Overtime Paid Off the Books: How to Prove It Without a Payslip
If your employer pays your overtime "off the books," in cash, without it ever appearing on your payslip, that money is still a legal debt you can collect. You can claim it with the 50% or 100% statutory premium for the last two years, even without a single time-clock record. You build the proof with witnesses, WhatsApp messages, biometric access logs, or any contemporaneous record — and if the company can't produce its own attendance books, the law presumes your version of the hours is true.
What happens when your employer pays overtime off the books?
This is different from working fully unregistered. You have a payslip, social security contributions and health-plan coverage for your normal shift, but the extra hours get paid separately, in cash or by personal transfer, never entered as overtime. That practice doesn't change what the money is: the law doesn't ask how you were paid, it asks how much you actually worked.
The missing money isn't the only problem. Overtime paid off the books almost never carries the 50% or 100% premium the law requires — employers typically hand over a flat amount they decide on their own. And because it never reaches the payslip, it also never counts toward your year-end bonus (SAC), vacation pay, or pension and health-plan contributions. If those hours were habitual, they should also form part of the best normal and habitual monthly salary used to calculate severance under Article 245 LCT.
Overtime missing entirely vs. a payslip that understates it
These are two versions of the same problem, and they're proven differently. When overtime is missing entirely, your payslip never mentions it in any period, even though you worked it regularly — you have to establish the whole extra schedule from scratch, month by month. When the payslip understates it, the company does record some overtime, just less than you actually worked — say, it pays ten hours when you worked twenty-five. There, you don't start from zero: you only have to prove the gap between what was paid and what you actually worked, payslip by payslip.
Paying overtime off the books can also amount to deficient registration, reportable to ARCA (formerly AFIP) on top of the wage claim itself. If your base salary is also below what your collective bargaining agreement requires, or you've been placed in a lower category than your real duties, that's a broader wage differences claim, which can be combined with this one.
Who has to prove overtime worked — and how does the law help you?
As a general rule, the burden of proving overtime falls on you: you have to assert it and back it with evidence. You don't need airtight proof, but you do need a credible claim, supported by concrete elements.
That's where the law steps in. Every employer must keep a special payroll book, registered and stamped by the authorities, recording each worker's actual schedule (Article 52 LCT). If the employer fails to produce it when a court orders it, or produces an incomplete one, judges routinely presume your claimed schedule is true (Articles 55 and 57 LCT) — the silence and the missing record count against the employer. It's a rebuttable presumption (iuris tantum): it can be challenged, it isn't automatic, and it only works if your claim is reasonable and specific.
That's why the presumption reinforces your evidence rather than replacing it. A claim that simply says "I'm owed overtime," with nothing else, won't trigger it. One that details which days, which hours, and how many, backed by witnesses or messages, will.
Step by step: how to prove overtime that never appeared on your payslip
There's no single mandatory proof. The more of these you gather, and the more they corroborate each other, the stronger the claim.
Witnesses who can describe your real schedule
This is the most common evidence when there's no time clock. You can offer up to five witnesses per side — usually current or former coworkers who directly observed your schedule, not people repeating what someone else told them. Close relatives generally aren't admitted as witnesses. Testimony works best when it's precise: which days you stayed late, what time you actually clocked in and out, what tasks you did during that extra time. A vague statement ("he always stayed late") carries less weight than one that describes concrete facts.
WhatsApp, emails, and after-hours instructions
Messages assigning you tasks, asking you to stay, or coordinating shifts outside your normal hours are valid documentary evidence. Save screenshots with the date and sender visible, and back up your chats before switching phones or losing access to an account. If the employer challenges a chat's authenticity, the court can order a forensic review of the device. These same after-hours messages also connect to your right to digital disconnection.
Biometric time clocks and access controls
Fingerprint scanners, facial recognition, magnetic badges, or a front-desk logbook: these are records the company itself generates, which is exactly why they're the hardest evidence to argue against. If the company won't hand them over, you can ask the court to order it to produce them directly. Refusing to disclose them doesn't help the employer — it strengthens the presumption in your favor under Article 55 LCT.
GPS and delivery or logistics apps
If you work for a delivery, courier, or logistics platform, the app's own connection history, mileage, and active time windows function as a documentary record of your working time. If the company doesn't provide that data voluntarily, you can ask the court to request it directly from the platform.
Partial payslips: cross-checking month by month
If your payslip already records some overtime, keep every payslip from the claimed period, not just the most recent one. Comparing them month by month lets you show a pattern — for example, that the company always pays ten hours when you actually work twice that — and that pattern supports the credibility of your claim for the difference.
Your own contemporaneous log
A personal record of dates, clock-in and clock-out times, kept at the time the events happened, carries more weight than one reconstructed after a dispute arises. If it also notes what task you were doing or who you spoke with, it helps corroborate the rest of your evidence.
How the 50% and 100% overtime premium is calculated
The statutory workday in Argentina is 8 hours daily or 48 weekly (Law 11,544, Article 195 LCT). Every hour worked beyond that limit is overtime, paid with a premium on top of your regular hourly rate (Article 201 LCT):
- 50% premium: on business days, Monday through Saturday until 1:00 p.m.
