Employment
Consejos de Salarios wage councils and eight-hour day since 1915
Uruguay has no single labour code; employment law is a body of statutes plus collective agreements reached in tripartite Consejos de Salarios convened by sector under Ley 10.449. The eight-hour day dates from 1915. Dismissal is generally permitted with despido compensation of one month per year of service, capped at six months for most workers.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National, with sector-wide collective agreements and labour courts
- Deadline — Annual leave: 20 days, rising with seniority
- Deadline — Aguinaldo: paid in two instalments, June and December
- Deadline — Claims limitation: one year from termination, covering two years of credits
Governing law
- Ley 10.449 - Consejos de Salarios
- Ley 18.566 - Sistema de Negociación Colectiva
- Ley 12.590 - Licencia Anual
In practice
The Consejos de Salarios system makes sectoral collective bargaining the central source of employment terms, with tripartite councils setting minimum wages and conditions per activity that then bind all employers in it — so the sector agreement, not the statute, usually answers a wage question. Uruguay's early social legislation, including the 1915 eight-hour day, gave it a reputation as a regional pioneer in labour protection.