# Hiring in Argentina

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> Canonical page: https://hirewithcolumbus.com/hiring-guides/argentina/
> Pricing: from $179/month per employee, one transparent flat fee with no percentage-of-salary markups and no setup fees (https://hirewithcolumbus.com/pricing/).
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> Last updated: 2026-09-23

Argentina requires a mandatory 13th-month salary called the aguinaldo, split into two payments every year, due 30 June and 18 December, each worth half the employee's best monthly wage that semester. Miss one of those dates and you're not just late on payroll, you're in breach of the Labour Contract Law, and every future severance calculation gets pricier because it's based on that same "best monthly remuneration" figure.

Get a dismissal wrong and the numbers stack quickly. Ordinary severance runs one month's salary per year of service, on top of notice (currently averaging around 5.8 weeks) and any unused vacation. Across the market, severance costs average the equivalent of about 23.1 weeks of pay per employee, which is real money if you haven't budgeted for it. None of this is optional and none of it waits for you to figure out Argentine labor law on the fly.

### Your three options

Option 1: Set up your own entity

- Cost: significant upfront legal, notarial and registration fees, plus ongoing accounting, payroll and tax compliance costs (Argentina's corporate tax rate is 35%, and VAT is 21%)

- Timeline: 3-6 months minimum, covering tax registration, social security enrollment and payroll setup

- Complexity: full compliance with the Labour Contract Law, mandatory SAC payments, employer social security contributions (averaging around 28.3% of gross pay across pension, health insurance and family allowances), and ongoing filings with ARCA

- Makes sense when: you're hiring 20+ people long-term and want a permanent legal presence in Argentina

Option 2: Hire contractors

- Cost: none upfront, but Argentine law presumes an employment relationship whenever someone works under your direction and control

- Timeline: immediate

- Risks: a misclassified contractor can be reclassified as an employee, triggering back pay, unpaid contributions and severance you never budgeted for

- Makes sense when: the engagement is a short, clearly independent project (under six months) rather than ongoing, directed work

- Note: Hire with Columbus also handles compliant contractor agreements and payments if that's the right fit for the role

Option 3: Use an employer of record (recommended for most)

- Cost: from $179/month per employee (USD)

- Timeline: 2-3 days to hire

- Complexity: none. We register the employment, run payroll, pay the SAC installments on time and manage the ARCA filings

- Makes sense when: you're hiring 1-50 people, testing the Argentine market, or building a team across several countries at once

### Why an EOR usually wins

If you're hiring one to ten people, incorporating in Argentina and carrying the ongoing legal and accounting support needed to stay compliant with a labor code built around strong severance and SAC protections costs far more than years of EOR fees. From $179/month per employee ($2,148/year), hiring three people through Hire with Columbus runs $537/month, no entity, no local payroll team, no risk of missing a 30 June aguinaldo deadline. If you're also eyeing hires in other countries, that math multiplies fast once you factor in separate entities for each one.

An EOR handles the parts that actually create risk: employment contracts that meet Labour Contract Law requirements, payroll and SAC payments on schedule, social security contributions, and updates when the law changes (Argentina's labor rules have moved a lot in 2026). You get someone hired and working legally in days, not months, without owning the compliance burden yourself.

Ready to hire in Argentina without the entity setup or the contractor risk? Get started with Hire with Columbus.

## What employment types can you use?

Before you draft an employment contract in Argentina, you need to decide: entity, contractor, or EOR. That decision shapes everything else, from how fast you can hire to how much risk you're carrying.

### How can you hire in Argentina?

There are three real paths into the Argentine market. Here's how they stack up.

| Approach | Speed | Best for | Key risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set up your own entity | Months, not weeks | 20+ employees, permanent presence | High upfront cost, ongoing compliance burden |
| Hire contractors | Days | Short projects under 6 months, specialized skills | Misclassification exposure |
| Use an EOR | 2-3 days | 1-50 employees, market testing, multi-country teams | Low, EOR carries the compliance risk |

Setting up your own entity

This is the traditional route, and it's still the right call if you're planning a large, permanent operation in Argentina. But it's not a quick fix.

