Last reviewed: October 2026
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If you plan to hire employees in Argentina, most companies making a first hire use an employer of record such as Deel or Rippling, because it avoids a local entity while keeping the worker on a registered payroll. The rules shifted this year: Law No. 27,802 was published in the Official Gazette on March 6, 2026, and it changes probation, severance, working hours, and employer contributions.
This guide covers the three hiring routes, contracts, pay, employer costs, leave, termination, and misclassification risk. It is general information, not legal or tax advice, and a qualified Argentine labor lawyer or accountant should confirm your specific situation before you hire or dismiss anyone.
One caveat before you sign anything: as of September 2026 the law is in force while unions fight it in court. Check the status of the contested articles with local counsel before you rely on any reform provision described here. If a court strikes an article, the pre-reform rule returns, and several figures in this guide would change with it.
Why companies hire employees in Argentina
The reform is the main story for employers. Its stated changes are cheaper and more predictable dismissals, flexible hours, pay in foreign currency, and tighter limits on strikes. The government argues that Argentina’s labor rules have long discouraged formal hiring.
There is also a cost incentive for new registered jobs. For 48 months, qualifying hires carry a combined 2% for pension, employment fund, and family allowances, plus 3% for PAMI, 5% in total. We cover how that interacts with the other contributions below.
We did not find a reliable official source for talent-pool size or salary benchmarks, so we do not quote any. Ask your provider for role-level market data before you set an offer.
Your three options: EOR, local entity, or contractors
To hire employees in Argentina you can use an employer of record (EOR), open your own entity, or engage independent contractors. Each shifts a different mix of cost, control, and legal exposure. If the model is new to you, start with our plain-English guide to what an employer of record is.
Employer of record
The EOR becomes the legal employer, registers the worker, runs payroll, and carries statutory obligations, while you direct the daily work. This is usually the fastest route for one to ten hires. Our comparison of EOR vs PEO explains why a PEO is not an option for cross-border hiring like this.
Public Argentina-specific fees for the platforms we track were undisclosed in the sources we reviewed. Treat pricing as unknown until you hold a written quote. Vendors such as Multiplier publish their own explainers of the new law, which are useful reading but written by a seller.
Local entity
With your own entity you register as an employer and file monthly. The employer settles payroll, withholds the employee’s contributions, and deposits the total with ARCA through form F.931. You also choose and apply the right collective bargaining agreement and hold severance liability directly.
We did not find a reliable source for entity setup time or cost, so we do not state one. Get a quote from local counsel. An entity makes sense once you have a steady team and a reason to own the legal relationship.
Independent contractors
The reform makes independent services easier to defend. The presumption of employment does not apply where service contracts are supported by invoicing or bank payments. That helps, but it does not protect a contractor who works like an employee. See the misclassification section below.
Employment contracts and probation
The Employment Contract Law (Law No. 20,744) is the principal labor statute in Argentina, and the 2026 reform amends it. Sector collective bargaining agreements add their own wage scales and terms. The reform also ends automatic extensions of expired collective agreements. We recommend a written contract, in Spanish, that names the applicable agreement.
Probation is where the reform helps most. The standard probation period has been extended from three months to six months. Companies with 6 to 100 employees can extend it to eight months via collective bargaining, and businesses with up to five employees can go up to one year.
Notice is no longer a cost during that window. The reform eliminates the requirement to give prior notice for termination during probation. Severance rules for the probation period are not covered in the sources we reviewed, so confirm them with counsel. The extended probation periods are among the reform provisions that could be challenged, so have an Argentine labor lawyer confirm the current limit and the applicable collective agreement before you put a probation clause in a contract.
Benefit design has also changed. Meal allowances, internet expenses, and mobile phone costs are defined as non-remunerative benefits, outside salary and social security charges.
Working hours, overtime, and public holidays
The general ceiling of eight hours per day and forty-eight per week remains in place. The reform adds flexibility on top. Employer and employee may voluntarily agree a system for compensating overtime, including hour banks and compensatory time off. Any such arrangement must respect 12 hours of rest between shifts and 35 hours of weekly rest.
