Verbal Dismissal & Workplace Lockout: Action Guide
If your employer told you "don't come back" with no telegram, or you showed up and were not let in, your employment contract is not automatically over: Argentine law does not require any particular form for the employer's dismissal to be effective, but there is no proven dismissal either if nobody put it in writing. The right move is not to give up or simply stop showing up — it is to send a free labor telegram right away so the employer's silence works in your favor (Art. 57 LCT).
Which situation are you in?
- You were told "you're fired" or "don't come back" out loud: That is a verbal dismissal. There is no telegram or letter, so you need to create the paper trail yourself by demanding written clarification of your employment status.
- You showed up and were not let in (your access badge stopped working, your password was changed, security turned you away): That is denial of duties or a workplace lockout. Legally it is treated the same as a verbal dismissal: the company stops giving you effective work without putting it in writing.
- You are still working, but your schedule, workplace or job category changed: This is not that. It is abusive ius variandi or a demotion to inferior duties, which is a different claim.
- You already received a dismissal telegram, with or without cause: You already have written proof; the issue now is calculating the settlement. See severance pay and dismissal.
Fired verbally or locked out today?
Tell us what happened and we will draft your demand telegram before the deadline runs out:
1. Legal Framework: Is a Verbal Dismissal Valid?
The LCT only requires written form for the employee's own resignation to be valid (Art. 240 LCT). For a dismissal ordered by the employer, the law imposes no particular formality: a verbal or de facto dismissal (denying you duties, changing your system password, not letting you in) ends the relationship exactly like a telegram would, and creates the same right to severance under Art. 245 LCT. The real problem is never the validity of the act — it is the proof. If you simply walk away without documenting anything, the company can later deny it ever dismissed you and claim that you were the one who stopped showing up.
This is where Art. 244 LCT on job abandonment comes in: that cause for dismissal is only valid if the employer first sends you a reliable demand to return to your duties and you fail to do so within a reasonable period. If it was the company itself that blocked your access or withdrew your duties, it is usually in no position to later claim you abandoned your job, because it never actually demanded that you return.
The tool that levels the playing field is Art. 57 LCT: the employer's silence in the face of a reliable demand from the employee "constitutes a presumption against" the employer, and that silence must be maintained for a period that can never be shorter than two (2) business days. In practice, this means that if you send a telegram demanding clarification of your employment status and the company does not answer, that silence is taken as an admission that you were in fact dismissed or denied duties — allowing you to formalize a constructive dismissal with the same severance as a direct one (Art. 246 LCT: notice pay, month integration pay and Art. 245 LCT).
2. How to Prove a Verbal Dismissal or Denial of Duties
Since there is no letter or telegram from the company, the evidence is built from whatever gets recorded around the incident:
- Witnesses: coworkers, security or reception staff who saw the moment you were told not to come back, or were turned away at the door.
- Access records: biometric log, time-clock card or access-control system showing you could no longer clock in (or that you did show up and there is no entry record for those days).
- Informal communications: WhatsApp screenshots, emails or messages telling you of the decision, revoking your access to your work email, or removing you from work group chats.
- Notarized statement or police report: if there was physical resistance at the workplace door, a same-day record (a notary's statement or a police report) reinforces the date and the circumstances of the incident. It does not replace the telegram, but it backs it up.
- The telegram exchange itself: your demand telegram and the company's reply (or silence) usually end up being the central piece of evidence in the case.
3. How to Send the Demand: Turning Silence Into Proof
After a verbal dismissal or a denial of duties, the next step is to send, that same day or the next, a free labor telegram (Law 23,789) to the workplace address. The text needs to precisely include:
- The specific facts, with date, time and place (verbal dismissal on such date, or denial of entry starting on such date).
- A demand that within 48 business hours the employer clarify your employment status in writing and restore effective duties.
- An explicit warning: that if the deadline passes with no answer, or the denial persists, you will consider yourself dismissed through the employer's exclusive fault and will claim the statutory severance.
