Hiring Talent And Managing Payroll In Argentina

Hiring in Argentina? Read on to find out the employment norms (like taxes, payroll and benefits) and EOR (Employer on Record) norms in Argentina.

Employment norms in Argentina

Argentina is the second largest country on the South American continent. It occupies the southern part of South America. The International Labor Organization oversees the labor laws in Argentina. Employees in Argentina are entitled to get legal and employment benefits. These benefits include health insurance, leaves, minimum wages, social security, etc. Argentinian labor laws guide the National holidays, negotiations on contracts, and work times. The Central Government in Argentina oversees these labor laws.

General Information:

Argentina's currency is Argentine Peso (ARS).
Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina.
Spanish is the official language of Argentina. Documentation can be in Spanish. If the documents are in other languages, they must be translated into Spanish.
As of 2021, the GDP of Argentina was reported to be 487 billion USD. The estimated GDP for 2022 is expected to be 495 billion USD.

An employee in Argentina is entitled to get health, social, and work benefits. These benefits are the rights of an employee.

Table of Contents

Select Section

Agreements
Onboarding Process
Visa
Minimum Wage
Payroll Cycle
Annual Bonus
Health Benefits
Working Hours and Overtime
Leaves
Social Security
Taxes for Employers
Taxes for Employees
Probation
Termination
Severance Pay
Employees or Contractors
Final Words

Agreements Onboarding Process Visa Minimum Wage Payroll Cycle Annual Bonus Health Benefits Working Hours and Overtime Leaves Social Security Taxes for Employers Taxes for Employees Probation Termination Severance Pay Employees or Contractors Final Words

Agreements

These are the types of employment agreements in Argentina.

Indefinite or open-ended contract - An agreement that does not have any fixed end date is called an indefinite contract. This type of contract is widely used for employment purposes. It includes full-time and part-time workers. It is a widely used contract in Argentina.
Definite or fixed contract - A contract that has a fixed end date is called a definite contract. It is for a specific time and specific type of work. A definite contract in Argentina must not exceed a term of 5 years. This type of contract must be in written format.
Temporary or casual agreement - In this type of agreement the employer hires an employee as a replacement. If any permanent employee is absent for some reason, a temporary employee may be hired. This agreement must not exceed 6 months in duration. An employer must give a justification for hiring a temporary employee.

Onboarding Process

The onboarding process in Argentina is just like any other country.

A job description is prepared if there is a vacancy in any unit of a company. The HR team collaborates with the unit to prepare the job description.
The description is then published on the official site of the company. It can be uploaded on other platforms like LinkedIn. Employers may choose to publish it in newspapers and magazines.
Eligible candidates fill up the application for the job.
The HR team then starts shortlisting candidates based on their applications and rounds of assessment.
The shortlisted candidates are required to bring the necessary documents. These documents may be listed in the job description.
The final shortlisted candidates then appear for interviews and negotiations. The candidate is hired once the final agreement is reached mutually.

Visa

Argentina has mainly three types of Visas:

Transit Visa - A transit visa is issued for 10 days. It is mainly given to cross the country and enter into a third country.
Short-term Visa - It is also called a tourist visa. This visa is valid for a short term of up to 3 months duration. It is mainly issued for tourism, business invites, medical care, etc.
Long-term Visa - It is also known as the residency visa. It is mainly issued for staying longer than 3 months. This type of visa is granted to students, workers, and others who intend to stay longer.

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Minimum Wage

The minimum wage in Argentina is around ARS 67,743.00 per month, which was increased in the year 2023. It is based on the type of work.

Payroll Cycle

The payroll cycle in Argentina is monthly. An employee may get weekly and bi-weekly payments, based on the employer they are working with. However, there is no such provision.

Annual Bonus

There is a legal provision for paying the 13th month's salary. This bonus can be split into 6 months each. Half of this bonus can be paid in June while the other half is paid in December.

Health Benefits

Every employee is entitled to get health benefits in Argentina under the labor laws.
The employer is responsible for maintaining healthy working conditions.
The employer has to pay for sickness and social security.
Employees are mandated to declare their health conditions.

Working Hours and Overtime

Work hours: The working hour in Argentina must not exceed 48 hours per week. An employee should not work more than 8 hours per day. Employees below the age of 18 must not work for more than 6 hours per day.
Break: Every employee is entitled to get 2 hours of break per day. An employee must be given a total of 35 hours of rest per week. Employees must be granted a continuous 12 hours of rest per day.
Overtime: Overtime in Argentina must not exceed 3 hours per day. An employee must not work more than 30 hours per week. An employee is entitled to a 50% salary on a working day. 100% salary is given for overtime work on holidays.