- 100% premium: Saturdays after 1:00 p.m., Sundays, and national holidays.
Your regular hourly rate is your best normal and habitual monthly salary divided by 200 (or the divisor set by your collective bargaining agreement). The 50% or 100% premium applies on top of that value, depending on the day and time you worked. See the full breakdown with worked examples at how the 50% and 100% overtime premium is paid.
No one is required to work overtime: Article 203 LCT only compels it in the face of imminent danger to people or property, or accidents that have already occurred. The only exception to being paid in cash is the working-hours bank introduced by Law 27,802 in 2026 (Article 197 bis LCT): trading overtime for time off instead of money requires a written, voluntary agreement, capped at 90 calendar days. If you never signed that agreement, your overtime is still owed to you in money.
How to start your claim, step by step
The first step is a formal written demand — a free labor telegram (Law 23,789) or a notarized letter — detailing, month by month, the days and hours you worked beyond your shift and the amount claimed for each block of overtime. A generic demand, without a breakdown, doesn't work as evidence or as a serious basis for negotiation.
You can file this claim while you're still employed: you don't need to resign or wait to be fired to collect a debt that's already accrued. Before filing suit, you must exhaust mandatory conciliation before SECLO. If you've already left the company, check whether your final settlement carries the same unpaid overtime, and add that claim to your severance claim.
The deadline is two years from when each hour of overtime was worked (Article 256 LCT) — not a single deadline from when you left the job. Each unpaid month expires on its own. Sending a free labor telegram or filing with SECLO doesn't restart that clock: it suspends it for six months, after which it resumes from where it left off.
Common mistakes when claiming overtime paid off the books
- Waiting too long. Every month that passes without a claim moves that specific month closer to its two-year deadline.
- Offering vague testimony. A witness who can't specify days or hours carries little weight next to one who describes concrete facts.
- Relying only on the legal presumption. The employer's failure to produce records helps, but it doesn't replace a credible claim backed by your own evidence.
- Deleting your chats. Switching phones without backing up your WhatsApp conversations means losing irreplaceable documentary evidence.
- Confusing this with unregistered employment. If the entire relationship was never registered, the correct claim is different — see unregistered employment. Mixing the two in the same demand weakens both.
- Claiming in bulk, without a breakdown. You need to itemize each block of hours, month by month, with the exact amount and the premium that applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you claim overtime that was paid to you in cash, without a payslip?
Yes. Being paid "off the books" doesn't erase your right to collect the difference with the correct statutory premium, or to have that money count toward your year-end bonus, vacation pay, and severance. You have two years to claim it from when each hour was worked.
What's the difference between a payslip that says nothing about overtime and one that understates it?
Both are claimable, but they're proven differently. If the payslip never mentions overtime, you have to establish the entire extra schedule from scratch. If the payslip already records some, you only have to prove the gap between what was paid and what you actually worked.
Is witness testimony enough to prove overtime?
Yes, it's the most common evidence when there's no time clock. It works best with coworkers who directly observed your real schedule, not close relatives, testifying precisely about which days and what hours. You can offer up to five witnesses per side.
Do WhatsApp messages count as evidence in a labor lawsuit?
Yes, they can be offered as documentary evidence. If the employer disputes their authenticity, the court can appoint a forensic IT expert to examine the device. Back up your chats with the date visible before switching phones.
What if my employer has no time clock or access control system?
The law works in your favor: if it can't produce the attendance record required by Article 52 LCT, judges routinely presume your claimed schedule is true (Articles 55 and 57 LCT), as long as the claim is reasonable. Even so, it's worth adding other evidence.
Can I use a delivery app's GPS history to prove my hours?
Yes. If you work for a delivery or logistics platform, the app's connection and route history is a record of your working time. If the company won't provide it, you can ask the court to request it directly from the platform.
How long do you have to claim unregistered overtime?
Two years from when each hour of overtime was worked (Article 256 LCT). It isn't a single deadline from when you left the company: each unpaid month expires separately, which is why it pays to claim as soon as possible.
Can you file this claim while you're still working there?
Yes. You don't need to resign or wait to be fired. You can send a formal demand by telegram and, if the company doesn't respond, file with SECLO without leaving your job.
Is this the same as unregistered employment?
No. Here you have a payslip and contributions for your base salary, but your overtime is missing or understated. If the entire employment relationship was never registered, the claim is unregistered employment, which follows a different legal track.
Do you have to pay anything to file this claim?
No. Employees litigate under total statutory gratuity (Article 20 LCT): no court fees and no cost to file with SECLO. The firm's fees are charged as a percentage, only if the claim succeeds.
Related Resources and Guides
- Wage Differences and Overtime When your base salary or category is also miscalculated.
- Unregistered Employment When the entire employment relationship, not just overtime, was never registered.
- Working-Hours Bank Under Law 27,802 What changed in 2026 for overtime and work schedules.
- Severance Pay Calculation (Art. 245 LCT) How habitual overtime factors into your best monthly salary.