We did not confirm the statutory overtime premium rates, so check them against your agreement before you promise anything in an offer letter.
Holidays matter for planning. National holidays follow the Sunday-rest rules, while non-working days are optional for the employer. The remaining 2026 dates are:
- November 9: a national holiday for the papal visit under Decree 1103/2026
- November 23: Sovereignty Day, moved from November 20
- December 7: an optional non-working day for tourism
- December 8 and 25: Immaculate Conception and Christmas
Minimum wage and typical salaries
From October 1, 2026, the monthly minimum wage is ARS 391,200 for full-time monthly workers. The hourly minimum for daily or hourly workers is ARS 1,956. The schedule comes from Resolution 4/2026, set by the government after unions and employers failed to agree. The official table is on the Argentine labor ministry’s minimum wage page.
| Effective | Monthly minimum |
|---|---|
| October 2026 | ARS 391,200 |
| November 2026 | ARS 398,800 |
| December 2026 | ARS 406,400 |
| April 2027 | ARS 437,000 |
The minimum is a legal floor, not a market rate. We found no reliable official source for typical salaries, so we do not quote any. Sector agreements set their own scales, so benchmark roles with your provider.
Mandatory benefits and employer costs
Argentine payroll costs split into employee contributions withheld from gross pay and employer contributions paid on top. The table shows the main items.
| Contribution | Employer | Employee |
|---|---|---|
| Pension (SIPA) | Inside 18% or 20.4% | 11% |
| PAMI (INSSJP) | Inside 18% or 20.4% | 3% |
| Health plan (obra social) | 6% | 3% |
| Family allowances, employment fund | Inside 18% or 20.4% | None |
| Labor Assistance Fund | 1% or 2.5% (carved out) | None |
| Workplace risk insurance (ART) | Varies by activity | None |
Sources for the table: employee contributions are 11% pension, 3% PAMI, and 3% health, 17% in total. Employers pay 18% if they are certified SMEs, industry, construction, or agriculture, and 20.4% for larger services and commerce firms. The employer health contribution of 6% is calculated separately. ART varies widely by activity.
Together, the employer pays between 24% and 26.4% of gross salary in social security contributions, before ART and life insurance. These rates come from payroll calculators and advisory summaries rather than a single official table, and Argentine contribution rules change frequently, so confirm the current percentages and bases with your accountant or payroll provider before you budget.
The new Labor Assistance Fund
Law 27,802 creates a pre-funded severance buffer. The fund applies from the November 2026 accrual period and is deducted from the existing contributions, so the total stays at 18% or 20.4%. Our sources disagree on the start date (one gives June 2026), so confirm it with your payroll provider.
Reduced contributions for new hires
The 48-month incentive noted earlier has limits. It does not reach the 6% health contribution, ART, or life insurance. Employee contributions stay at 17%. Eligibility depends on the hire, so confirm it before you model costs.
Leave entitlements
| Leave | Statutory minimum |
|---|---|
| Annual vacation | 14 days (up to 5 years) |
| Sick leave | Paid; confirm duration with counsel |
| Maternity | 90 consecutive days |
| Paternity | 2 consecutive days |
| Childcare leave (excedencia) | 3 to 6 months, unpaid |
| Nursing breaks | Two half-hour breaks, 1 year |
Sources: employees with up to five years of service get 14 calendar days of vacation, and longer tenure earns more. The 14 days start after six months of work. The reform lets employer and employee split vacation into segments of at least seven days.
Maternity leave is 90 days, split 45 days before and 45 days after the probable birth date. Private-sector paternity leave is two consecutive paid days. After maternity leave, an unpaid extension of 3 to 6 months is available. For one year after birth there are two half-hour nursing breaks. Collective agreements can improve on these minimums.
On sick pay, the government dropped an article that would have cut sick pay to as little as half of salary, so existing rules continue. We did not find a primary source for the day counts by tenure.
Termination, notice, and severance
Dismissal is where Argentina differs most from at-will markets. Dismissal without cause requires one month of notice up to five years of service and two months after that, or pay in lieu. Severance is one month’s salary per year of service, or fraction over three months.
