Call Center & Telemarketing Labor Attorney

If you work at a call center or in telemarketing in Buenos Aires, the first thing to check isn't the severance — it's which collective bargaining agreement covers you. The only agreement written specifically for the industry, CBA 688/14, applies only in Córdoba. In Buenos Aires most companies apply — or should apply — CBA 130/75 for commercial employees, and that's where most of the wage differences we litigate come from.

1. The collective bargaining agreement that covers you in Buenos Aires (and the one that doesn't)

The only collective bargaining agreement written specifically for "contact centers" is CBA 688/14, signed between the Association of Contact Center Workers of Córdoba (ATCCAC) and the Argentine Chamber of Contact Centers. Its own homologation resolution expressly limits it to personnel of companies based in the City of Córdoba, and the 2023 agreement that updated its text confirmed that same territorial limit. If your call center operates in Buenos Aires, CBA 688/14 is not your agreement, even if your pay stub says otherwise.

In practice, "third-party contact services" activity — customer service, telemarketing, collections, phone-based tech support — falls within the scope of CBA 130/75 for commercial employees (Federación Argentina de Empleados de Comercio y Servicios – FAECYS, and the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services). It's the agreement most Buenos Aires call centers apply, and the one the law uses as a fallback even when a company doesn't apply it: Article 245 of the Labor Contract Law, as reformed by Law 27,802, provides that when a worker is excluded from any collective agreement, the severance cap is set by the agreement applicable at the establishment where they work. In other words, the lack of a Buenos Aires-specific "call center" agreement doesn't leave workers with no floor — it defaults them to the commerce agreement.

This has a concrete effect on your paycheck: CBA 130/75 classifies personnel into categories (Administrative, Sales, Cashier, among others) with pay scales periodically updated by agreement between FAECYS and the employer chambers. If you were registered as "Administrative" earning the lowest step of the scale while your actual job is phone-based customer service with sales or collection targets, there's a category difference to claim. You can see how that difference is calculated in our guide to commercial-employee category differences.

2. The premiums that actually determine your paycheck

In call centers, a large share of monthly pay isn't the base wage but variable pay: performance bonuses, metrics-based bonuses (AHT, conversion, collection rate), attendance bonuses, and overtime from shifts that run long to close out cases. This matters because after the Article 245 reform (Law 27,802), severance pay is calculated on the best monthly, normal and habitual compensation: it excludes the annual bonus (SAC), vacation pay and non-monthly bonuses, but it includes — averaged over the last 6 months, or the last year if more favorable — variable items paid at least 6 months during the calendar year: monthly bonuses, overtime and commissions.

In practice, many call centers calculate severance using only the base wage and leave out the performance bonus the worker earned every month. If that bonus was habitual, it has to be included in the Article 245 base. It's one of the items that generates the most differences when calculating severance in this industry, and one of the first things we audit in your pay history.

3. The most common claims in call centers and telemarketing

Agreement or category differences. Staff registered under a category lower than their actual duties, or with no clear collective agreement applied at all. We claim the retroactive wage differences for the last two years (Article 256 LCT), including their effect on the annual bonus and vacation pay.

Unpaid overtime. Shifts extended to close tickets, off-the-clock training, or unpaid coaching sessions. Overtime is paid with a 50% surcharge on business days and 100% on Saturdays after 1 p.m., Sundays and holidays (Article 201 LCT); if the company keeps no time records, courts presume in favor of the hours the worker claims (Articles 52 and 57 LCT).

Partial off-the-books pay. Part of the salary registered, with a portion of the performance bonus or commissions paid under the table. The fines under Articles 8 to 17 of Law 24,013 and all of Law 25,323 were repealed as of July 2024, but the claim still stands: severance is calculated under Article 245 LCT on your real pay, plus two years of wage differences and the Article 80 LCT work certificates. See our guide on how partial off-the-books pay is claimed today.

Remote-work disputes. A large share of the industry runs on remote agents. Typical claims involve missing connectivity and equipment compensation, unilateral changes from on-site to remote work (or back), and disregard for the right to digital disconnection outside agreed working hours. More detail in our guides on reimbursement of connectivity expenses, reversing remote work and the right to digital disconnection.

Stress and vocal or hearing strain. Prolonged headset use, strict call-time monitoring and pressure to hit targets produce stress, throat conditions and hearing problems, which — depending on their origin — can be classified as an occupational illness or handled through the workers' compensation insurer (ART).

Retaliatory dismissal after a claim. It's common for a claim over a misapplied item to end in an unjustified dismissal shortly after. Severance is calculated under Article 245 LCT on the real base — including habitual variable pay — plus notice and the month-of-dismissal integration payment.

4. What to do, step by step, if you're owed differences or were dismissed

1. Gather your last 12 pay stubs, your contract or hiring paperwork, and, if possible, screenshots of the call-management system or the targets dashboard showing your actual duties.

2. Check which agreement and category appear on your pay stub, and compare them with what you actually do every day.

3. Request the firm's free audit: we review whether your agreement, category and severance base are correct.

4. If warranted, we send a free labor telegram demanding payment of differences or clarifying your registration status before litigating.

5. We file for mandatory conciliation with SECLO or, depending on the case, a direct lawsuit before the National Labor Courts.

6. We work on a pure contingency fee basis: you pay nothing unless you collect.

5. Common mistakes that cost call center workers money

Signing a resignation or final settlement under pressure, without auditing it first. Not saving screenshots of the call-management system or the targets dashboard, which later serve as proof of your real duties and hours worked. Assuming your "bonus" doesn't count toward severance when in fact you earned it every month. Letting the two-year statute of limitations under Article 256 LCT lapse without claiming. Not claiming connectivity and equipment expenses when working remotely.

Frequently Asked Questions About Call Centers and Telemarketing