Hire employees in Argentina

Quick answers

The questions leadership teams ask first, answered directly. Detail follows below.

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Headcount, timeline, capital commitment and labour law exposure all differ by route.

What an employee costs in Argentina

Argentina runs a unified social security system (Sistema Único de la Seguridad Social, SUSS) collected by ARCA. Employer rates vary by company size and sector and are uncapped; employee contributions total 17% up to a ceiling adjusted quarterly. Below is the employer's share.

For an employee on the peso equivalent of USD 3,000 gross a month, budget roughly USD 3,800 to 4,050 all-in before the prepaga. Ask us for a country-specific cost model.

Payroll and tax

Argentine payroll runs strictly monthly. Salaries must be paid within 4 working days of month end, in pesos. Contracts may reference a foreign currency, but payment must satisfy legal tender rules and exchange controls, so split-currency arrangements need careful structuring. Every payslip (recibo de sueldo) must meet Article 140 LCT, including the collective agreement category. Payroll data is uploaded to ARCA's digital payroll book (Libro de Sueldos Digital), which generates the monthly unified social security return (Form 931); SUSS, ART and union contributions are remitted between the 10th and 15th.

Income tax withholding

Employment income is taxed under the fourth category of income tax (Impuesto a las Ganancias). The employer is the withholding agent and deducts progressive tax monthly through ARCA. Rates run from 5% to a top marginal rate of 35%, after a non-taxable minimum, a special employee deduction and family, mortgage, insurance and medical allowances; brackets were reset by Law 27,743 and move regularly. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, non-residents on Argentine-source income only.

Statutory minimum wage and collective floors

Argentina sets a national minimum wage (Salario Mínimo, Vital y Móvil, SMVM) through a tripartite council and periodic decree. In practice the sectoral collective agreement (Convenio Colectivo de Trabajo, CCT) matters more: its wage scale for each role tier supersedes the SMVM and binds every employer in the covered activity, member of the association or not. Pay splits into remunerative items, which carry social security and tax, and non-remunerative items such as telework reimbursements, which are exempt from social security but must meet strict criteria.

Leave and mandatory benefits

• Paid vacation. 14 consecutive calendar days for up to 5 years of service, then 21 days to 10 years, 28 to 20 years and 35 beyond. Under Article 155 vacation pay divides monthly salary by 25 rather than 30, an automatic premium of about 20%.
• Public holidays. 15 to 18+ national holidays a year including decreed bridge days (feriados puente). Work on a holiday pays a 100% surcharge.
• 13th month (SAC). Half of the highest regular monthly salary of each semester, paid by 30 June and 18 December, prorated for partial semesters.
• Sick pay. Employer-paid for 3 months (6 with dependants) below 5 years of service, and 6 months (12 with dependants) above.
• Maternity. 90 days, 45 before and 45 after birth, paid at 100% through the ANSES family allowance.
• Paternity and other leave. 2 consecutive days statutory, often extended by collective agreement; 10 days for marriage; 3 days bereavement for a spouse, child or parent; 2 days per exam up to 10 a year.
• Working time. 8 hours a day and 48 a week under Law 11,544, often lower by agreement. Night work (21:00 to 06:00) is limited to 7 hours. Overtime pays +50% until Saturday 13:00 and +100% after that and on holidays, capped at 30 hours a month and 200 a year.
• Telework. Law 27,555 requires written consent, allows reversal to on-site work, obliges the employer to reimburse equipment and connectivity tax-free, and gives a right to disconnect.

Termination and notice periods

Dismissal without cause (despido sin justa causa) is permitted at any time against seniority severance under Article 245 LCT: one month of the highest regular monthly salary of the last 12 months per year of service or fraction over 3 months, never less than one month. The base is capped at three times the average wage of the applicable collective agreement, but under the Supreme Court's Vizzoti doctrine the cap cannot cut the real salary by more than 33%. If notice is not worked, you pay it in lieu plus the rest of the dismissal month (integración del mes de despido). Dismissal for cause requires serious misconduct, with the burden of proof on the employer.

