6 March 2026

Argentina’s Labor Modernization Bill 27.802: Top points

Written by:Alberto Rubio María Florencia Labarile

On March 6, 2026, Argentina enacted its Labor Modernization Bill 27.802, which introduces wide-ranging changes to Argentina’s labor framework.

While the reform addresses multiple areas, our alert summarizes key provisions relating to individual employment law.

Key proposed changes in Argentina’s Labor Modernization Bill

Scope of the Labor Contract Law

The bill provides that Argentina’s Labor Contract Law (Ley de Contrato de Trabajo) will not apply to certain agreements and individuals, including:

Work, services, agency, transportation, freight, and other contractual arrangements that the Argentine Civil and Commercial Code governs
Independent contractors and their collaborators
Independent service providers operating through technology platforms, as governed by the applicable specific regulatory framework
Seafarers subject to the navigation law regime

The bill further provides that the principle of non-waiver of rights will apply only where rights granted under applicable law, professional statutes, or collective bargaining agreements, leaving individual employment agreements outside the scope of the principle of non-waiver rights.

Employee seniority and rehiring

The bill provides that, if two years elapse between the termination of an employment relationship (for any reason) and the company’s rehiring of that employee, the employee’s prior length of service will not be credited for seniority purposes. In addition, Article 255 provides that if an employer rehires an employee, any severance previously paid will be deducted from the severance due upon the subsequent termination, adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Employment relationship presumptions and staffing agencies

Article 23 provides that the presumption of an employment relationship will not apply to contracts for works, professional services, or trades (or any other arrangement involving the provision of services without an employment relationship), provided that 1) the corresponding receipts or invoices are issued or 2) payment is made through banking channels and/or other systems as may be established by the applicable implementing regulations.

Article 29 bis eliminates the obligation of an end-user employer that engages workers through a temporary staffing agency (empresa de servicios eventuales) to withhold the applicable social security contributions and employer charges from amounts paid to the agency, while preserving joint and several liability in the event of non-compliance. It further provides that a worker hired through a temporary staffing agency may not run for or be appointed to any union position connected to the end-user company that would trigger statutory union protections (tutela gremial).

Contractors, subcontractors, and joint liability

Article 30 provides that any party that assigns, in whole or in part, to a third party an establishment or operation authorized under its name, or that engages contractors or subcontractors to perform work or services falling within the establishment’s regular and specific core business activity (excluding ancillary or supporting activities), must conduct oversight of its assignees, contractors, or subcontractors and require them to provide the information mandated by law. Failure to do so will result in joint and several liability.

Changes to work modalities

Article 66 provides that where there is a change in the manner or modalities of work performance that alters essential terms of the contract or causes material or moral harm to the employee, the employee may treat the employment relationship as constructively dismissed without cause, following prior written notice or demand (intimación).

Employment certificates

Article 80 extends the employment certificate delivery deadline to 45 business days. It provides that delivery will be deemed satisfied when the employer makes the certificates available to the employee:

In hard copy at the company’s premises or
In electronic form through any system that allows reliable proof of delivery to the employee.

Delivery will also be satisfied when the relevant information is made available to the employee through the Customs Collection and Control Agency (Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero) website.

Part‑time employment

The bill amends the part-time employment contract regime to 1) provide that compensation must be proportional to that of a full-time employee, 2) permit voluntary overtime hours, and 3) regulate the applicable contributions and benefits.

Fixed-term employment contracts

The bill eliminates an employee’s ability to claim damages when terminated without cause before the agreed expiration date.

Social benefits, tips, and compensation items not treated as wages

The following items are expressly included as social benefits and do not give rise to employee or employer social security contributions or payroll taxes:

Employer-provided meal and food services for the employee during the workday at nearby food establishments retained or contracted by the employer
Comprehensive medical plan benefits granted by the employer, or the employer-paid portion of the premiums for such plans

Article 104 provides that tips or gratuities do not constitute wages.

Additionally, Article 104 bis introduces “dynamic” components of compensation, which may be fixed or variable, based on both the employee’s individual merit and organizational factors. The inclusion, modification, and continuation of such transitional and variable components may be agreed upon by the parties or implemented unilaterally by the employer at a frequency they determine. In all cases, such components will not be subject to implied continuation, ultra-activity, or custom and practice, regardless of how long they have been maintained or applied.