You're looking at incorporation, legal registration, and setup with Argentina's tax authority (ARCA) before you can legally put anyone on payroll. Argentine law requires you to register every employee with ARCA before their first day of work, per Article 52 of the Labour Contract Law. That's not optional paperwork you can catch up on later.

Once you're set up, the ongoing burden doesn't stop. You'll need local accounting, a payroll system that handles Argentina's cumulative progressive income tax withholding, and legal support to keep up with a labor code that gets amended frequently (2026 alone brought multiple changes under Law 27,802). This route makes sense when you know you're committing to Argentina for the long haul, typically 20 or more employees with no exit plan.

Hiring contractors or freelancers

Contractors let you start immediately. No entity, no registration delay, no payroll setup.

But Argentine law is specific about what makes someone a contractor versus an employee. Under Article 23 of the Labour Contract Law, providing services under dependency creates a presumption of an employment contract, unless the arrangement is genuinely structured as independent professional services with proper invoicing. Get the classification wrong and you're exposed to back taxes, social security contributions, and legal disputes, on top of the reputational risk of a labor claim.

Contractors also can't be managed like employees. You can't set their hours, dictate exactly how they work, or integrate them into your org chart the way you would staff. If you need that level of control, contractor status probably won't hold up. Hire with Columbus handles compliant contractor agreements and payment processing if that's the right fit for a short-term specialist engagement.

Using an employer of record (recommended for most companies)

An EOR like Hire with Columbus becomes the legal employer of record in Argentina. You keep full control over the day-to-day work, targets, and performance. We handle the employment contract, payroll, tax withholding, social security contributions, and legal compliance behind it.

Pricing starts from $179/month per employee. Five employees comes to from $895/month, no incorporation costs, no local accounting firm to hire, no risk of getting your ARCA registration wrong. Compare that to the entity route, where you're carrying incorporation costs, legal fees, and ongoing compliance overhead regardless of how many people you actually employ.

Timeline is the other big difference. With an entity, you're waiting months before you can legally pay anyone. With an EOR, we can usually get someone hired and paid within 2-3 days, because the legal entity already exists.

This is the right call if you're hiring 1 to 50 people, testing whether Argentina is a market worth a long-term bet, or building a team across several countries at once without setting up an entity in each one.

### Employment contract types in Argentina

Once you've settled on how you're going to employ someone, you still need to pick the right contract type. Argentine law gives you a handful of options, and each comes with its own rules.

Permanent contracts (indefinite term)

This is the default under Argentine law. Article 90 of the Labour Contract Law says every employment contract is presumed indefinite unless a fixed term is expressly agreed in writing and justified by the nature of the work.

Most full-time, core roles should be permanent contracts. They come with a probation period of up to 6 months (extendable to 8 months at companies with 6 to 100 employees, or up to 1 year at companies with 5 or fewer employees, if the applicable collective agreement allows it). During probation, either side can end the relationship without cause and without severance.

Fixed-term contracts

Fixed-term contracts are the exception, not the rule, and Argentine law is strict about it. You need a written agreement specifying the duration, and the modality of the work has to genuinely justify a fixed end date. Under Article 93, a fixed-term contract can't run longer than 5 years.

Chain together successive fixed-term contracts without real justification, and the law converts the relationship into an indefinite one automatically. Both parties also need to give notice of non-renewal between 1 and 2 months before the term ends, unless the contract itself runs under a month. Miss that notice and the contract is treated as renewed on the same terms.

Part-time contracts

Under Article 92 TER, a part-time contract covers anyone working fewer hours per day or week than the applicable full-time schedule. Pay has to be proportional to what a full-time worker in the same role earns, never less.

Part-time workers can volunteer for extra hours within their reduced schedule, but they can't work overtime beyond the legal full-time limit except in narrow emergency circumstances. Social security contributions are calculated proportionally to what they actually earn.

Seasonal contracts

Argentina also recognizes seasonal work contracts for activities that repeat at the same time each year, like agriculture or tourism. These get treated like fixed-term contracts if terminated early without cause, and workers gain permanent-employee rights once they've worked through a first season under this modality.

