González Calvillo, S.C.

1

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Forums For Adjudicating Employment Disputes

The main forums have been the Labor Boards for Conciliation and Arbitration (in Spanish, the “Juntas de Conciliación y Arbitraje”), either the Federal or the State branches, depending on the industry to which the employer pertains; however, due to the recent amendments made to the Federal Labor Law (“Law”) which were published in the Official Federal Gazette (in Spanish, “Diario Oficial de la Federación”, “DOF”) on May 1, 2019 labour courts will replace the labor boards for conciliation and arbitration, both at federal and local levels.


The Main Sources Of Employment Law

The main sources of employment law in Mexico are the Mexican General Constitution and the law, which are supported by judicial precedents and jurisprudence, doctrine and the customary practices.


National Law And Employees Working For Foreign Companies

The Law applies to all people who work within Mexican territory, regardless of the employer’s origin or the nationality of the employees.


National Law And Employees Of National Companies Working In Another Jurisdiction

The Federal Labour Law sets forth certain requirements for the terms and conditions to provide personal services in another jurisdiction, such as work visa, social security conditions, lodging and others.


Data privacy

The Employer must comply the Federal Law for the Protection of Personal Data in Possession of Particulars in relation to employee’s personal data, even if such data may be considered as sensitive.

2

HIRING THE EMPLOYEE

Legal Requirements As To The Form Of Agreement

Agreements must be executed in writing, and shall include, at least, the following information:

  • Name, nationality, age, gender, marital status, domicile and tax identification number of the employee and the employer;
  • Term of the contract, whether for an indefinite term, a fixed term, for a specific task, for a season or for initial training;
  • A detailed description of the services to be provided by the employee;
  • Places where the services must be rendered;
  • Duration of the workday;
  • Salary amount and form of payment, day and place for salary payment;
  • A statement that the employee will receive training and instruction;
  • Designation of beneficiaries for the payment of salaries and employment benefits accrued and not collected upon the death of the employee or those generated by his/her death of disappearance derived from a criminal act; and
  • Other terms and conditions of employment, such as statutory holidays, vacation days, vacation premium, Christmas bonus, and others that may be agreed between the parties.

Mandatory Requirements
  • Trial Period

    • A trial period up to 30 calendar days for regular employees and up to 180 calendar days for employees holding management positions and for those employees who will carry out specialized technical or professional tasks may be agreed by both the employee and the employer. At the end of said trial period, the employer may terminate the employment relation without incurring in any liability if the employer considers that the employee does not meet the requirements and knowledge needed to perform the job for which they were hired.

  • Hours Of Work
    • Daytime work shift – A maximum of 8 hours per 6 days of work; this is, 48 working hours per week.
    • Night-time work shift – A maximum of 7 hours per 6 days of work; this is, 42 working hours per week.
    • Mixed shift – A maximum of 7.5 hours per 6 days of work (as long as the night-time shift portion does not exceed 3 hours); this is, 45 working hours per week.

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  • Special Rules For Part-time Work

    • Both the employer and the employee may agree to a provision of services part-time, in which case the employer shall pay the employee the proportional part of the salary that would correspond to a full-time employee that performs the same or similar services according to the number of hours worked. In any case, the employer cannot pay the employee a salary that is below the daily minimum wage in force.

  • Earnings

    • In addition to salary and statutory benefits, employees are entitled to profit sharing, pursuant to the percentage and rules determined by the National Commission for Workers’ Profit Sharing, which has been determined as 10% of the company’s taxable income for several years.

  • Holidays/Rest Periods

    • For each six days of work, employees are entitled to one day of rest, at least, preferably Sundays. If an employee works on Sundays, he/she will be entitled to 25% of his/her daily salary for a Sunday premium.

    Article 74 of the Law provides 7 mandatory holidays and the first day of December every 6 years when it corresponds to the transition of the Executive Branch. Additionally, certain elections days may be declared holidays in accordance with federal and local electoral laws.

  • Minimum/Maximum Age

    • It is prohibited to employ minors under 15 years of age. Minors between 15 and 16 years of age can work provided they have written authorization from their parents.

  • Illness/Disability

    • This is regulated by Social Security Law, and distinguishes two kinds of illnesses: work-related and non-work related illnesses. In both cases the Mexican Institute for Social Security (“IMSS” for its acronym in Spanish) provides hospital and/or medical assistance.

  • Location Of Work/Mobility

    • All costs for change of location, such as border crossing costs, transportation and moving, repatriation to the place of origin, meals for the employee and family shall be borne by the employer.

  • Pension Plans

    • Employers have, among others, an obligation to register their employees with the IMSS, the Mexican agency in charge of social security for private employees. Both parties pay their share of social security contributions, and part of these contributions adds to the employees’ social security insurances, among which is the Retirement Fund. In this specific case, this fund is known as Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (“SAR” for its acronym in Spanish), and employers contribute 2% of the employees’ salaries to said fund on a bi-monthly basis. For an employee to opt for retirement, he/she has to meet certain specific requirements, such as age and number of years at work.

  • Parental Rights (Pregnancy/ Maternity/ Paternity/ Adoption)

    • During pregnancy, an employee shall not perform activities that may put her or the baby’s health in risk. They are entitled to maternity leave with pay of up to six weeks before and six weeks after giving birth. Furthermore, the employee may transfer up to 4 weeks from before to after giving birth, subject to the opinion of a certified doctor from the IMSS. In cases of adoption, the maternity leave is for up to six weeks after the child’s placement. Male employees are entitled to a paternity leave of 5 days after their child’s birth or placement, in cases of adoption. During lactation, the employee shall be entitled to two additional daily rest periods of half hour each or she may also agree with the employer to conclude her working shift one hour before. There are no statutory regulations on parental leave.

