Argentina has one of the most employer-funded sick leave regimes anywhere. There is no state sickness benefit for ordinary illness — the employer pays, at full salary, for anywhere between three and twelve months depending on the employee’s seniority and family responsibilities. And when that runs out, the employer must still hold the job open for a further year.
This guide covers Argentine sick leave in 2026: the entitlement bands, how the “year” is measured, the reserva de puesto, and what happens when an employee cannot return.
Key takeaways
- Article 208 of the Ley de Contrato de Trabajo (LCT) requires the employer to pay full remuneration during illness — there is no state benefit for ordinary illness.
- The paid period is 3 months for employees with under 5 years’ service and 6 months from 5 years, doubled to 6 and 12 months where the employee has dependants (cargas de familia).
- The entitlement runs per illness, measured against a rolling two-year window for recurrences of the same condition.
- After paid leave ends, the employer must hold the job open for a further 12 months — the reserva de puesto — unpaid.
- Workplace accidents and occupational disease are covered separately by an ART insurer under the Risk of Labour Act.
The entitlement bands
Article 208 sets the paid period by two variables — length of service and whether the employee has dependants:
| Seniority | No dependants | With dependants (cargas de familia) |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5 years | 3 months | 6 months |
| 5 years or more | 6 months | 12 months |
“Cargas de familia” means family members the employee legally supports — typically a spouse and dependent children — as recognised in the social security and family allowance framework. The doubling is automatic once the employee has any qualifying dependant; it is not scaled by the number of dependants.
Payment is at full remuneration, including the amounts the employee would have earned had they worked. Where pay is variable, article 208 requires the average of the previous six months. Pay rises awarded to the employee’s category during the absence must be applied — the employee cannot be frozen at their pre-absence rate.
How the period is measured
The paid period runs per illness, not per calendar year. That produces two rules that matter in practice:
- A new, unrelated illness carries its own full entitlement, even if a previous illness has just exhausted one.
- A recurrence of the same illness draws on the same entitlement if it happens within two years of the first manifestation. After two years, the same condition is treated as a new illness with a fresh entitlement.
So an employee with under five years’ service and no dependants who takes three months for a condition, returns, and relapses 18 months later has no further paid entitlement for that condition. The same relapse at 25 months restarts the three months.
The reserva de puesto
When the paid period is exhausted and the employee is still unable to work, the employment does not end. Article 211 requires the employer to keep the position available for a further 12 months — the reserva de puesto — during which:
- No salary is payable
- The employment relationship continues
- Seniority continues to accrue for some purposes
- The employee cannot be dismissed for the absence
If the employee recovers during those 12 months, they return to their job. If the 12 months pass and the employee still cannot work, either party may end the relationship, and — critically — no severance is payable by reason of that ending alone where the correct procedure is followed.
Return with reduced capacity
Article 212 covers the employee who can return but not to their previous role:
- Partial incapacity: the employer must offer suitable alternative work at the same pay. If the employer cannot provide it for reasons within its control, full severance is due. If it genuinely cannot, reduced compensation applies.
- Absolute permanent incapacity: compensation equivalent to full severance is payable.
This is the point at which the cost of Argentine long-term absence crystallises, and it is where employers most need documented evidence of what alternative roles were considered.
Notification and medical control
The employee must notify the employer of the illness and their whereabouts during the first working day of the absence, unless prevented by force majeure. Failure to notify loses the right to pay for the days before notification — though the entitlement revives once notice is given.
The employer has an express statutory right to medical control: it may send a doctor to examine the employee. The employee cannot refuse the examination. Where the employer’s doctor and the employee’s doctor disagree, practice is to seek a third opinion, commonly from the labour authority’s medical service, though article 210 does not prescribe the mechanism.
Work accidents: the ART system
Absence caused by a workplace accident, commuting accident, or occupational disease is not article 208 sick leave. It falls under Law 24.557 (Ley de Riesgos del Trabajo) and is handled by the employer’s compulsory ART (Aseguradora de Riesgos del Trabajo).
