Government will publish in the Official Gazette the regulations of the “Labor Chapter” of the Bases law

According to official sources, Scope, the articles that are found within the “labor chapter” of the legislation, one of the most demanded by the business sector, will be regulated this Thursday at first hour, by decree 847/2024 that will bear the signature of the head of state.

The Government will regulate the labor reform of the Bases law

At the work table they advanced with modifications to the regulations, among them, those related to Article 97 which allows independent workers Hire up to three employees for ventures without establishing a dependency relationship. The Government implemented changes to prevent the creation of units attached to companies, which could lead to labour fraud.

The regulations indicate that all independent workers must submit a sworn statement before the AFIP regarding the independent nature of the relationship. In addition, the independent worker may not have more than 3 collaborating workers at the same time, there will be no limitations by sector or amount and the possibility of the collaborating worker carrying out activities simultaneously may not be limited or restricted.

The regulations also highlight article 94, which modifies Law 20,744 and authorizes layoffs in cases of blockades to companies. This article provides that participation in blockades or occupations of establishments may constitute a “serious labour injury”, thus justifying the termination of the employment contract. Regarding this modification, The CGT requested the Executive Branch to include a judicial instance prior to dismissal to protect workers’ rights.

Labor laundering

Within the labor chapter are articles 76 and 81, under the title “Promotion of registered employment”, which raises a “bleach” of workers, in which the employer will have the benefit of the extinction of criminal action, the forgiveness of infractions and sanctions, removal from the Registry of Labor Sanctions (REPSAL) and the forgiveness of debts for capital and interest. In the case of the employees, Whatever their seniority and salary, “You can only have up to 5 years of contributions credited calculated on the amount of the minimum, vital and mobile salary, for the purposes of recognition for their retirement.”

According to the regulations, the money laundering seeks to “address a major problem in our labor market” such as “the high level of informality”. Those who access it will have a forgiveness of “at least 70% of the debt for capital and interest on employer contributions and contributions”being higher for MSMEs given that it will offer “90% for micro, small businesses and non-profit organizations and 80% for medium-sized ones.”

In addition, it will allow the deregistration from the Register of Employers with Labor Sanctions (REPSAL) and a recognition “of up to 60 months of service to workers for the minimum number of years required for the retirement system.” And the amounts that the employer must pay from the unforgiven debt “may be paid with an AFIP facilitation plan or with a 50% discount in the case of cash payment.”

Severance pay

As regards the “Severance pay”one of the points of greatest demand from the private sector, article 93 of the reform allows, through collective labor agreements, the replacement of severance pay by the creation of a fund or system for termination of employment. Employers may choose to hire a private service or self-insure.

For the termination system to be valid, it must comply with a series of guidelines: it must be agreed upon by collective bargaining agreement, it is by mutual agreement (it cannot be imposed on the company or the worker), it may contemplate different conditions depending on the region, the company, activity or subsector, it may not contemplate the collection of commissions, fees or amounts destined for employers or trade unions and, in one agreement, more than one termination system may be agreed upon.

The termination system will have three formats: “individual cancellation“, “individual or collective termination” and “Individual or collective insurance“.

Individual cancellation system

• It does not require the creation of a fund or bank account, since this scheme maintains the modality of direct payment from the employer to the worker at the end of the cessation of employment, as occurs today.
• This model allows the parties to agree, through a collective agreement, the conditions, facts and circumstances under which compensation will be paid at the end of the employment relationship.
• They can also define the modalities, terms, amounts or percentages of the payments to be made to the worker.

Individual or collective severance fund system

• In this scheme, monthly contributions are made that accumulate to be executed in the event of employment termination situations and circumstances agreed upon in the collective agreement.
• The parties will define a percentage of the remuneration or a fixed amount that the employer will contribute to said individual or collective account and the periodicity of said contribution. They may also freely agree on the amounts that will be paid in each case and the characteristics of said payments.
• Neither the employers’ sector nor the union may have any connection with the entity or company responsible for managing and administering the funds.
• The accounts and funds will be under the custody of the BCRA and the CNV.

Individual or collective insurance system

• They may take out a termination of employment insurance policy with insurance companies authorized by the National Insurance Superintendency (SSN) that replaces or covers the policy provided for in Article 245.

Probation

As for the probationthe reform proposes in articles 89 and 95 that it can be extend to 6 months. In addition, by collective agreement it can be extended up to 8 months in companies with between 6 and 100 employees and up to 1 year In smaller companies (up to 5 employees), during this period, the employee may be dismissed without cause and without compensation for seniority.

As for the job simplification, In order to reduce bureaucratic processes and promote formality, the regulations establish that “the employment contract will be considered registered when the worker has been registered in the AFIP systems; regardless of who registers it,” whether it is the user company or the employer. In turn, it establishes that registration in AFIP will fulfill the requirement of the special book provided for in article 52 of Law No. 20,744.

Regarding the article on “Presumption of service contracts”the provisions of the Bases Law are regulated, which “reverses the presumption of an employment contract when works are carried out or services are provided, so that if the corresponding receipts or invoices are issued when contracting works or professional services, “it is not presumed that there is an employment contract.” In turn, it is established that this “will apply beyond the number of invoices or receipts issued.”

Regarding article 92 on “Solidarity”, the Basic Law allows the main company to retain part of the payments it must make to the State for debts with the Social Security system of contractors or intermediaries. “The decree regulates the procedure and limits under which the main company may make these retentions,” explained the Government.

At the end of July, the Government summoned various actors of the local economy to work in the regulation of the regulations. The meeting was attended by authorities from large, small and medium-sized companies, including representatives of the UIA, ADIMRA, of Construction and Trade, and of the banking entities.

The head of the Central Bank also attended the first meeting, Santiago Bausili, the ILO representative in Argentina, Sara Luna Camachothe chairwoman of the Senate’s labor committee, Carmen Alvarez, and the Secretary for Coordination of the Production Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy, Juan Pazo. The most notable absence was that of the CGT.