They've got me in the dark: what can be done
Yes, there is something to be done, and it's not just one procedure. There are three different doors They address different issues: stopping the irregularity, ensuring your contributions are recorded, and getting paid what you're owed. Each has its own requirements, and one of them closes the day you stop working there.
Working off the books doesn't take away your rights: it takes away your proof and your contributions. Your severance pay, Christmas bonus, vacation pay, vacation wages, and dismissal benefits are still owed because they stem from having worked, not from being on a payroll. What does disappear is everything the Social Security Bank (BPS) pays based on your declared income—retirement, unemployment insurance, subsidies—and the ease of proving how much you earned and for how long. That's why the order matters: first gather evidence, then choose your path.
The three doors
They don't compete with each other and all three can be used. What you shouldn't do is use the wrong one: the MTSS website itself lists the cases in which that office does not accept complaints.
Stop the irregularity while you continue working there
This is the complaint that triggers an inspection. It can be made anonymously: Decree 371/022 states that complaints are anonymous and are processed confidentially within the Labor Inspectorate. It can be filed by the employee, a union representative, or a third party unrelated to the employment relationship. If the inspector confirms the violation, the scale in Article 289 of Law 15.903 ranges from a warning—which places the company on the Registry of Labor Law Violators—to a fine of between 1 and 150 daily wages for each employee involved in the violation, which doubles for repeat offenses, and up to the closure of the establishment for a maximum of six days, during which the company must still pay wages.
- Current employment relationship: the office does not receive complaints from those who have already resigned or been dismissed.
- That the infraction is occurring at the time of reporting.
- Provide the RUT or the details of the likely employer and the exact address where the breaches occur.
- Complaints about harassment, union persecution, or discrimination are the exception: they must be submitted in writing, with your identity and any evidence you have.
- Email:asesoramientoydenuncias@mtss.gub.uy
- In person in Montevideo:Advice and Complaints Office, office 108, 1st floor, Juncal 1511. Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 16:00.
- Interior of the country:Interior Labor Offices
- If the violation is no longer occurring:DINATRA's Consultations Division, by scheduling an appointment at 0800 7171 or 098 00 71 71, or through the online labor consultation service.
Decree 371/022 article 23 · Law 15.903 article 289 · MTSS, «Complaints and advice at the IGT»
That the years worked are recorded in your employment history
Article 87 of Law 16.713 places the obligation to file a declaration on the employer, clarifying that the declaration must be submitted regardless of whether contributions have been made. Article 88 is literally called the "worker's right of initiative": if the employer fails to comply, the employee—individually or collectively—can file the declaration, and anyone who worked after April 1, 1996, without being registered must request to be included. In other words, filing a complaint here is not asking for a favor: it is exercising a personal right. It is equally valid if you are underreported your earnings, because the same channel handles salary discrepancies.
- The reported period must be after April 1, 1996, which is when the employment history record began.
- It is advisable to attach whatever you have: receipts, proof of payment, judgments or any document that proves what has been reported.
- For online service you need a personal BPS user account; it can also be done in person at branches.
- It does not require a current relationship: you can file a complaint even after leaving your job.
- Online service:"Report salary discrepancies and undeclared activities", using your personal BPS user account
- Preliminary step:Proof of nominated work history: details of what has been recorded since 1/4/1996
- If you are a third party unrelated to the relationship:Third-party complaint form, which requests a copy of the complainant's document
Law 16.713 articles 87, 88 and 89 · BPS, «Workers' Complaints»
Get paid what they owe you.
Before initiating a labor lawsuit, you must attempt conciliation: this is required by Article 3 of Law 18.572, before the Center for Negotiation of Individual Labor Disputes in Montevideo or the Labor Office in the interior of the country corresponding to the employer's address or the place where you worked. The request is made online through the SAW system using digital identity and is free of charge. Two details work in your favor: requesting a hearing interrupts the statute of limitations—as stated in Article 3 of Law 18.091—and if the summoned employer fails to appear, this non-appearance constitutes a simple presumption against their interest in the subsequent lawsuit (Article 4 of Law 18.572).
- The facts, the items claimed, and the amount of each must be detailed in writing.
- Legal assistance, unless the total amount claimed is less than 20 UR.
- The hearing is in person even if the request is made online.
- The statute of limitations is running out: see the clock below.
- Official procedure:Conciliation hearings, MTSS
- If you have already left:The complaint is channeled through the MTSS Advisory Center (Juncal 1511, ground floor) or through the Interior Labor Offices
Law 18.572 articles 3 and 4 · Law 18.091 article 3 · MTSS, procedure «Conciliation Hearings»
The clock
The deadline for filing a claim doesn't start while you're still working there. It starts from the moment you leave, and there's a free procedure that stops it.
One year since you left
Legal actions arising from employment relationships have a one-year statute of limitations, counted from the day after the employment relationship ends. As long as you're still working there, that year hasn't started yet.
Five years ago
Employment-related debts or benefits expire after five years, counted from the date they could have been claimed. It's the other side of the coin: you don't claim what you've always owed, you claim what's been owed for the last five years.
Appearing at the MTSS stops the clock
Simply filing a conciliation hearing with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS) by the worker or their representative interrupts the statute of limitations. It's free and can be requested online: if the year is about to expire, that's the step to take.
What is lost in the meantime?