• Probation has changed. Law 27,742 extended statutory probation to 6 months, with collective agreements able to take it to 8 months for firms of 6 to 100 staff and 12 months for firms of up to 5. Either side can end the contract in probation without severance, but the employer still owes 15 days' notice, and the employee must be registered from day 1 or the probation is void.
• Severance funds. The same law lets a sector agreement replace Article 245 severance with a collective fund (Fondo de Cese Laboral). Check whether your CCT has adopted one.
• Fixed-term contracts are exceptional. They need a written contract, an objective temporary cause and 1 to 2 months' notice of non-renewal, up to 5 years cumulative.
• Conciliation first. In Buenos Aires every individual claim goes through mandatory conciliation (SECLO) before the labour courts, which lean toward the worker. Mutual separation agreements are signed before SECLO or a notary.
• Spanish, in writing. Contracts, policies and disciplinary letters must be in Spanish to be enforceable; bilingual side-by-side versions are customary.

Can I use independent contractors?

Only for genuine commercial suppliers, and the law presumes against you. Article 23 LCT says the fact of rendering services creates a legal presumption of an employment contract unless the circumstances prove otherwise, and courts apply the primacy of reality (primacía de la realidad) over the written agreement. The red flags are fixed schedules, direct supervision, 100% of income from one firm, company hardware, representing you to customers and performing core ongoing tasks. Law 27,742 modernised the rules for independent services and lets a self-employed person use up to 3 collaborators without an employment relationship, but an individual doing core work exclusively for one foreign client remains exposed before the National Labour Courts. Reclassification means 100% of unpaid employer and employee social security for the whole relationship with inflation adjustment and interest, back payment of SAC, vacation, overtime and scale differences, and full Article 245 severance plus notice on exit. An EOR is the compliant alternative for anyone who works like an employee.

The legal framework in brief

Argentine employment law is protective, anchored in the Constitution and reinforced by sectoral collective agreements that apply by operation of law. The instruments you will hear referenced most:

• National Constitution, Article 14 bis. Limited hours, paid rest, a minimum adjustable wage, protection against arbitrary dismissal, social security and union freedom.
• Employment Contract Law (Ley de Contrato de Trabajo, Law 20,744). Contract types, hours, leave, pay, payslips, SAC and termination. Articles 23, 92 bis, 150, 155 and 245 matter most.
• Ley de Bases (Law 27,742). The 2024 reform: longer probation, optional severance funds, updated independent services rules and repeal of the old unregistered-employment fine duplications.
• Collective Bargaining Law (Law 14,250) and Union Law (Law 23,551). Sectoral agreements bind every employer in the activity once registered; the most representative union (personería gremial) holds exclusive bargaining and dues rights.
• Telework Law (Law 27,555). Consent, reversibility, expense reimbursement, right to disconnect and equal treatment for remote staff.
• Working Time Law (Law 11,544) and Decree 484/2000. The 8-hour day, 48-hour week and overtime caps.
• Occupational Risk Law (Law 24,557) and Safety Law (Law 19,587). Mandatory ART affiliation, regulated by the SRT, including ergonomic equipment for remote workers.
• Anti-Discrimination Law (Law 23,592) and ILO Convention 190. Discriminatory acts are void with full damages; employers need protocols against workplace violence and harassment.
• Data Protection Law (Law 25,326). Informed consent, databases registered with the AAIP, monitoring only under an advance written policy.

Where the talent is

Argentina is one of Latin America's premier talent markets: top of the region for English proficiency, home to several of its largest technology unicorns, and rich in full-stack developers, AI and ML engineers and product managers trained at public universities such as UBA, UTN and UNC. It runs on UTC-3, with a full business-day overlap with the U.S. East Coast and a long overlap with Europe. The trade-off is macroeconomic: peso-only wages, exchange controls and collective cost-of-living adjustments make compensation design a specialist task.

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Argentine social security rates, tax thresholds, collective agreement scales, the Ley de Bases reforms and telework rules change frequently. Confirm current figures with a qualified adviser or with Dryft before acting. Last reviewed September 2026.