### How Hire with Columbus handles this

Whichever contract type fits the role, we draft it to match Argentine law: probation terms, notice periods, and the right classification from day one. You tell us the role and the terms you want, and we make sure the paperwork holds up if it's ever challenged.

## How does payroll and taxation work?

Most companies budget salary only. Then payroll hits and employer social security contributions add another 28.3% on top of gross pay, before you've even touched income tax withholding, aguinaldo, or insurance.

### Minimum wage and average wage

The national minimum wage is ARS 383,800 per month as of September 2026, and it's scheduled to rise again before year-end:

| Effective date | Minimum monthly wage (ARS) |
|---|---|
| 1 September 2026 | 383,800 |
| 1 October 2026 | 391,200 |
| 1 November 2026 | 398,800 |
| 1 December 2026 | 406,400 |

Build these increases into your budget now rather than getting surprised each quarter. For context, the average monthly wage across Argentina sits at about ARS 1,007,000, so most professional hires will be well above the statutory floor.

### Income tax brackets

Argentina's personal income tax is progressive, with rates from 5% up to a top rate of 35%. The 2026 annual brackets are:

| Annual taxable income (ARS) | Rate |
|---|---|
| 0 - 1,749,902 | 5% |
| 1,749,902 - 3,499,803 | 9% |
| 3,499,803 - 6,999,607 | 12% |
| 6,999,607 - 10,499,410 | 15% |
| 10,499,410 - 17,499,017 | 19% |
| 17,499,017 - 24,498,624 | 23% |
| 24,498,624 - 34,998,034 | 27% |
| 34,998,034 - 53,153,257 | 31% |
| Over 53,153,257 | 35% |

The employer withholds this monthly on a cumulative basis, so the amount deducted in December looks different from January even at the same salary. This is one of the fiddlier parts of running Argentine payroll yourself, since the withholding tables update through the year with inflation.

### Social security contributions

Employer contributions total about 28.3% of gross pay, split across several funds:

| Employer contribution | Rate |
|---|---|
| Pension (SIPA) | 12.3% |
| Health insurance (Obra Social) | 6% |
| Family allowances (ANSES) | 5.6% |
| National Employment Fund | 1.1% |
| Social services for retirees (INSSJP/PAMI) | 1.4% |

Employees have 17% withheld from gross pay:

| Employee contribution | Rate |
|---|---|
| Pension (SIPA) | 11% |
| Health insurance (Obra Social) | 3% |
| Social services for retirees (INSSJP/PAMI) | 3% |

On top of these, employers must separately arrange compulsory group life insurance and workplace injury (ART) coverage, both required by law but priced outside the standard contribution rates above. Starting 1 November 2026, most employers will also owe a new Labour Assistance Fund contribution (roughly 1% for large companies, 2.5% for SMEs) that feeds a severance-related fund, so factor that into cost planning for Q4.

### Payment schedule: the aguinaldo

Argentina requires a mandatory 13th salary, called the Sueldo Anual Complementario (SAC or aguinaldo), paid in two installments rather than spread across 12 months. Each installment equals 50% of the highest monthly wage earned that semester, due on 30 June and 18 December.

This is not a "monthly equivalent" you can average into payroll. It's two lump-sum payments, and employer social security contributions apply to each installment just like a regular salary payment.

### Total employment cost example

Take an illustrative gross salary of ARS 1,000,000 a month:

| Item | Amount (ARS) |
|---|---|
| Gross monthly salary | 1,000,000 |
| Employer contributions (28.3%) | 283,000 |
| Total monthly employer cost | 1,283,000 |

Multiply that by 12 and you get about ARS 15,396,000 for the year, but that's before the aguinaldo. Add roughly one more month's salary (paid as two installments) plus employer contributions on those installments, and the real annual cost lands closer to ARS 16,679,000, before ART and life insurance premiums.

### Payroll cycle

Monthly-paid employees must be paid within 4 working days of month-end, and wages must go into a dedicated salary bank account ("cuenta sueldo") that can't carry withdrawal limits or fees for the employee. Payslips also have to follow a specific four-part format that itemizes employer costs, not just employee deductions.

