CONTI Labor Lawyers
Legal Presumption · Arts. 178, 181 & 182 LCT

Dismissed While Pregnant or Newly Married: the Legal Presumption and the Extra Year's Salary

Reviewed by Dr. Guillermo Conti CPACF Bar No. 154/547 Buenos Aires, Argentina Updated: September 1, 2026

If you were dismissed after notifying your employer of your pregnancy, or within seven and a half months before or after giving birth, the law presumes discrimination (Art. 178 LCT). If you were dismissed because you got married, the same presumption applies between 3 months before and 6 months after the wedding (Art. 181 LCT). Either way, you're entitled to your ordinary severance pay plus one full extra year's salary (Art. 182 LCT).

The Requirement That Triggers the Presumption: Notify and Prove It

Article 178 LCT requires that you have met your duty to notify and prove the pregnancy (Art. 177 LCT): submit a medical certificate stating the expected delivery date, or respond to your employer's request for proof. For marriage, Article 181 LCT requires formal notice within that same window — 3 months before or 6 months after the wedding, not before and not after. Without proven notice, the automatic presumption doesn't apply. That's why the first step of any claim is always to notify in writing, never verbally.

How the Presumption Under Articles 178 and 181 LCT Works

The law doesn't require you to prove that pregnancy or marriage caused your dismissal. It shifts the burden of proof: if the dismissal happens within the protected period and you notified properly, the motive is presumed discriminatory unless your employer proves otherwise. It's a rebuttable presumption (iuris tantum) — the employer can rebut it, but until they do, the presumption works in your favor.

For pregnancy, the protected period is seven and a half months before or after the delivery date — not the notification date. If the dismissal falls within that window and you notified the pregnancy properly, Article 178 of Law 20,744 presumes the dismissal was motivated by your maternity.

For marriage, Article 181 LCT requires three conditions at once: the dismissal was ordered without an employer-stated cause, or a stated cause that was later not proven; it occurred within 3 months before or 6 months after the wedding; and you notified the marriage within that same window. Article 180 LCT further declares void any clause in your employment contract or internal company policy that provides for dismissal because of marriage.

This Is Not the Same as Maternity Leave

This page covers the legal presumption of discriminatory dismissal and the aggravated indemnity that applies when you're dismissed. That's a different matter from maternity leave itself — the 90-day leave, the extended unpaid leave (excedencia), and returning to work — none of which involves a dismissal. If what you need is to understand the leave itself and how to return to your job, see our guide on pregnancy, maternity leave and dismissal.

Direct Dismissal vs. Constructive Dismissal

It doesn't matter who technically ends the relationship. If your employer tells you you're dismissed, that's a direct dismissal. If you're forced to end the relationship because of serious employer misconduct — a pay cut, harassment, refusing to give you work — that's a constructive dismissal, and it carries the same indemnities as an unjustified direct dismissal (Art. 246 LCT). If that misconduct is connected to your pregnancy or marriage within the protected period, the Article 182 LCT aggravated indemnity applies too: the law doesn't care who formally ended the contract, only why it ended.

Step by Step: How to Claim the Aggravated Indemnity

Follow this order. Each step protects the next.

  1. Notify before you're dismissed. Send a free labor telegram with the medical certificate (expected delivery date) or your marriage certificate, within the legal window. This is the step that triggers the presumption.
  2. Keep proof of delivery. The telegram's delivery receipt is your proof that the employer was notified. Without it, your word competes with your employer's.
  3. If you're dismissed, don't sign anything on the spot. Not a "mutual agreement" receipt, not a resignation, not a "no pending claims" waiver. Any of these documents can be used to undercut the presumption.
  4. Send a formal written demand for the aggravated indemnity, within the 2-year window set by Article 256 LCT.
  5. Go through mandatory SECLO conciliation before filing suit. It's a required pre-trial step in the City of Buenos Aires, and it tolls the statute of limitations while it's pending.
  6. If there's no settlement, file suit claiming the seniority indemnity (Art. 245), notice pay and integration, plus the full extra year's salary under Art. 182.

How It's Calculated: Ordinary Severance (Art. 245) + 1 Extra Year (Art. 182)

The calculation has two separate components that add together.

The first is the ordinary seniority indemnity under Article 245 LCT: one month's salary per year of service (or fraction over 3 months), based on your best normal and habitual monthly remuneration. Since the Law 27,802 reform (in force since March 2026), that base excludes the SAC (Argentina's mandatory year-end bonus), vacation pay and non-monthly bonuses, and it's subject to a cap tied to the applicable collective bargaining agreement, with a floor of 67% of your actual pay. For the full mechanics of this formula, see our guide on severance pay for unjustified dismissal.

