Early Termination · Art. 92 bis LCT

Probationary Period Dismissal: Final Settlement and Legal Deadlines

Reviewed by Dr. Guillermo Conti CPACF Bar No. 154/547 Office: Maipú 42, 9th Floor, CABA

If you were dismissed during the probationary period — usually the first 3 months on the job — your employer does not owe you seniority severance. But Article 92 bis of the LCT (the Employment Contract Law) still requires them to pay you 15 days' notice, the integration of the month of dismissal, and every proportional item you have earned, within a maximum of 4 business days.

Which is your actual situation?

You were registered ("en blanco") from day one: the probationary dismissal rules apply in full. No seniority severance is owed, but you are still entitled to every day you worked, the notice pay, and your proportional year-end bonus.
You worked unregistered ("en negro"), fully or partly: the probationary period is void. The law treats your contract as open-ended from the start, so you can claim full severance under Art. 245 LCT plus the statutory fines for unregistered work.
You were already past the probationary period: you are a permanent employee with relative job security, and the ordinary rules on dismissal without cause apply instead.

Immediate action checklist (first 48 hours)

If you are notified of a dismissal in the first months of the job, follow these steps closely to protect your rights:

1. Never send a resignation telegram: if the employer pushes you to resign in exchange for a higher payout, refuse. Resigning costs you the notice pay and blocks your access to unemployment insurance.
2. Keep the original telegram you received: the postal delivery date is what starts the 4 business days the company has to deposit your final settlement.
3. Check your registered start date (AFIP "alta temprana"): the hire date on your payslip has to match your real first day at the company, exactly.
4. Get professional advice quickly: companies often use this window to dodge payments or to cover up a defective registration. A labour lawyer spots those irregularities while there is still time to act.

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1. The probationary period in Argentine labour law

An open-ended employment contract is presumed to start on a probationary basis for its first months, under Article 92 bis of the Employment Contract Law (LCT). During that window either side — employer or worker — can end the relationship without stating a just cause, and no seniority severance is triggered.

The period was historically fixed at a rigid 3 months. Later legislative changes introduced variations, allowing extensions to 6 months or longer depending on the size of the company and the collective bargaining agreement that covers your activity. But for the employer to use this power at all, one condition comes first: you must have been registered with the social security agencies correctly and without interruption.

2. What goes into your final settlement

The employer being exempt from the fixed severance of Art. 245 LCT (one month's pay per year of service) does not mean you walk away with nothing. When the contract ends you have an unwaivable right to a final settlement made up of the following items:

Days actually worked

You are owed full pay for the exact number of days you worked in the calendar month in which the contract ended. That is not negotiable and not conditional on anything.

Payment in lieu of notice

The law requires either party to give notice before ending the contract. During the probationary period that notice is 15 calendar days. If the employer skips it — which is what happens in the overwhelming majority of cases — they owe you an amount equal to those 15 days of salary.

Integration of the month of dismissal

If the termination telegram lands mid-month rather than on the last day of the month (say, a dismissal notified on 12 October) and no notice was given, the employer must also pay the remaining days of that month, to complete your monthly salary.

Proportional items: year-end bonus and vacation

Every final settlement must add the proportional share of the SAC (Sueldo Anual Complementario, the statutory 13th-month bonus) earned over your time on the job. You are also owed proportional unused vacation, calculated against how long the relationship actually lasted, plus the corresponding vacation supplement.

3. Unregistered work voids the probationary period

Argentine law punishes off-the-books employment hard. If your employer used your services without registering you with AFIP from the start, that is fraud against the law — and the employer automatically loses the right to invoke the probationary period.

In practice that flips the case completely. In the eyes of the labour courts, an informal contract is open-ended, and you are treated as having already passed probation. If you are dismissed under those circumstances, the company owes the full seniority severance, the extended notice, and the fines set out in the unregistered-work legislation (Law 24,013 and related statutes).

4. Dismissal while you are on sick leave

A common abuse: the company learns you have a temporary illness during the probationary window and rushes out the termination telegram. In those cases, the employer's decision to end the contract does not wipe out the salary rights you had already accrued.

Under settled case law and the majority legal view, if the dismissal happens while you are on properly notified sick leave — a non-work-related illness or an accident — the employer must keep paying your full salary until you are medically discharged, or until the maximum probationary period legally applicable to your case runs out, whichever comes first.

Critical mistakes to avoid after an early dismissal

Do NOT sign private agreements with large write-offs: a settlement that has not been approved by the administrative authority (SECLO) or by a court cannot be held against you if it cut into your rights — but it will slow you down and muddy the claim.
Do NOT accept "poor performance" as an excuse: if the telegram invents a cause for dismissal while you were still on probation, get advice before responding, so nobody uses that framing to skip the notice pay and the integration of the month.
Do NOT agree to a falsified start date: backdating or postdating your hire date directly attacks your chance of ever becoming a permanent employee, and it is usually the first sign of a defective registration.

Doctrine and case law: how strictly Article 92 bis is applied

The labour courts apply a consistently protective standard to the formal requirements that make this mechanism available. An employer who wants to rely on Art. 92 bis LCT carries the burden of proving that the relationship was registered from the very beginning.

Fraud destroys the defence

Rulings repeat the same point: defective or late registration means the employer forfeits the right to invoke the probationary period. The worker is treated as permanent, and the aggravated severance regime applies in full.

Frequently asked questions about probationary period dismissals

Am I owed severance if I am dismissed during the probationary period?

You are not owed the seniority severance of Art. 245 LCT. You are still owed the 15 days' notice (as a payment, if it was not given in advance), the days you worked that month, the integration of the month of dismissal, and your proportional unused vacation and year-end bonus (SAC).

How long is the probationary period?

Classically 3 months under Art. 92 bis LCT. That window can validly be extended to 6 months or longer, depending on the legislation in force when you were hired and on the statute or collective bargaining agreement covering your activity.

What if I was working but never registered ("en negro")?

A missing AFIP registration from day one voids the probationary period entirely. Legally the contract is treated as open-ended, which means you can demand the full standard severance plus the statutory fines for unregistered work.

Can they dismiss me if I fall ill during these first months?

The employer keeps the power to terminate. But if the dismissal happens while you are on properly notified sick leave for a non-work-related illness, the company must keep paying your monthly salary until you are medically discharged or until the probationary period would have expired, whichever comes first.

How long does the company have to deposit my final settlement?

The same as for any termination: a strict, non-extendable deadline of 4 business days from the moment the dismissal takes formal effect, to make the whole settlement available to you.

Am I entitled to formal notice during this stage?

Yes. The LCT requires whichever party ends the contract during the probationary period to give 15 days' notice. Skipping it — which is very common — means the employer has to pay you the equivalent of those 15 days.

They offered me more money if I resign instead. Should I take it?

No. Resigning costs you the payment in lieu of notice and blocks your access to unemployment insurance. If they want you out, the dismissal has to come from them, in writing.

What if my payslip shows a start date later than my real first day?

That is a defective registration and it matters a great deal. A falsified hire date shortens your recorded seniority, delays the end of the probationary window, and often signals that part of your work was off the books. Do not sign anything confirming it — get advice.

Can they dismiss me for cause during the probationary period?

They can allege it, but during probation there is no need to state a cause at all, so a telegram inventing one usually signals an attempt to avoid paying the notice and the integration of the month. Have the wording reviewed before you respond.