### Common payroll mistakes

- Forgetting the aguinaldo is a cash-flow event, not a monthly accrual. Companies that don't reserve for it get caught short every June and December.

- Missing the minimum wage step-ups. A rate that's compliant in September is under the floor by December.

- Skipping compulsory life insurance and ART enrollment. These are separate legal obligations from the standard social security contributions, and they're easy to overlook if you're only tracking the 28.3% employer rate.

- Registering the employee too late. Argentine law requires registration before the employee's first day of work, not after.

- Not checking eligibility for hiring incentives. Argentina's 2026 formalization incentive (RIFL) can reduce employer contributions for qualifying new hires, but it has specific conditions worth checking before you assume the full 28.3% applies.

### The self-managed alternative

Running this yourself usually means a local accounting firm for the monthly filings, payroll software that handles the cumulative tax withholding correctly, and someone in-house tracking every scheduled wage increase and regulatory change. That's real ongoing work, and the compliance exposure sits with you the whole time.

With Hire with Columbus, we run the calculations, remit the contributions, handle the aguinaldo installments, and keep the payroll current with each minimum wage update, starting from $179/month per employee.

## What benefits and leave are required?

You'll pay salary 13 times a year, not 12. Argentina requires a mandatory aguinaldo (SAC), an extra half-month's pay in June and another in December, on top of vacation, sick leave, and a long list of statutory contributions. Here's what you owe, when you owe it, and what happens if you miss it.

### Annual vacation

Vacation length depends on tenure, and it's calendar days, not working days.

| Tenure at year-end | Vacation entitlement |
|---|---|
| Up to 5 years | 14 calendar days |
| More than 5, up to 10 years | 21 calendar days |
| More than 10, up to 20 years | 28 calendar days |
| More than 20 years | 35 calendar days |

A few rules to build into your policy:

- Vacation must start on a Monday (or the next working day if Monday is a holiday), and you must notify the employee at least 30 days ahead.

- Leave normally runs between 1 October and 30 April, though both sides can agree to a different window.

- You can split vacation into blocks, but no block can be shorter than 7 days.

- Pay is due before the leave starts, calculated by dividing the monthly salary by 25 and multiplying by the number of vacation days.

- Vacation can't be cashed out while someone is employed. On termination, the employee is owed a proportional payment for unused days.

### Sick leave

Sick pay in Argentina is employer-funded, not covered by social insurance, and the paid period depends on tenure and family responsibilities:

| Tenure | No dependents | With dependents |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5 years | 3 months | 6 months |
| 5 years or more | 6 months | 12 months |

The employee must notify you on the first day they can't come in, or they risk losing pay for that absence. Medical certificates need a diagnosis, treatment plan, and number of rest days, and must be issued digitally through an authorized health platform (with paper as a backup only when systems are down). You can send your own doctor to verify the diagnosis, and if there's a disagreement, either side can call for a medical board review.

Once the paid sick period runs out, you still have to hold the job open for another year before you can end the contract without severance.

### Parental leave

Maternity leave runs 90 days total, split as 45 days before the due date and 45 after. Employees can shorten the pre-birth portion to as little as 10 days and shift the rest to after the birth. Pay comes through as a social security allowance equal to full salary for the leave period.

Dismissal during pregnancy carries a legal presumption of discrimination if it happens within 7.5 months before or after the birth, and the penalty is a full year's pay on top of ordinary severance.

Birth leave for the other parent is 2 paid calendar days, separate from any collective agreement enhancements.

After maternity leave ends, the employee chooses one of three paths:

- Return to the same role.

- Resign with a compensation payment (25% of salary per year of service, capped).

- Take unpaid leave (excedencia) of 3 to 6 months. This time doesn't count toward seniority, but the job must be held open.

Breastfeeding leave is separate from all of the above: two 30-minute breaks per day, for up to a year after birth.

### Other paid leave

- Marriage: 10 calendar days.

- Death of a spouse, child, or parent: 3 calendar days.

- Death of a sibling: 1 day.

- Exams (secondary or university): 2 days per exam, capped at 10 days a year.