The second is the special indemnity under Article 182 LCT: one full year of remuneration. In practice that works out to 12 monthly salaries plus the SAC — 13 full gross salaries. Unlike Article 245, Article 182 doesn't refer to any collective-bargaining cap: it's calculated on your actual pay. For the calculation specific to marriage, see our entry on marriage dismissal (Arts. 181 & 182 LCT).

The two indemnities add together — Article 182 LCT says so expressly. It's not one or the other: it's the ordinary indemnity plus the full extra year.

Illustrative Example

An employee with 3 years of seniority and a gross monthly salary of $1,200,000 (ARS). Article 245 indemnity: 3 × $1,200,000 = $3,600,000. Article 182 indemnity: 13 × $1,200,000 = $15,600,000. Total, not counting notice pay or integration of the dismissal month: $19,200,000 (ARS). These are round numbers to show the mechanics of the calculation — your actual case depends on your real salary, your seniority, and the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

Mistakes That Can Cost You the Aggravated Indemnity

The Costliest Mistake: Notifying After the Dismissal

If you wait until after you're dismissed to mention you were pregnant or married, you lose the automatic presumption. Notice has to come before the dismissal — that's what triggers the protection, not something you add afterward.

Case Law and Evidentiary Standards in Discriminatory Dismissal

The Supreme Court set the evidentiary standard that also governs these cases when formal notice is missing: serious indicia of discrimination is enough to shift the burden of proof to the employer, as established in the Pellicori v. CPACF ruling. The same standard was applied to gender discrimination in the Sisnero ruling. Different is the general nullity-and-reinstatement regime for discrimination under Law 23,592, examined in the Álvarez v. Cencosud ruling: the specific protection for pregnancy or marriage under Articles 178 and 182 LCT is compensatory, not a reinstatement remedy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I didn't notify my pregnancy or marriage before being dismissed?

You don't lose your claim, but you do lose the automatic presumption under Art. 178 LCT, which requires that you met your duty to notify and prove the fact. You can still prove the dismissal was discriminatory through other evidence: serious indicia is enough to shift the burden of proof to the employer, as the Supreme Court held in the Pellicori ruling.

How long do I have to claim the aggravated indemnity?

Two years from the dismissal, under the general labor-claims statute of limitations in Art. 256 LCT. If you file with SECLO first, that process tolls the deadline while it's pending, for up to 6 months (Art. 257 LCT).

Can my employer dismiss me anyway while I'm pregnant or newly married?

Yes. The presumption under Arts. 178 and 181 LCT is rebuttable: if your employer proves a real cause unrelated to the pregnancy or marriage, the dismissal stands and the one-year indemnity doesn't apply. What the law reverses is the burden of proof, not your employer's ability to dismiss you.

How do I notify my pregnancy or marriage so the notice actually counts?

Through a method that leaves formal proof: a free labor telegram attaching the medical certificate with the expected delivery date, or your marriage certificate. A verbal notice or a WhatsApp message isn't enough to trigger the legal presumption.

What if my employer claims they didn't know I was pregnant?

If you notified through a method that leaves a record — a telegram with a delivery receipt, for example — that notice is your proof the employer knew. That's why you should always notify in writing and keep the receipt: it's the central piece of evidence in the whole claim.

What if I quit because of my employer's pressure, instead of being dismissed?

A constructive dismissal entitles you to the same indemnities as an unjustified direct dismissal (Art. 246 LCT). If you were forced into that situation by employer conduct connected to your pregnancy or marriage within the protected period, the Art. 182 aggravated indemnity applies too.

Does the marriage protection apply to men too?

Yes. Articles 180 through 182 LCT, which prohibit dismissal because of marriage, don't distinguish by sex: they protect any employee who gives formal notice of their marriage within the legal window.

Is this the same as the general aggravated indemnity for discrimination (Art. 245 bis)?

No. They're separate regimes. The general aggravation under Art. 245 bis (added in 2024) equals 50% to 100% of the Art. 245 indemnity, and the law expressly states it doesn't stack with other special aggravation regimes. The pregnancy-or-marriage protection is older and more generous: one full year of remuneration.

Does the Article 182 indemnity carry the same cap as Article 245?

No. Article 245 applies a cap tied to the collective bargaining agreement, with a floor of 67% of your actual pay. Article 182 doesn't refer to that cap: it sets the indemnity at one year of remuneration, calculated on your actual salary.

Can I claim this indemnity if I was working off the books (unregistered)?

Yes. Being unregistered doesn't strip you of protection against discriminatory dismissal. You can also add the claims and fines that apply for unregistered work under Law 24,013.

Were You Dismissed While Pregnant or Because You Got Married?

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