The complete guide to offering employee benefits in Argentina

In Argentina, labor laws are complex — especially for companies looking to hire employees in Argentina while based in the US or another country. It's important to understand mandatory employee benefits in Argentina, so you can put together a benefits package that's compliant with labor laws — and attractive to local workers.

Read on for everything you need to know about benefits plans that meet the statutory requirements in Argentina.

What employee benefits are mandatory in Argentina?

Mandatory benefits are the ones that are required by Argentine law for all workers based in Argentina.

Keep in mind that the benefits required by the government of Argentina are statutory minimums, and employers can always offer more than these mandatory benefits. Also, note that these benefits are mandatory for employees — independent contractors in Argentina aren't entitled to any benefits.

Social security

In Argentina, employers are required to contribute around 25% on top of an employee's salary to social security, which covers several crucial benefits:

• Retirement plans

• Disability benefits

• Mandatory life insurance

• Employment insurance and unemployment benefits

• Family allowances, which help low-income families provide for children and cover parental leave payments

Health insurance plans

Employees in Argentina have healthcare benefits through private companies that are arranged by labor unions. Health benefits under these plans typically include medical and dental coverage for the employee and all of their immediate family members. Both employers and employees contribute to the cost of premiums — employers contribute 6% on top of the employee's base salary.

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Paid vacation

• Employees with less than five years of service are entitled to 14 days.

• Employees with five to 10 years of service are entitled to 21 days.

• Employees with 10-20 years of service are entitled to 28 days.

• Employees with over 20 years of service are entitled to 35 days.

Argentina requires vacation time to be granted between Oct. 1 and April 30.

Paid vacation leave in Argentina is based on seniority:

Sick leave

Sick leave is also based on seniority. Employees with less than five years of continuous service are entitled to three months of paid sick leave per year. Employees who have worked for the same employer continuously for more than five years are entitled to up to six months of paid sick leave per year.

The amount of sick leave an employee is entitled to is doubled if they have any dependents.

Statutory holidays

Employees in Argentina are entitled to different statutory holidays, depending on their municipality and religion. There are a number of holidays that are observed nationwide and given to employees as paid days off.

Below are the nationwide statutory holidays in Argentina.