### Public holidays in 2026

Argentina's official calendar lists 16 non-working days for 2026. The core paid public holidays confirmed on the government calendar are:

| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year's Day |
| 16 February | Carnival |
| 17 February | Carnival |
| 24 March | National Day of Memory for Truth and Justice |
| 2 April | Malvinas Veterans and Fallen Day |
| 20 June | Anniversary of General Belgrano's death |
| 9 July | Independence Day |
| 17 August | Anniversary of General San Martín's death (observed) |
| 12 October | Public holiday (fixed date, per official calendar) |
| 23 November | National Sovereignty Day (observed, actual date 20 November) |
| 8 December | Immaculate Conception |
| 25 December | Christmas Day |

On top of these, the government also designates a handful of optional "non-working" days each year (religious observances and short tourist-boost days). Those are discretionary for most private employers, except banks and insurers.

If an employee works a public holiday, you owe them their normal day's pay plus an equal amount on top, effectively double pay.

### Mandatory benefits and who pays

The 13th salary (SAC/aguinaldo). Two installments a year, due 30 June and 18 December, each equal to 50% of the highest monthly salary paid in that half-year. This isn't optional and isn't something you can fold into a higher monthly rate.

Social security contributions. Both sides pay into the same system, but at different rates.

| Employer contributions | Rate |
|---|---|
| Pension (SIPA) | 12.3% |
| Health insurance (Obra Social) | 6% |
| Family allowances (ANSES) | 5.6% |
| National Employment Fund | 1.1% |
| Social services for retirees (INSSJP/PAMI) | 1.4% |
| Total employer SSC | about 28.3% |

| Employee contributions | Rate |
|---|---|
| Pension (SIPA) | 11% |
| Health insurance (Obra Social) | 3% |
| Social services for retirees (INSSJP/PAMI) | 3% |
| Total employee SSC | 17% |

Compulsory life insurance. Every dependent employee needs group life cover, paid for entirely by the employer, insured for 5.5 times the minimum wage. This is separate from health insurance and easy to forget when you're focused on payroll.

Workplace injury insurance (ART). You must affiliate with a licensed risk insurer before anyone starts work. Premiums are based on your activity's risk level and get paid alongside your monthly social security filing.

### Optional benefits that help you compete

Beyond the legal floor, employers commonly add:

- Supplementary private health plans on top of the Obra Social minimum.

- Meal or food benefits and childcare reimbursements, both of which Argentine law treats as non-remunerative "social benefits" (not subject to payroll tax) when structured correctly.

- Extra vacation days above the statutory scale, especially for senior hires.

- Remote-work equipment and connectivity stipends, which carry their own tax treatment.

- Training and professional development budgets, also treated favorably if properly documented.

### Common benefit mistakes

- Miscounting the aguinaldo. It's calculated on the highest monthly salary of the half-year, not an average. Get this wrong and you underpay every affected employee twice a year.

- Skipping the mandatory life policy. It's a separate obligation from health insurance and from the ART, and it's easy to miss if you're building payroll from a checklist meant for another country.

- Paying single-time for holiday work. The law requires double pay, and shortchanging this is a common wage claim.

- Getting sick leave certification wrong. Certificates need to come through an authorized digital platform, not a scanned PDF from any clinic.

- Ignoring the post-birth job guarantee. The excedencia period doesn't end your obligations. The job has to be there when the employee is ready to return.

Administering all of this correctly usually means a local payroll specialist, health insurance and ART relationships already in place, and someone tracking every leave type against tenure. Hire with Columbus handles benefit administration, contributions, aguinaldo timing, and leave tracking from $179/month per employee, so you're not learning Argentina's leave rules by making a mistake with your first hire.

## What are the compliance requirements?

Firing someone in Argentina means paying notice, severance, and often the proportional aguinaldo and unused vacation on top. Get the process wrong and you're looking at legal fees, back pay, or a reinstatement order from a labor judge. Here's what the law actually requires at each stage of the employment relationship.

### Employment contract requirements

Argentine law presumes every employment relationship is indefinite unless you prove otherwise in writing. A fixed-term contract needs an express written clause stating the duration and the reason it's fixed-term, and it can't run longer than 5 years. If you use back-to-back fixed-term contracts beyond what the role genuinely justifies, the contract converts to indefinite by operation of law.

Every employee has to be registered with ARCA (the tax and labor authority) before they start work, or at the latest by the day before. You get a grace window of up to 5 business days after the start date to complete the paperwork, but miss that and the registration attempt is void.

Payslips issued from 2026 must be split into 4 clearly labeled sections: employer and employee identification data, employer contributions, gross pay with deductions, and net pay. Employers also have to keep employment records for 10 years, though digital copies now count as valid originals.

### Probation periods

Standard probation on an indefinite contract runs 6 months. Collective bargaining agreements can stretch this further: up to 8 months at companies with 6 to 100 employees, or up to 1 year at companies with 5 or fewer employees.

Either side can end the relationship during probation without giving a reason and without owing severance. Notice isn't required during this window either.

Two things trip people up here. First, you can't rehire the same person and reuse a probation period, if you try, the law treats you as having waived it entirely. Second, the employee has to be registered from day one of probation, not after it's confirmed. Skip that and you're treated as having waived probation too, meaning full protections apply from day one.

### Working time regulations

The general limit is 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week. Night work (9pm to 6am) caps at 7 hours, and work classified as unhealthy caps at 6 hours a day or 36 a week.

Overtime carries a 50% premium on ordinary weekdays and a 100% premium for work after 1pm on Saturdays, all day Sunday, and public holidays. Employers and employees can agree in writing to an "hours bank" that offsets longer and shorter days, as long as weekly limits and minimum rest periods aren't breached. The law requires at least 12 hours of rest between shifts.

### Notice periods

Notice requirements depend on who's ending the contract and how long the employee has worked there.

| Party giving notice | Tenure | Notice required |
|---|---|---|
| Employee (resignation) | Any | 15 calendar days |
| Employer | Up to 5 years | 1 month |
| Employer | Over 5 years | 2 months |
| Either party | During probation | None required |

If a party skips notice or gives too little, they owe the other side a substitute payment equal to the salary for the missing period. If the employer dismisses without notice mid-month, it also owes salary for the remaining days of that month.

### Termination process

A dismissal for just cause has to be communicated in writing with a clear, specific reason. Once you've stated that reason, you can't change it later in court, so get it right the first time.

Most private-sector individual dismissals don't need government pre-approval. But certain employees carry extra protection you need to check before acting:

- Pregnant employees: dismissal within 7.5 months before or after the birth is presumed to be pregnancy-related unless proven otherwise, and triggers an indemnity equal to one year's remuneration on top of ordinary severance.

- Recently married employees: the same one-year-salary indemnity applies to dismissals within 3 months before or 6 months after marriage, unless the employer proves another cause.

- Union delegates and representatives: can't be dismissed, suspended, or have their conditions changed without a judge first lifting their protection. Violating this exposes you to a court-ordered reinstatement plus back pay for the whole proceeding.

- Discriminatory dismissal: if a court finds the real motive was discrimination (race, religion, gender, disability, and similar grounds), it adds a 50% to 100% surcharge on top of the ordinary severance.

Resignations only count once formalized through a telegram (physical or digital) or filed with the labor authority. Mutual-agreement terminations need a public deed or filing before a judicial or administrative labor authority, done with the employee present in person, or they're void.

### Severance pay

Ordinary severance for dismissal without just cause is 1 month's salary per year of service, or fraction of a year over 3 months. It's calculated on the best normal, habitual monthly remuneration earned in the last year, and is subject to a cap tied to the applicable collective agreement (with a floor of 67% of the employee's actual pay).

| Years of service | Severance owed |
|---|---|
| Under 1 year (worked more than 3 months) | 1 month's salary |
| 3 years | 3 months' salary |
| 7 years | 7 months' salary |
| 15 years | 15 months' salary |

Final payments, including severance, notice pay, and any outstanding aguinaldo or vacation, are due within the same statutory window as regular payroll (4 business days after the relevant period closes).

### Data protection

Argentina's data protection law requires that any personal data you collect on employees be accurate, relevant, and limited to what the stated purpose needs. You have to tell employees upfront what you're collecting, why, and who might receive it.

