Castellán

In Uruguay, proper labor documentation management is essential for both the legal protection of companies and compliance with current regulations (prevention of claims, conflicts, and sanctions). The Labor Inspection and Social Security (IGTSS), under the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS), supervises compliance with these regulations in all companies with dependent personnel.

The main controlled documents include:

• Unified Work Sheet (PTU): must record detailed information about active workers and recent graduates, including personal data, working conditions, and remuneration.
• Unique Labor Book: each establishment must keep a detailed record of working conditions, schedule changes, overtime hours, work accidents, and leaves of absence.
• Pay slips: documents detailing the monthly or biweekly remuneration of workers, including data such as deductions, social security contributions, and payment method.
• Agreement on leave splitting and holiday computation: a written agreement that regulates leave splitting and holiday computation, renewable annually and registered in the Labor Registry Book.
• Leave lists: annual document detailing the start and end dates of leaves agreed with each employee, also registered in the Labor Registry Book.
• Occupational health card (for all activities), Food Handlers health card (to work in any food establishment).
• Preventive exams according to occupational risk: specific clinical and paraclinical pre-occupational exams (activities involving risk).
• Additionally, in case of Inspection, proof of payment of contributions to the Social Security Bank (BPS) and the current policy for work accidents and professional diseases before the State Insurance Bank must be presented.

The consequences for infractions range from warnings to fines and closures, depending on the seriousness and recurrence of the offenses committed.

Business decentralization (outsourcing of services).

The laws on “Responsibility in the processes of business decentralization” impose labor and social security responsibility on the “main companies” in cases of service outsourcing. As a general rule, it is expected that whenever subcontractors, intermediaries, or labor suppliers are used, there will be joint responsibility for labor obligations, social security contributions, accident insurance premiums, and professional illness, as well as for the penalties and recoveries owed to the State Insurance Bank in relation to those workers. The standard assimilates these activities and gives them the same treatment as services related to the main activity.

Any company that uses subcontractors, intermediaries, or labor suppliers has the right to be informed by them about the amount and status of compliance with labor, social security obligations, as well as those related to the protection of the contingency of work accidents and professional illnesses that correspond to their workers.

For these purposes, it is suggested to require the contracted company to show:

• Nominated labor history statement and payment receipt to the social security agency
• Certificate proving regular payment to BPS
• State Insurance Bank certificate
• MTSS work control sheet, applicable collective agreement, salary pay slips (daily wages, overtime, etc.).

Also, it is advisable to request the data of the workers included or “affected by” the service provision in order to carry out accurate controls. It is always best to verify the identity of the workers who enter to perform tasks in order to check if a new person who comes to cover the weekly rest of the person who usually performs the task appears on the company's Work Sheet list.