The reform tightens the calculation base. Non-monthly payments such as the annual bonus, vacation pay, and bonuses not paid monthly are excluded. The cap stays at three times the average salary under the applicable collective agreement. The base cannot be cut by more than 33% by applying that cap.
The reform also limits follow-on claims. Severance is the only remedy for dismissal without cause, and collecting it extinguishes related claims, except criminal ones.
Dismissal for cause is risky. If cause is not proven, it converts into dismissal without cause plus interest and court costs. Document misconduct thoroughly before you try it. Severance in Argentina is where employers lose money fastest: the base, the cap, and the notice rules above are the post-reform position, parts of which are in litigation, and courts apply them to the facts of each case. Do not dismiss an Argentine employee, with or without cause, until an Argentine labor lawyer has reviewed the ground, the notice, and the full severance calculation.
Payroll, taxes, and currency
Payroll is monthly and settled in pesos. The employer acts as withholding agent for employee contributions and deposits them with ARCA. The mandatory annual bonus (aguinaldo, or SAC) equals one salary per year, so accrue it monthly.
The reform explicitly allows foreign-currency pay. Dollar payment mechanics are now permitted but operationally non-trivial. Income tax withholding rules were outside our research for this guide, so have an Argentine accountant confirm them.
Contractor misclassification risk in Argentina
Misclassification is the main legal risk for companies that skip an EOR. About 45 percent of Argentine workers held informal jobs in mid-2026, which shows how hard the line is to police.
The reform moves in your favor, but not completely. Independent workers and their collaborators are now explicitly excluded from the Employment Contract Law. A new worker-collaborator category covers gig and platform workers. Fines for unregistered employment were scrapped in 2024.
A contractor who works fixed hours, under your direction, for one client, still looks like an employee, and a court would weigh that against an invoice. Read our guide to contractor misclassification risks and penalties before you rely on contractors for core roles. The invoicing safe harbor is new and untested in the courts, so treat it as a defense, not a guarantee. Have local counsel review any existing contractor relationships before you restructure them, since converting a contractor does not by itself resolve prior periods.
Best employer of record platforms for Argentina
For most teams that want to hire employees in Argentina without an entity, an EOR is the practical route. We have not verified each vendor’s Argentine entity ownership, fees, or SOC 2 status for this guide, so treat those as undisclosed until the vendor provides them in writing. We grade platforms with our Suite Score.
- Deel: our first call for a first Argentine hire, given its global EOR focus. Ask for an Argentina-specific quote and its handling of the Labor Assistance Fund.
- Rippling: strongest if you want HR, IT, and payroll in one system. Confirm how it delivers Argentine payroll before you commit.
- Oyster: a third quote to benchmark against. See our Oyster review for pricing and contract detail.
Ask each vendor five questions: who the legal employer is, which collective agreement applies, how severance is funded, how pay in dollars works, and what the exit terms are.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a local entity to hire employees in Argentina?
No. An employer of record can employ the worker on your behalf, and contractors are an option for genuinely independent work. An entity makes sense for larger, longer-term teams.
How long is the probation period?
The default is six months. Small and medium employers can extend it to eight months by collective agreement, and employers with up to five employees to 12 months. No notice is owed during probation.
What is the minimum wage in Argentina?
It is ARS 391,200 per month from October 2026, rising monthly to ARS 437,000 in April 2027 under the official schedule.
Can I pay Argentine employees in US dollars?
The reform explicitly authorizes foreign-currency pay, but the mechanics are operationally complex. Ask your EOR or payroll provider how it handles contributions and bank flows.
Is severance capped?
Yes. The cap is three times the average salary under the applicable collective agreement, with a limit on how far it can reduce the calculation base. Some articles of the reform are still being challenged in court.
Can we rely on this guide now that the labor reform is in force?
Use it to understand what changed and to estimate cost, not to draft contracts, run payroll, or dismiss anyone. Law 27,802 was in force but under court challenge when we reviewed this page in October 2026, several figures come from secondary sources, and collective agreements override many defaults. Have an Argentine labor lawyer and accountant confirm every provision you plan to rely on.