Paternity Leave
Male employees get 2 days’ paid time off for the birth of their child.
Sick Leave
Workers have the right to sick leave with full pay for a period of up to 3 months per year if their length of service is 5 years or less and for a period of up to 6 months if their length of service is more than 5 years. If the worker has family responsibilities, these entitlements are extended to 6 and 12 months, respectively. The worker is entitled to sick leave without pay for another 12 months, during which the employer is obliged to maintain the employment relationship.
Other Leave
Employees can take paid leave for the following circumstances:
- Marriage: 10 calendar days;
- Death of a spouse, child or parent: 3 days;
- Death of a sibling: 1 day; and
- High school or college exam: 2 days (maximum 10 days per year).
Employee Benefits in Argentina
All employees in Argentina are covered under the Argentine social security system. Employers have an obligation to enrol employees for social benefits under the Integrated Social Security System (SIPA). In order to be eligible for receiving retirement benefits, beneficiary age must be:
- 65 years for men; or
- 60 years for women.
In both cases, beneficiaries need to provide supporting evidence of 30 years of service along with social security payments.
Although it is mandatory to comply with the social security system, there are certain exceptions. Foreigners with a temporary visa are exempt from contributing into the system if their residency in Argentina is not permanent and they get social security protections in the country of their permanent residence.
Employers need to purchase labor risk insurance through private insurers to provide medical benefits to employees who are injured at work.