Article 105 provides that wages may be paid in Argentine pesos or in foreign currency. It further provides that the following items do not constitute wages:

Partner withdrawals, payments to managers of limited liability companies, and payments to directors of corporations on account of duly booked profits for the fiscal year, as reflected in the financial statements
Distributions of profits or gains, equity-based rights, dividend rights, and the sale or realization of shares or securities granted by the employer during the term of employment, whether as agreed by the parties or voluntarily implemented by the employer
Reimbursements of documented business expenses related to the use of a company-owned or employee-owned vehicle, calculated on a per-kilometer basis
Documented travel allowances or per diem reimbursements
Documented reimbursements of public transportation costs for commuting to and from the workplace, per day worked
The loan-for-use (comodato) of employer-owned housing
All or part of the costs of mobile phone services and internet, as used for work purposes

Vacation

The bill amends the Labor Contract Law’s vacation regime to allow an employer and employee to split a vacation period into segments of at least seven days each.

Working time

Article 197 bis provides that the employer and the employee (or the relevant union) may voluntarily agree to a system for compensating overtime hours, subject to certain formalities. This may include overtime regimes, “hours banks,” compensatory time off, and similar arrangements.

The bill also allows for averaging working hours, provided that there is a minimum rest period of 12 hours between shifts.

Article 198 provides that the reduction of the statutory maximum working time shall apply where established by the applicable regulations, or where stipulated in individual employment agreements, collective bargaining agreements, or other collective arrangements entered into with the union representation within the company. The latter may establish methods for calculating the maximum working time on an averaging basis, according to the characteristics of the activity, provided that the minimum rest periods of 12 hours between workdays, and 35 hours of weekly rest are respected. Likewise, an hours bank may be used to offset longer hours worked on one day with shorter hours on another, provided that the statutory maximum weekly working time is not exceeded, or the maximum established by the applicable specific labor regime, whether under a special law and/or a collective bargaining agreement.

In the event of a transfer of an establishment, joint and several liability will apply only to labor obligations that the transferee knew or should have known.

Additionally, the bill eliminates the requirement to provide prior notice (preaviso) for termination during the probationary period.

Severance

With respect to severance for termination without cause, the bill clarifies that, for purposes of determining the “best monthly, normal and customary remuneration” over the last year, non-monthly payments – such as the statutory annual bonus (Sueldo Anual Complementario), vacation pay, or bonuses that are not paid monthly – must be excluded. For these purposes, “customary” is defined as those items accrued for at least six months during the last calendar year. “Normal,” in the case of variable items such as monthly bonuses, overtime, and commissions, is defined as the average of the last 6 months, or of the last year – whichever is more beneficial to an employee.

The cap-calculation methodology established by the Argentine Supreme Court in Vizzoti, Carlos Alberto v. AMSA S.A. is also expressly codified in the Labor Contract Law. The bill further provides that statutory severance for termination without cause constitutes the sole remedy available in such cases. Also, it provides that amounts due arising from individual employment relationships shall be adjusted based on the change in the CPI general level, published by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses of Argentina, plus interest at an annual rate of three percent, from the date each amount becomes due until the date of actual payment.

Article 277 provides that, in the case of large firms, court judgments may be satisfied in up to six consecutive monthly installments, adjusted by the CPI plus an annual three-percent increase. For micro-, small-, and medium-sized firms, payments may be made in up to 12 installments.

The bill provides that amounts claimed in pending lawsuits will be updated using an interest rate. However, the resulting amount may not be less than 67 percent of the amount that would result from updating the principal by applying the CPI, plus an annual three-percent increase.

Proposed creation of Labor Assistance Funds

The bill proposes the creation of Labor Assistance Funds (Fondos de Asistencia Laboral) to support employers in funding statutory severance obligations and related termination payments. Coverage under these funds would be available only to employees who have been registered for at least 12 months before the termination date.

Each employer’s Labor Assistance Fund account would be funded through a mandatory monthly contribution equal to:

One percent for large firms
2.5 percent for micro-, small-, and medium-sized firms

These rates may increase by up to 1.5 percent for large firms and up to three percent for micro-, small-, and medium-sized firms.

An employer that can demonstrate, based on its headcount, that the balance in its Labor Assistance Fund account at the time of review is sufficient to cover the percentages of potential labor contingencies for its workforce, as determined by the implementing regulations, may request an interruption or suspension of the monthly contribution obligation. A transfer of an establishment or an assignment and transfer of personnel would entail the transfer of the related account.

In addition, the bill provides for a one-percent reduction in employer social security contributions for large firms and a 2.5 percent reduction for micro-, small-, and medium-sized firms.

The bill also repeals various statutes, including the: