Hire and pay employees in Argentina

Employer of Record (EOR) vs. entity

First things first: You need to decide whether you'll hire your Argentinian employees through an Employer of Record (EOR) or by setting up your own business entity in Argentina.

• Legal entity in Argentina. Setting up a business entity in Argentina is a complex and time-consuming process. You'll need to appoint a local power of attorney, register your company name, certify your bylaws (in Spanish), set up an account at the National Bank, publish a public announcement, pay fees, and more.
• Argentine EOR. An EOR is a third-party service that acts as a legal business entity on your behalf. You hire your employees through the EOR, and they handle things like payroll, contracts, benefits, and other considerations for legal compliance.

An EOR is often a good choice for businesses that want to get up and running in Argentina as quickly as possible. But if you plan to scale in Argentina, it may make more sense to set up your own local entity. Here are the pros and cons of each:

If you go with an EOR, the next step is to choose the right one for your business. Then, you can start onboarding your employee(s) by collecting their personal information: their name, date of birth, national ID number, position and department, hire date, deductions, marital status, and tax ID number (CUIL).

Learn more about deciding between an EOR and your own entity, choosing the right EOR, and hiring and onboarding Argentine employees in our full guide to EOR services in Argentina.

Classifying Argentine workers: employees vs. contractors

Like many other countries, Argentina has different legal classifications for employees and independent contractors. Early on in the hiring process, you'll need to determine which category your Argentine workers fit into.

It's important to get this right: misclassifying workers in Argentina could result in steep government fines, plus back payments and legal fees. Here are some of the ways Argentine law distinguishes between employees and contractors:

Learn more about how to classify your Argentine workers correctly, and stay compliant with labor and employment laws, in our guide to worker classification in Argentina.

Work permits for Argentine employees

When you hire employees, domestically or internationally, it's your responsibility to make sure they're allowed to work in the country where they live. With a few exceptions, foreign nationals who don't have citizenship or permanent residency in Argentina will need a work permit before you can hire them—even if your business has its home base outside of Argentina.

Those who may not need work visas include:

• Employees from Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay, member countries of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), a free trade bloc in South America.
• Employees from Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Guyana, Colombia, Suriname, and Ecuador, associate MERCOSUR members, who may have special visa considerations.
• Anyone traveling to Argentina to take part in fairs or market studies.
• Participants in cultural or student exchange programs.
• Fellows.
• Interns.
• Amateur athletes.

Common types of work visas in Argentina include:

• Temporary Residence Visa. The most common type of work visa for foreign nationals, which allows them to work for any company in Argentina for a one-year period that can be extended indefinitely.
• Transitory Residence Visa. Allows visitors to work in Argentina for up to 90 days on short-term assignments and business trips. May be issued up to two times per year and cannot be extended.
• Permanent Residence Visa. Grants the right to live and work in Argentina indefinitely.

For more information on work visas, including how to apply for one, visit our full guide to work visas in Argentina.

New hire onboarding checklist

Onboarding is so much more than a first-day checklist for new employees. Studies show that high quality onboarding leads to less turnover and more engaged employees. Bottom line: what you do during onboarding can set your new hire up for success in their new role.

With that in mind, it's time to build a new hire onboarding checklist that goes well beyond the employee's first day and lays the groundwork for a fulfilling employment relationship early on.

Here are some ideas for each stage of a new employee's onboarding:

Before their first day

• Complete a background check. 
• Send an offer letter (more on that in the next section).
• Do the necessary paperwork.
• Enroll them in benefits.
• Add them to payroll. 
• Order and configure their devices. 
• Schedule their orientation.

On Day 1

• Make sure their workspace is ready. 
• Send a welcome email. 
• Give them an agenda. 
• Schedule a meeting with their onboarding mentor. 
• Give them an office tour. 

During their first 90 days

• Schedule organizational and role-specific training. 
• Assign work and help them set goals. 
• Schedule regular check-ins. 
• Seek their feedback on how to improve the experience.

For a more complete onboarding checklist, check out our guide to employee onboarding in Argentina.

What to include in an offer letter in Argentina

The offer letter (also known as an employment contract or labor contract) is an integral part of the hiring process. When drafting an offer letter for an employee in Argentina, you'll want to make sure it includes all the right elements to comply with labor laws. Here's a brief overview of what to include:

• Position (job title), job description, start date, and probationary period.
• Working hours.
• Compensation and benefits.
• Termination terms.
• Employment terms (including whether the employment agreement is an indefinite or fixed-term contract).
• Any applicable collective bargaining agreements (CBAs).
• Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements.
• Contact information.
• Non-compete and non-solicit agreements.

Learn more about how to draft and send a legally compliant offer letter in our guide to offer letters in Argentina.

NDAs and confidentiality agreements in Argentina

In Argentina, confidential information is protected by criminal law. But laws around confidential information don't specify sanctions for breaking them. Plus, criminal litigation regarding breaches of confidentiality is rare—and it can be difficult (and costly) to prosecute someone for leaking your company's information. That's why NDAs can offer additional protection for companies operating in Argentina.

An NDA is a common part of a new hire's onboarding paperwork, and they're considered legally binding in Argentina. You can use an NDA to protect many types of confidential information, including:

• Trade secrets
• Financial information
• Customer information
• Employee information
• Intellectual property

Learn more about how to draft a legally compliant NDA in our complete guide to NDAs in Argentina.

Running background checks on Argentinian employees

While you may be eager to get your new hire started as quickly as possible, background checks are an important step you shouldn't skip. However, it's important to note that employment background checks in Argentina are governed by strict rules around privacy and relevance. Background checks are allowed if the information collected:

• Isn't used to discriminate against the potential employee.
• Respects the employee's right to privacy.
• Is used reasonably.
• Does not include criminal records.

A good rule of thumb is that you should only run background checks that are relevant to the role the employee will be filling. Here are the most common (and less common) types of background checks in Argentina:

Keep in mind that criminal histories and driving records cannot be accessed by employers under any circumstances—if the job requires them, you can only ask the candidate to access those records themselves and disclose them as part of the hiring process. And while medical exams are required for most jobs in Argentina, it's illegal to test for HIV, Chagas disease, or pregnancy. 

Learn more in our guide to employment background checks in Argentina.

Paying employees in Argentina

Once you've chosen an EOR and payroll provider, you can take the following steps to ensure your employees are set up correctly to get paid:

• Ensure they are classified correctly as employees or contractors.
• Collect their payroll information, including name, date of birth, national ID number, gross earnings, position and department, hiring date, deductions, marital status, and income tax ID number (CUIL). 
• Input the employee's salary amount in Argentine pesos (ARS). 
• Make sure you're adhering to statutory requirements for minimum wage and deductions (like social security contributions).
• Run payroll.

Employers are responsible for calculating payroll deductions and staying compliant with all local tax laws. Here are some of the employer costs you should keep in mind:

Also note that Argentinian employees are entitled to a 13th-month salary, so they should receive 13 installments of their monthly pay (or the weekly or biweekly equivalent), not 12.

Learn more in our step-by-step guide to running payroll for employees in Argentina.

Mandatory employee benefits in Argentina

Before finalizing your offer letter, know that Argentina has strict requirements for mandatory employee benefits. The following benefits are required under Argentina labor laws:

• Social security. Employer contributions total around 25% on top of each employee's salary. Social security includes the Pension Fund System, disability benefits, health insurance, labor risk insurance, life insurance, and family allowances, which pay for maternity leave, paternity leave, and childcare for low-income workers and their dependents. 
• Paid leave. Employees in Argentina receive up to 35 days of annual leave based on their years of service. They're also entitled to time off for sick leave and public holidays.
• Overtime pay. Employees in Argentina can work up to 200 hours of overtime per year, which is paid at 150% of their regular pay (or 200% if they work on Saturday afternoon, Sunday, or any public holiday). 
• Severance pay. In most cases, employees are entitled to severance pay if their employment is terminated. There are some exceptions (more on those below).
• 13th-month salary. A "Christmas bonus" equal to at least one month's salary is an entitlement for all full-time employees in Argentina.

Learn more about mandatory benefits (and supplementary benefits you can offer to go above and beyond) in our guide to employee benefits in Argentina.

Managing remote employees’ computers and apps

As remote work has given rise to global employment opportunities, there are some new logistical challenges: like setting up international employees' devices and app access remotely.

Luckily, there's Rippling, which allows you to:

• Quickly set up and secure employees' app accounts, ensuring they have the access they need to get started from their very first day.
• Set up, manage, and disable app access all from one convenient dashboard.

Learn more about managing remote employees' devices and apps in our guide.

Protecting company IP in Argentina

Without taking the right precautions to protect your company's sensitive, confidential information, it's a big risk to give access to new employees. To head off any risk, you can include IP protections in your employment agreement—including who owns IP created by employees during their tenure.

In Argentina, there are different requirements for assigning ownership of different types of intellectual property:

• For patents, patent applications, utility models, trademarks, and industrial design rights: The assignment must be recorded (in Spanish) with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), and, if executed abroad, all signing parties must be notarized and apostilled.
• For copyrights: The assignment must be made in writing, include the assignment contract (or a notarized and legalized copy) and a sworn translation of the contract into Spanish, and registered with the copyright office.

Read more about intellectual property protections in our guide to IP ownership and rights in Argentina.

Complying with Argentine labor laws

When hiring international workers, you shoulder the responsibility to comply with a whole new set of labor and employment laws. In Argentina, these can be strict and complex. 

Check out our guide to labor and employment laws in Argentina for the top 10 you should be aware of, including:

• Workers' rights are part of the Constitution in Argentina. Workers have Constitutional rights to dignified and equitable working conditions, limited working hours, paid rest and vacations, minimum wage, equal pay for equal work, and other important conditions.
• Unions are a huge part of Argentina's labor market. About 40% of the workforce is unionized, and workers have a Constitutional right to organize.
• Argentina's government may create "force majeure" rules that temporarily protect employees from termination. The most recent example occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, when all Argentine employers were prohibited from terminating any employees for nearly three years.

Terminating employees in Argentina

Speaking of termination, Argentina has rules around this, too. At-will employment exists in Argentina, and employers can generally terminate any employee at any time for any reason—provided they meet the statutory requirements for notice periods and severance pay. No notice or severance payments are required when an employee is terminated for just cause.

Here are the notice periods and severance required, based on how long the employee has been employed:

Note that some types of employees, including pregnant women, new mothers, and elected union representatives, are protected from termination.

Learn more about termination requirements in Argentina in our guide.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.