The ART covers medical treatment and pays the employee’s income during incapacity — the first stretch reimbursed by the employer, the remainder by the insurer — and handles permanent incapacity assessment. Employers must report the accident to the ART promptly. Routing an occupational injury through ordinary sick leave means paying out of pocket for something the insurance covers.
Employer obligations
Argentine employers have six core duties:
- Pay full remuneration during illness for the applicable 3, 6, or 12-month period.
- Apply the dependants test correctly, since it doubles the entitlement.
- Include pay rises and variable pay averages rather than freezing the employee’s pre-absence rate.
- Hold the job open for 12 months after the paid period ends.
- Report occupational injury to the ART rather than treating it as ordinary sick leave.
- Offer suitable alternative work where the employee returns with partial incapacity.
Common pitfalls
1. Treating the entitlement as annual
Article 208 runs per illness with a two-year recurrence window, not per calendar year. Annual accounting produces the wrong answer in both directions.
2. Ignoring the dependants doubling
The difference between 3 and 6 months, or 6 and 12, is entirely down to whether the employee has cargas de familia. Employers who never record this pay the wrong period.
3. Freezing pay during the absence
Salary increases applied to the employee’s category during a long absence must flow through. Paying the pre-absence rate for a twelve-month absence generates a straightforward claim.
4. Dismissing after the paid period ends
The reserva de puesto runs for a further 12 months. Dismissing at the end of the paid period, before that year has passed, converts a lawful process into a dismissal without cause with full severance.
5. Absorbing ART costs
Occupational injury is insured. Paying it as ordinary sick leave means the employer carries a cost the ART should bear and leaves the incapacity assessment outside the proper system.
For more Argentine context, see our guide to annual leave entitlement in Argentina, the overview of the main types of leave employers manage, and our guide to absence management.
Frequently asked questions
How long is paid sick leave in Argentina?
Three months for employees with under five years’ service and six months from five years, doubled to six and twelve months respectively where the employee has dependants.
Who pays sick leave in Argentina?
The employer, at full remuneration. There is no state sickness benefit for ordinary illness; occupational injury is covered separately by the employer’s ART insurer.
Does the entitlement reset each year?
No. It runs per illness. A recurrence of the same condition within two years draws on the same entitlement; after two years it is treated as a new illness.
What is the reserva de puesto?
A 12-month unpaid period after the paid entitlement ends, during which the employer must keep the job available and cannot dismiss the employee for the absence.
What happens if the employee cannot return at all?
If the reserva de puesto expires with the employee still unable to work, either party may end the relationship without severance on that ground. Where the employee returns with permanent incapacity, article 212 compensation applies.
Can an employer check whether an employee is genuinely ill?
Yes. The employer may send a doctor to examine the employee, and the employee cannot refuse the examination.
Putting it into practice
Five checks cover most Argentine sick leave risk:
- Record dependants status on the employee file so the correct entitlement band applies automatically.
- Track sick leave by illness with a two-year recurrence window, not by calendar year.
- Configure payroll to apply category pay rises during long absences.
- Diarise the start of the reserva de puesto the day paid entitlement ends, and the end date 12 months on.
- Route every workplace or commuting injury to the ART before it touches the sick leave process.
A leave management system that groups absences by condition, applies the seniority and dependants bands automatically, and tracks the reserva de puesto as its own status keeps Argentina’s long entitlement periods from becoming a spreadsheet nobody trusts.
Sources
- Ley de Contrato de Trabajo 20.744, articles 208–213 (primary source)
- Ministerio de Trabajo, Empleo y Seguridad Social
- Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo (SRT) — Law 24.557
Last updated: 26 July 2026. This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Collective agreements (convenios colectivos) frequently improve on the LCT — confirm which applies to your workforce.