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Norkent

Last updated: 09/08/2026

Norkent for Uruguay

Regime of special laws and activity-based awards. The MTSS does not certify private software.

ISOUY
CurrencyUruguayan peso (UYU)
LanguageSpanish
Weekly hours44 h (commerce/services) or 48 h (industry)
OvertimeMax. 8 hours weekly
Vacation20 working days per year

Working hours and overtime

Maximum weekly hours: 44 hours (commerce and services) or 48 hours (industry and rural activity), under Law No. 5.350 and Law No. 18.441 (rural). Unhealthy activities: 36 weekly hours.
Maximum daily hours: 8 hours daily (Law No. 5.350, art. 1; Law No. 18.441, art. 1 for the rural sector). Unhealthy activities: 6 daily hours.
Limit (overtime): Maximum 8 weekly overtime hours (general practice derived from the regulation of Law No. 15.996 and Decree No. 550/989); the Wage Councils may set activity-specific limits.
Overtime premium / compensation: 100% surcharge on the hourly wage on working days; 150% when working on a weekly rest day or holiday (Law No. 15.996, art. 1; Decree No. 550/989).
Night work premium: Minimum surcharge of 20% on the basic wage (in cash) or its equivalent in reduced hours, when more than 5 consecutive hours are worked during night hours (Law No. 19.313, arts. 3-4; Decree No. 234/015).

Breaks and leave

Weekly rest: 24 weekly hours (general regime, preferably on Sunday) or rotating regime of 24 hours every 6 days; in commerce and services, 36 continuous hours (Law No. 7.318; Decree No. 437/988, art. 9).
Rest between shifts: Minimum of 12 continuous hours between the end of one workday and the start of the next (Law No. 18.441, art. 4, rural sector).
Vacation: 20 working days of paid annual leave, counting Saturdays as working days (Law No. 12.590, art. 1). From the fifth year, an additional day is added every four years of seniority.
Sick leave: Covered through the sickness allowance of the Social Welfare Bank (BPS); it is not deducted from the annual leave count up to 30 verified days per year (Law No. 12.590, art. 8).
Other leave: Special leave (bereavement, marriage, study, among others) introduced by Law No. 18.345, applicable to the private sector.

Personal data protection

Data protection law: Law No. 18.331 on the Protection of Personal Data and Habeas Data Action (2008), and its regulatory decree No. 414/009.
Competent authority: Regulatory and Control Unit of Personal Data (URCDP), within AGESIC.
Geolocation: There is no specific and detailed Uruguayan rule on workplace geolocation; it must be governed by the general principles of Law No. 18.331 (proportionality, purpose and prior information to the worker).
Biometric data: Category expressly defined and regulated by Law No. 18.331 (art. 4, lit. Ñ, added by Law No. 19.924); its processing requires carrying out a prior impact assessment on the protection of personal data (Law No. 18.331, article added by Law No. 19.924, art. 87).
Workplace monitoring: It must respect the proportionality and purpose principles of Law No. 18.331; the URCDP has issued specific opinions on video surveillance (e.g., Opinion 10/010) applicable by analogy to other labor controls.

Digital attendance systems

Digital recording allowed: Yes, with conditions. The current framework requires the Labor Record Book and the Unified Work Sheet, without imposing a specific technology, as long as the system allows meeting the requirements of Decrees 108/007 and 278/017 and of Law No. 18.331 when processing personal data.
QR recording: Yes, with conditions: there is no specific prohibition; it must integrate with the Labor Record Book and the Unified Work Sheet (Decree No. 108/007 and Decree No. 278/017) and comply with Law No. 18.331 if it processes personal data.
Mobile device recording: Yes, with conditions (same requirements as QR-based recording).
Manual recording: Yes (the paper Labor Record Book remains a valid and legally relevant document).

Status of Norkent in Uruguay

Allowed with conditions
Norkent, as a web platform for attendance and shift management (dynamic QR or manual recording, control of hours, lateness, leave and vacations, report generation, no payroll functions), is generally compatible with the Uruguayan labor framework, which does not impose a specific time-recording technology and admits both manual and electronic recording, as long as the information can be integrated into the Labor Record Book and the Unified Work Sheet required by Decree No. 108/007 and Decree No. 278/017. Before its implementation in Uruguay, a company should consider: 1. Integration with formal labor control obligations: the data managed by Norkent (check-ins, check-outs, hours worked, overtime, rest periods, vacations) must be transferable or consistent with the Labor Record Book and the Unified Work Sheet that the employer is required to keep with the MTSS/BPS. 2. Personal data protection (Law No. 18.331): since the platform processes employees' personal data (identity, schedules, clocking location), the employer — as data controller — must inform workers about the purpose of the processing, apply adequate security measures and, if the database corresponds, register it with the URCDP. 3. Biometric data: if Norkent were to incorporate facial recognition or other biometrics in the future (currently it does not, according to the description provided), a prior impact assessment would be required under Law No. 18.331. 4. QR/mobile clocking geolocation: if the system records the device's location at the time of clocking, the general principles of proportionality, purpose and prior information to the worker must be applied, given the absence of a specific Uruguayan rule on workplace geolocation. 5. It does not replace the Unified Work Sheet or the Labor Record Book: Norkent can operate as an internal workday control system, but must be coordinated with the mandatory formal records.