Keep the receipt with the postal tracking code: it is proof the demand was actually dispatched, and under the reception doctrine it is enough that it reached the recipient's sphere of knowledge, even if the company refuses to pick it up.
Mistakes That Can Cost You Your Severance
- Do not simply stop showing up without sending a demand first: if you just stop going to work after a verbal denial, with no telegram, the company can try (even abusively) to build a job-abandonment case.
- Do not sign anything at the workplace door: no receipts, no handwritten notes, no verbal "settlement" agreements. Anything you sign without legal advice can be used against you.
- Do not delay sending the telegram: the longer the gap between the incident and the demand, the easier it is for the company to argue the situation was something else.
- Do not accept a "reinstatement" that is only verbal: if the company answers that it never dismissed you but in practice still gives you no work, document that contradiction and send another demand.
Frequently Asked Questions About Verbal Dismissal and Denial of Duties
Is a verbal dismissal legally valid in Argentina?
It is an effective act: Argentine labor law (LCT) does not require any particular form for an unjustified dismissal by the employer to be valid. The issue is never validity but proof: if nobody documents it, the company can deny it happened. That is why you must send a telegram immediately to create a reliable paper trail.
What do I do if I am not let in to work?
Do not argue or sign anything at the door. Note the date, time and any witnesses (security staff, coworkers), and the same day send a free labor telegram demanding written clarification of your employment status and effective duties, on notice that you will consider yourself dismissed.
Can I be treated as having abandoned my job if I did not go back after being locked out?
In principle, no. Article 244 LCT requires the employer to first send you a reliable demand to return to work before it can invoke job abandonment. If it was the company that blocked your access, it is usually not in a position to raise that defense.
What should the demand telegram say?
The specific facts (verbal dismissal or denial of duties, with date and place), a demand that within 48 business hours the employer clarify your employment status in writing and restore effective duties, and a warning that you will consider yourself dismissed, through the employer's exclusive fault, if there is no answer.
How long must I wait for a reply before considering myself dismissed?
Article 57 LCT sets a minimum of two (2) business days of silence for the presumption against the employer to apply. In practice, a 48-hour demand is standard, and once that period expires without a serious reply, the constructive dismissal is formalized.
What if the company answers that it never dismissed me?
If it denies the dismissal and offers concrete duties, you need to assess whether the offer is real. If it is a generic denial without actually reinstating you, the substantial silence continues, and you can formalize the constructive dismissal by proving with witnesses that the denial of duties went on.
What evidence works if I have nothing in writing?
Witnesses (coworkers, security staff), WhatsApp or email screenshots, biometric or time-clock access records, the demand telegram itself and the employer's reply or silence, and a notarized statement or police report of the fact that you were denied entry.
Do I get the same severance as in a direct dismissal?
Yes. A constructive dismissal caused by denial of duties is treated by Article 246 LCT the same as an unjustified dismissal: it entitles you to seniority severance under Article 245, notice pay and month integration pay, plus any wages owed up to the date the relationship ended.
Is denial of duties the same as a change in duties or job category?
No. Here the company stops giving you work or blocks your access; in an abusive exercise of ius variandi you keep working but your schedule, workplace or category is changed without your consent. They are different claims, though both are demanded by telegram.
Is it worth filing a police report or getting a notarized statement?
Yes, it is a useful piece of supporting evidence, especially if there was physical resistance at the workplace entrance. It does not replace the telegram, which is the reliable demand required for the Article 57 LCT deadline to run.
Related Laws and Resources
- Glossary: Free Labor Telegram (Law 23,789) How to draft and send the demand free of charge through Correo Argentino.
- Glossary: Urgent First Steps After a Verbal Dismissal Immediate checklist for the first hours after being denied entry.
- Glossary: Direct vs. Constructive Dismissal When the company ends the contract, and when you do.
- Mandatory SECLO Conciliation Procedure The pre-trial stage once the constructive dismissal is formalized.