Sensitive data (health records, union membership) gets extra protection. Nobody can be compelled to disclose it, and it can only be processed for narrow, legally justified reasons.

If you're routing employee data to an overseas HR system or parent company, that's an international transfer under Argentine law. You need either a recognized adequacy finding or a safeguard like the AAIP's approved model contractual clauses. This is one of the areas people miss when they set up payroll through a system based outside Argentina.

### Common compliance mistakes

- Registering the employee late or not at all. This flips the burden of proof in any future dispute in the employee's favor and leaves you exposed to back-contributions.

- Treating a permanent role as fixed-term to avoid full protections. Courts convert these to indefinite contracts and treat the dismissal as if severance always applied.

- Giving a vague or generic reason for dismissal. Once written down, that reason is locked in. A weak one collapses under challenge.

- Dismissing during a protected window (pregnancy, recent marriage, active union role) without first checking whether judicial clearance is needed.

- Skipping the mandatory life and occupational-risk insurance. Every employer needs compulsory group life cover and must be affiliated with an occupational-risk insurer (ART), regardless of headcount.

- Using the wrong payslip format. The 4-section requirement introduced for 2026 isn't optional.

### What this costs you if it goes wrong

- Missing or short notice: you owe the salary for the full notice period as a substitute payment.

- Dismissal during a protected window without cause: an extra year's salary in indemnity, stacked on top of ordinary severance.

- Confirmed discriminatory dismissal: a 50% to 100% surcharge added to the ordinary severance figure.

- Dismissing a protected union representative without court authorization: potential reinstatement plus back pay for the entire legal process.

- Unregistered employment: the employee's version of the facts is presumed true in any dispute, and you're still on the hook for the unpaid contributions.

Hire with Columbus builds every contract, registration, and termination step around these exact rules, so you're not the one finding out about a protected dismissal window after the fact. From $179/month per employee, that compliance coverage comes with the hire, not as an extra line item you add later.

## What has changed recently?

Argentina's labor law had its biggest shake-up in decades this year, and if you're setting up payroll for the first time, you need to know which rules are brand new versus which have been around for a while. Here's what actually moved in 2026.

### The Labour Modernisation Law rewrote a lot of the rulebook

Law 27,802 (published 6 March 2026) touched dozens of articles in the Labour Contract Law, and the changes are still working their way into daily practice. A few that matter if you're hiring right now:

- Registration got simpler. Employers now register workers directly with ARCA (the renamed tax and customs agency) and don't need to maintain physical or digital labor books anymore. One less filing headache.

- Payslips got a mandatory new format. Since the March 2026 reform, payslips must be split into four clear sections: employer/employee identifying data, employer contributions, gross pay and deductions, and net pay. If your payroll provider hasn't updated its templates, that's a compliance gap.

- Employer notice for longer-tenured staff dropped. Notice is still 1 month for employees with under 5 years' service, but the 2-month tier now kicks in for anyone over 5 years (previously that threshold sat elsewhere). Check your notice calculations if you've been using an old table.

- The union-conduct rules around strikes tightened. Active participation in plant blockades or takeovers can now count as just cause for dismissal, a meaningful shift in how "grave injury" gets defined.

- Resignations now require a formal telegram, physical or digital, sent free of charge with identity verification. A verbal or email resignation doesn't cut it anymore.

### A new hiring incentive is live, for now

The Régimen de Incentivo a la Formalización Laboral (RIFL) gives employers a one-year window of reduced payroll contributions for hiring people who weren't formally employed before 10 December 2025, or who'd been unemployed for at least 6 months. If you're bringing on someone who fits that profile, it's worth checking eligibility before you run your first payroll, since the reduced rates apply for up to 48 months on part of the contribution base.

### The Labour Assistance Fund is coming, just not yet

This one keeps slipping. It was originally meant to launch alongside the rest of the reform, but Decree 408/2026 pushed the start date to 1 November 2026. Once live, it'll functions like an escrow account employers fund monthly to cover severance and termination costs. If you're budgeting payroll costs for Q4 2026, build in the possibility that this contribution starts appearing on your books before year-end.