It's not about labor rights: it's about everything the BPS (Social Security Bank) pays out based on the declared activity. None of this will be remedied on its own with time.
Unemployment insurance
If you lose your job, unemployment benefits require days registered on the payroll in the previous months: in industry and commerce, 180 days in the last 12. Months worked off the books are not counted, so you can be laid off after years of work without being entitled to a single peso.
View detailsRetirement
Retirement benefits are calculated based on what's recorded in your employment history. An undeclared year is a year that doesn't exist when it comes time to calculate your service time, and recovering it later requires proving what you currently have on hand.
Health and BPS subsidies
Health insurance coverage, sickness benefits, maternity and paternity leave, and family allowance are benefits processed by the BPS (Social Security Bank) based on the activity declared by the company. An undeclared period will not appear in that file, so it is advisable to consult with the BPS directly before needing these benefits.
Work accident: covered, but at the minimum wage level
There's a good side and a bad side to this, and both are from the same article. The State Insurance Bank (BSE) provides medical assistance and pays compensation to all covered workers "regardless of whether their employers have fulfilled their obligation to insure them": being employed off the books doesn't leave you without coverage. But Article 8 of Law 16.074 mandates that compensation for injured workers employed by uninsured employers be calculated "based on the national minimum wage," not your actual salary. On the other hand, the BSE can fine uninsured employers double the unpaid premiums the first time and quadruple them for subsequent offenses, with a minimum of 50 UR and 200 UR for each repeat offense. Furthermore, in the case of industrial or commercial establishments, the BSE is authorized to request their closure (Article 56 of the same law).
What they owe you is the same.
These rights stem from having worked, not from being on a payroll. Being employed off the books doesn't erase them; it just makes proving them more difficult.
Before you move anything, gather evidence
This is the step that determines the outcome of the other three. The goal isn't to obtain a contract, but to demonstrate that you worked under someone's orders, what your hours were, and for how much.
- Messages with the person who gives you orders: schedules, shift changes, requests to cover for a colleague, challenges. This is what demonstrates subordination, which is at the heart of the employment relationship.
- Any proof of payment: transfers, screenshots from the bank app, envelopes, signed notes, receipts even if incomplete.
- Photos of the shift schedule, the store's payroll, the staff list, or the work group where you are listed.
- Witnesses: fellow members in the same situation, suppliers, local families. Going together is not only stronger, it's also stipulated: the right of initiative before the BPS (Social Security Bank) can be exercised individually or collectively.
- Public footprint: the website or social media of the place where you appear, credentials, uniforms with your name, emails with your institutional signature.
- Save everything outside of work, on your own phone or email, and date it. Evidence stored on the office computer will no longer be available on the day of the incident.
Frequently Asked Questions
Follow this way
Sources
This information was reviewed on August 11, 2026, by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS), the Social Security Bank (BPS), the National Institute for Children and Adolescents (INAU), and the current regulations of the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion (IMPO). This page explains the official channels and cites the regulation for each statement. This is not legal advice: each case depends on its specific facts and the available evidence. Labor consultations with the MTSS are free, and your industry union and university legal clinics also offer free legal advice.
- MTSS — Complaints and advice at the General Labor Inspectorate (requirements, channels and cases it does NOT accept)
- IMPO — Decree 371/022, article 23 (complaints are anonymous and are processed confidentially)
- IMPO — Law 15.903, article 289 (Inspection sanctions: warning, fine of 1 to 150 daily wages per worker, closure)
- IMPO — Law 16.713, article 87 (employer's obligation to declare, whether paid or not)
- IMPO — Law 16.713, article 88 (worker's right of initiative: may replace the employer, individually or collectively)
- IMPO — Law 16.713, article 89 (employment history is always available to its holder)
- BPS — Complaints from workers (irregularities in employment history since 1/4/1996)
- BPS — New channel for submitting employee complaints (online service with personal user account)
- BPS — Third-party complaints about alleged breaches
- BPS — Proof of nominated work history (services and remuneration since 1/4/1996)
- IMPO — Law 18.091, article 1 (actions prescribe one year after cessation)
- IMPO — Law 18.091, article 2 (labor credits expire after five years)
- IMPO — Law 18.091, article 3 (requesting a conciliation hearing at the MTSS interrupts the statute of limitations)
- IMPO — Law 18.572, article 3 (mandatory prior conciliation; lawyer except for claims less than 20 UR)
- IMPO — Law 18.572, article 4 (failure to appear at the hearing is a simple presumption contrary to your interest)
- MTSS — Procedure “Conciliation Hearings” (online application via SAW, free of charge)
- IMPO — Law 16.074, article 8 (the BSE covers even if the employer has not insured, with the compensation calculated on a national minimum wage)
- IMPO — Law 16.074, article 56 (fine for the uninsured employer: minimum 50 UR, 200 UR in case of recidivism)
- IMPO — Law 17.940, article 1 (absolute nullity of anti-union discrimination)
- IMPO — Law 18.437, article 101, current text (INAU authorizes, registers, supervises and sanctions private early childhood education centers)
- MEC — Transition statement: as of 1/1/2021, authorizations are issued by INAU
- IMPO — Decree 268/014 (validity of the authorization and proportion of adults by age)
- INAU — National Registry of Authorized Private Early Childhood Centers
- BPS — Workers: the benefits that are paid based on the declared activity
- PIT-CNT — SINTEP, private education union