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Telework in Uruguay: written agreement, weekly hours, equipment and the right to disconnect

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Telework (total or hybrid work mainly through technology outside the employer's premises) must be voluntary, agreed in writing and reversible by agreement; if it starts after an office based start, either side can return to the office within 90 days with seven days' notice. Teleworkers distribute their hours freely: daily excess is not overtime, but hours above the weekly legal or contractual limit are paid at a 100 percent premium, and there must be at least eight continuous hours of disconnection between working days. Equipment is provided as agreed or, failing agreement, by the employer at its cost and is not salary, and the accident and occupational safety rules still apply at home.

USD figures use UYU 40.214 per US dollar, the BCU quotation for DLS. USA BILLETE on 26 October 2026, retrieved from the BCU quotations service on 27 October 2026; conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Minimum continuous disconnection between working days	8 hoursLey Nº 19.978 art. 8, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Window to return to on site work when telework started later	90 daysLey Nº 19.978 art. 7, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Notice to return to on site work	7 daysDecreto Nº 86/022 art. 4, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Duration after which a change of modality is presumed permanent	45 daysDecreto Nº 86/022 art. 4, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Premium on hours above the weekly limit	100 %Ley Nº 19.978 art. 8, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Telework is work done fully or partly outside the employer's premises mainly using information and communication technologies, online or offline, in a subordinate employment relationship with a private or non state public employer. It must be voluntary with the worker's written consent, reversible by written agreement, and teleworkers keep the same rights as on site workers, including rest, privacy, safety and union freedom.Ley Nº 19.978 (Telework), Art. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 10, 2021-08-20 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. The parties agree telework in writing in the contract or an annex, at hiring or later, stating voluntariness, the place or places of work (or the worker's free choice), any mix of on site and remote work, time ranges, breaks, rest between days and weekly rest, disconnection time, any attendance recording system and how equipment is provided. The worker cannot demand that the employer provide the place of work.Ley Nº 19.978; Decreto Nº 86/022, Ley 19.978 art. 5 and 6; Decreto 86/022 art. 3, 2022-03-17 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Permanent changes between on site and telework need mutual written agreement; unless agreed otherwise, a change lasting more than 45 days is permanent. Where telework was agreed after an on site start, either side may return to on site work within 90 calendar days of the start of telework with at least seven calendar days' notice in writing or electronically. If telework was the original arrangement, moving on site needs both parties' written consent.Ley Nº 19.978; Decreto Nº 86/022, Ley 19.978 art. 7; Decreto 86/022 art. 4, 2022-03-17 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Total time worked may not exceed the weekly legal maximum for the activity or the contractual weekly limit. The teleworker may distribute hours freely; daily excess over the legal or agreed day is not overtime and is offset within the same week, but hours above the weekly limit are paid with a 100 percent premium on the working day hourly rate. There must be at least eight continuous hours of disconnection between working days, during which the worker need not answer messages and cannot be sanctioned for refusing.
Example: A teleworker on a 40 hour contract and UYU 400 an hour who logs 44 hours in a week is owed 4 hours at UYU 800, UYU 3,200, even if no single day exceeded nine hours. / UYU 3,200 is about US$79.57.Ley Nº 19.978; Decreto Nº 86/022, Ley 19.978 art. 8 and 14; Decreto 86/022 art. 5 and 9, 2021-08-20 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. The parties may agree an attendance recording system, which must not be invasive of the privacy of the teleworker and family and must be written into the contract or telework agreement.Decreto Nº 86/022, Art. 6, 2022-03-17 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. The parties agree how equipment, supplies and services are provided; failing agreement the employer provides them and bears installation, operation, replacement and maintenance costs. Equipment and services provided or paid by the employer are not salary, taxable pay or computable remuneration for any purpose.
Cost to do it: As agreed; failing agreement, all equipment and connectivity costs fall on the employer.
Example: A UYU 2,500 monthly internet allowance paid by the employer for telework is not salary and carries no contributions. / UYU 2,500 is about US$62.17.Ley Nº 19.978; Decreto Nº 86/022, Ley 19.978 art. 12; Decreto 86/022 art. 8, 2021-08-20 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. Telework does not exempt the employer from health and safety duties: telework risks, including psychosocial and ergonomic risks, must be included in the company's safety management, reported in writing to the Labor Inspectorate on request, and a home inspection without consent needs a court order. The work accident law applies in full.Ley Nº 19.978; Decreto Nº 86/022, Ley 19.978 art. 11 and 13; Decreto 86/022 art. 7, 2022-03-17 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Worked example

A Uruguayan subsidiary of a US software company hires developers fully remote from day one: the contract annex states voluntariness, the home address as workplace, a 40 hour week with free distribution between 07:00 and 21:00, eight hour disconnection, a non invasive time tracking tool and an employer provided laptop plus a connectivity allowance that is not salary.
An office based accountant moves to telework on 1 March; on 15 May the employer asks for a return to the office: it is within 90 days, so seven days' written notice suffices.

Step by step

1. Sign a written telework agreement with all items in Decreto 86/022 art. 3.
2. Track weekly hours and pay hours above the weekly limit at the 100 percent premium.
3. Define the disconnection window and train managers not to require responses during it.
4. Agree equipment provision and document employer paid items as non salary.
5. Add telework risks to the health and safety assessment and keep the written risk report.

Common traps

Daily excess is not overtime for teleworkers, but weekly excess is; using the office overtime rule overpays or underpays.
After 45 days a change of modality is presumed permanent unless the agreement says otherwise.
Without an agreement on equipment, the employer must bear all costs.
Intrusive monitoring tools breach Decreto 86/022 art. 6 and data protection rules.

Sources

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