### Minimum wage keeps climbing, month over month

The Wage Council set out a monthly minimum wage schedule that increases almost every month through early 2027. As of September 2026 it's ARS 383,800 per month for full-time monthly-paid staff, rising to ARS 391,200 in October, ARS 398,800 in November, and ARS 406,400 in December. If you're forecasting payroll costs past this quarter, use the scheduled figure for the relevant month, not September's number.

### What this means if you're hiring now

None of this is optional reading. Get the registration, payslip format, notice periods and resignation process wrong, and you're exposed to back-pay claims or fines you didn't see coming. This is exactly the kind of shifting ground where running payroll through Hire with Columbus pays off: we track these changes as they land, so your payslips, notice calculations and contribution rates stay compliant without you having to parse Boletín Oficial updates yourself. From $179/month per employee, that's cheaper than one missed compliance deadline.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does an EOR cost in Argentina?

Hiring in Argentina through an Employer of Record with Hire with Columbus starts from $179 per employee per month, with no setup fees and no deposits. That covers registering the employment, running payroll, paying the SAC (aguinaldo) installments on time, managing ARCA filings, and handling social security contributions on your behalf.

### Can I hire employees in Argentina without setting up a local entity?

Yes. An Employer of Record legally employs the worker on your behalf in Argentina, registering them with ARCA and handling payroll, tax withholding, and social security contributions, so you can hire without setting up your own local entity. This avoids the incorporation, legal registration, and ongoing accounting burden that comes with opening an entity in Argentina.

### How long does it take to hire someone in Argentina?

Hire with Columbus typically onboards in 2-3 days through an Employer of Record in Argentina once the worker is qualified and compliant, since the legal entity already exists. This compares to 3-6 months minimum if you set up your own entity, which involves tax registration, social security enrollment, and payroll setup.

### What does an employer pay on top of gross salary in Argentina?

On top of gross salary, employers in Argentina pay social security contributions totaling about 28.3% of gross pay, covering pension (12.3%), health insurance (6%), family allowances (5.6%), the National Employment Fund (1.1%), and social services for retirees (1.4%). Employers must also fund the mandatory aguinaldo, equal to an extra month's salary paid as two installments, plus separate compulsory group life insurance and workplace injury (ART) coverage. Starting 1 November 2026, most employers will also owe a new Labour Assistance Fund contribution of roughly 1% for large companies or 2.5% for SMEs.

### What is the notice period for terminating an employee in Argentina?

Notice periods in Argentina depend on tenure and who is ending the contract. An employee resigning owes 15 calendar days' notice, while an employer must give 1 month's notice for employees with up to 5 years of service and 2 months for those with over 5 years. No notice is required from either party during the probation period, which normally runs up to 6 months.

### Is a 13th-month salary mandatory in Argentina?

Yes, a 13th-month salary is mandatory in Argentina, called the aguinaldo or Sueldo Anual Complementario (SAC). It is paid in two installments each year, due 30 June and 18 December, with each installment equal to 50% of the employee's highest monthly salary earned in that half-year.

### How much paid leave are employees entitled to in Argentina?

Paid annual vacation in Argentina depends on tenure: 14 calendar days for up to 5 years of service, 21 days for more than 5 up to 10 years, 28 days for more than 10 up to 20 years, and 35 days for more than 20 years. Employees are also entitled to employer-funded sick leave ranging from 3 to 12 months depending on tenure and dependents, plus 90 days of maternity leave and 2 paid days of birth leave for the other parent.

### What is the difference between hiring an employee and a contractor in Argentina?

In Argentina, an employee works under the direction and control of the employer, with a contract presumed indefinite by default and full statutory protections including notice, severance, and social security contributions. A contractor operates independently, invoicing for services without set hours or integration into the company org chart, and is meant for short, clearly independent projects generally under six months. Argentine law presumes an employment relationship whenever someone works under dependency, so a misclassified contractor can be reclassified as an employee, triggering back pay, unpaid contributions, and severance.

Hire in Argentina from $179/month per employee: https://hirewithcolumbus.com/get-started/

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