The labor reform project that Javier Milei submitted last Thursday Congress makes specific changes in the regime that regulates work in private homes, a universe that employs more than a million people nationwide. The aim of the initiative is to bring this framework closer to general employment contract law and to promote greater formalization of employment relationships. However, it also introduces changes that create tensions from the employees’ perspective as they affect sensitive aspects such as: Probationary period, the working day, the employer’s obligations, the form of salary payment and the Update work credits in the face of conflict.
One of the central points is this Extension of the probationary period: The text amends Article 7 of Law 26.844 to specify that, in the case of contracts of indefinite duration, the relationship It is considered “on trial” for the first six months. During this period, either party may terminate the relationship without giving any reason and without being entitled to any compensation.
In any case, the limit already in force remains: an employer may not employ the same employee more than once during the probationary period. In parallel, the project leaves the private housing scheme outside of the new Labor Assistance Funds (FAL) or Work Interruption Fund program The compensation mechanism for this sector will not be the same that is provided for the rest of the workers. This means that, unlike most private sector employers, householders are not required to contribute 3% of their pay each month to cover future remuneration.
So far and with different modalities: 30 days for employees without withdrawal, 15 days for employees with withdrawal And a maximum of three months for those who worked hourly wages. In all cases, completion occurs no compensation was generated during this period and the same prohibition against reinstatement to “try again” applied.
The reform also revises Article 14, which sets out the rights and obligations of retired and non-retired employees. Regarding rights, it establishes the following: maximum working hours of eight hours per day or 48 hours per week, with the possibility of distributing it unequally for as long as possible Do not exceed nine hours per day. It maintains the mandatory weekly rest period of 35 consecutive hours, starting at 1 p.m. on Saturdays. and extends over the entire Sunday, so that tasks can only be resumed on Monday at midnight.
It also ratifies employer obligations such as: Provision of clothing and work utensils – with the alternative of replacing it with a free amount at the end of the probationary period -, appropriate meals (breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner depending on the nature and duration of the day) and the obligatory conclusion of insurance against professional risks. A clarification is added for retired employees: when working for the same employer, a minimum break of 12 hours must be maintained between the end of one day and the beginning of the next.
Regarding the duties of staff, the duties related to following instructions, caring for the property entrusted, confidentiality in household matters and respecting the employer’s personal and family privacy are strengthened.
Another relevant change appears in Article 20 with the inclusion of electronic salary vouchers: the project envisages that these must be implemented digitally through the system established by the Customs Collection and Control Agency (ARCA) under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economy. The same line of formalization establishes that bank statements are sufficient as proof of payment, a measure aimed at making salary compliance transparent and reducing gray areas in the sector.
Finally, the text contains a new article 70 to be defined How work credits are updated of these relationships: it states that the interest will be adjusted and accrued according to the same conditions as in the Labor Contract Law, adding parameters of the Labor Modernization Law. In practice, the calculation of debts or legal rights is changed: they are updated based on the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus a pure interest rate of 3% per year.
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