Leaves

Sick Leaves

The employer has to pay for the first 15 days of sick leave if an employee gets an injury or illness due to the work. After 15 days, it is paid from social security funds and health insurance. The employer pays for the first 15 days and the rest of the days are covered by insurance.
For an injury or illness, unrelated to work, an employee is entitled to 3 months of paid sick leave in a year if she/he has spent less than 5 years in a company. An employee with the same tenure but with a family gets sick leave of 6 months. The company pays for the salary of employees, during this time.
Those employees who get an injury or illness that is not work-related and have completed service of 5 years with an employer get paid sick leaves of 6 months. Those with the family get 12 months of sick leaves. The salary of the employee is paid by the company for this tenure.

Maternity leaves

A pregnant female employee is entitled to 90 days of maternity leave if they gave birth in Argentina.
It is a 100% paid leave, where the government is responsible for the payment.
30 days of leave is taken before the birth of the child. The remaining 60 days are taken after childbirth.

Partner/Paternity leaves

A male employee is entitled to 2 days of paid paternal leave in Argentina.
The government pays 100% of the salary for paternal leave.

Statutory leaves

Those employees who have worked for less than 6 months do not get any leave unless employers want to grant them leave.
Those with service terms of 0-5 years can take 14 leaves in a year.
Those with service of 5-10 years can take annual leaves of 21 days.
28 leaves per year are given to employees who have completed 10-20 years in service.
35 leaves annually are given to employees with service of more than 20 years.

Public Holidays (for the Calendar year 2024)

A few of the following dates may vary according to the traditional calendar.

January 1: New Year's Day.
February 12: Carnival Monday.
February 13: Carnival Tuesday.
March 24: Truth and Justice Memorial Day.
April 2: Day of the Veterans - Malvinas Day.
March 29: Good Friday.
May 1: Labor Day.
May 25: May Revolution Day.
June 17: General Martin Miguel de Guemes Memorial Day.
June 20: General Manuel Belgrano Memorial Day.
July 9: Independence Day.
August 19: Saint Martin's Day.
October 14: Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity.
November 18: National Sovereignty Day.
December 8: Day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
December 25: Christmas Day.

Public Holidays (for the Calendar year 2025)

A few of the following dates may vary according to the traditional calendar.

January 1: New Year's Day.
March 3: Carnival Monday.
March 4: Carnival Tuesday.
March 24: Truth and Justice Memorial Day.
April 2: Day of the Veterans - Malvinas Day.
April 18: Good Friday.
May 1: Labor Day.
May 25: May Revolution Day.
June 17: General Martin Miguel de Guemes Memorial Day.
June 20: General Manuel Belgrano Memorial Day.
July 9: Independence Day.
August 18: Saint Martin's Day.
October 13: Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity.
November 17: National Sovereignty Day.
December 8: Day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
December 25: Christmas Day.

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Taxes for Employers

The employer in Argentina has to pay taxes. These taxes include:

Argentine Integrated Pension System (paid for Retirement) - 16%
Public health insurance (PAMI) - 2%
Pension fund - 17%
Life insurance - 0.5%
Social health fund - 5%
National Employment Fund - 1.50%
Family's assignations - 7.50%
Corporate tax - 35%

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Taxes for Employees

Every employee has to pay taxes in Argentina. These taxes include:

Pension - 11%
Public health insurance (PAMI) - 3%
Social health fund - 3%

An income tax is levied on employees based on their income. These taxes range between 5% to 35% of the income.

ARS 0 - 64,532.64: 5%
ARS 64,532.64 - 129,065.29: 9%
ARS 129,065.29 - 193,597.93: 12%
ARS 193,597.93 - 258,130.58: 15%
ARS 258,130.58 - 387,195.86: 19%
ARS 387,195.86 - 516,261.14: 23%
ARS 516,261.14 - 774,391.71: 27%
ARS 774,391.71 - 1,032,522.30: 31%
ARS 1.032.522,30 and above: 35%

Probation

The probationary period in Argentina is of up to 3 months. It largely depends on the type of work. In some cases, the probationary period may extend up to 6-12 months duration. This extension is based on collective agreement.

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Termination

An employee must get a notice 15 days before the termination.
The notice must be in written format stating the reason for termination.
The employer must give a valid reason for the termination.
An employee must provide a written resignation letter stating the reason.

Severance Pay

The severance pay in Argentina depends on the tenure of work. The termination conditions also determine the severance pay. An employee is entitled to one month's salary as severance pay.

Employees or Contractors

A person who works for a company and earns a wage or salary is called an employee.
An organization or person who hires people to work for them is called an employer or contractor.
If a company is found to misclassification an employee as a contractor, the company must pay a penalty.
The company has to pay interests and sanctions on behalf of a misclassified employee.

Final Words

Argentina is one of the growing economies in the world. The liberal labor laws allow expanding businesses here. Companies can register themselves here for expanding their business. Your business must abide by the rules and norms of the country, to have a business running smoothly.