  • Compulsory Terms

    • The following statutory benefits must be included:

    • Christmas bonus – Employees are entitled to receive, at least, the equivalent of 15 days of base salary, and must be paid before December 20th of every year, or the proportional part thereof if the employee did not work the complete calendar year.
    • Vacation days– Employees are granted a minimum of 6 days of vacation for the first year of services; 8 days for two years of work; 10 days for 3 years and 12 days for 4 years. From the fifth year on, vacation days increase by two every five years.
    • Vacation premium – Employees are entitled, at least, to 25% of their base salary corresponding for vacation days.
    • Social Security – Employees have to be registered by the employer with the IMSS, for said agency to provide all the medical, hospital and health care necessary for the employees and their families. Contributions made to the IMSS are borne by the employer, employees and, in some cases, the Federal Government. These contributions include the corresponding for the housing fund and the retirement savings system.
    • The Saving Fund System (Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro) is a mandatory savings program in which companies are required to contribute 2% of their employees’ salary on a bi-monthly basis.

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  • Non-Compulsory Terms

    • The Law sets forth the minimum statutory benefits that employers must grant their employees. Any extra-legal benefits are allowed and will become an acquired right, and thus employers are not allowed to remove or reduce them unilaterally without the consent of the employee and for which certain payments and formalities must be met.


Types Of Agreement

The general rule for employment relations is for an indefinite term. However, there are exception contracts such as for a fixed term or for a specific task that the parties may execute as long as the nature of the work allows it and as long as the employer’s requirement is also temporary. If the activities performed by an employee who executed an exception contract remain after the maturity of the contract, then the employment relationship shall be deemed as indefinite.

Also, such employment contract could be subject to the following modalities:

  • A season – When the workload increases during certain season in the year (i.e. during Christmas).
  • For a trial period – In the aforementioned terms; and
  • For a training period – Similar to the trial period; however, the purpose of this modality is that the employer executes an employment contract with the employee in order to train him/her to perform certain activities for which he/she is being hired. If the employer deems the employee does not demonstrate competence for the job when the training period concludes, the contract may be terminated without liability on the employer at the end of such a period.

Secrecy/Confidentiality

Article 134, Section 13 of the Law sets forth the employees’ obligation to keep confidential all technical, commercial, manufacturing and industrial (trade) secrets to which they have access as a result of their work, as well as any reserved administrative matter, disclosure of which may harm the employer. The same confidentiality obligation exists in Industrial Property Law, with regard to industrial secrets to which the employees have access as a result of the activities they perform.


Ownership of Inventions/Other Intellectual Property (IP) Rights

When an employee carries out research activities or is engaged in perfecting the processes used by the company, such invention and the right to exploit it are property of the employer. The employee is entitled to a complementary compensation if, upon judgement of the Labour Boards/Courts, his/her salary is not proportional to the relevance of such invention. Otherwise, it is treated as if such invention/development is compensated in the employee’s salary. Notwithstanding the foregoing, moral rights cannot be waived under Mexican law and, in consequence, the authorship of the invention must be recognized by the employer.


Pre-Employment Considerations

In the event that the employee has presented the employer with false certificates or references in which the employee is attributed the ability, aptitudes or faculties that he/she lacks, the employer may terminate the employment relationship without incurring in any liability within the first 30 days of employment.


Hiring Non-Nationals

The law requires an employer to hire at least 90% of Mexican nationals. For technicians and professionals, the employees must be Mexican, unless there are no Mexican employees for a specific specialization. In this case the employer may hire non-Mexican employees, without exceeding 10% of the specialized employees. For a non-Mexican employee to work in Mexico, he/she has to obtain his/her working visa with the National Immigration Institute (in Spanish, “Instituto Nacional de Migración”), which can be renewed after the expiration of the visa’s term.

 

Hiring Specified Categories Of Individuals

There are no rules with regard to specified categories of individuals; however, the law establishes that trust employees are those who carry out activities of direction, inspection, surveillance and supervision, and those related to the employer’s personal work within the company or establishment.


Outsourcing And/Or Sub-Contracting/Temporary Agency Work

The Law establishes provisions regarding the subcontracting/outsourcing employment regime when hiring personnel through third-party agencies. Under such provisions, companies may hire services from another legal entity provided that the following requirements are met:

    1. Companies are prohibited for hiring the totality of their personnel through outsourcing;
    2. Hiring through outsourcing entities shall be justified by the specialization of the activities to be performed by the outsourced personnel;
    3. The activities performed by the outsourced employees shall not be the same as the activities carried out by the company.

In the event that one or more of the aforementioned requirements are not met, the final beneficiary of the services (the contracting party) will be deemed the direct employer of the services provider’s employees and, hence, responsible for the compliance of all the employment and social security obligations that as an employer it must comply with, including the payment of its own profit sharing.

In terms of the foregoing, it should be noted that there is currently being discussed in the Mexican Congress, an amendment bill to the Law regarding the subcontracting/outsourcing employment regime, which intends to eliminate the insourcing employment structures and to allow the outsourcing regime when the activities to be performed by the contractor are different from those included within the contracting party’s corporate purpose.

3

MAINTAINING THE EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP

Changes To The Contract

Making changes to the employment contracts unilaterally is prohibited bylaw. Any amendment has to be made with the consent of both contracting parties, in writing. Otherwise, any change made unilaterally by the employer may be deemed as sufficient ground to terminate the employment relation without any liability on the employee and with the obligation for the employer to pay full statutory severance.


Change In Ownership Of The Business

There are no specific rules when there is a change in control of the company. In consequence, if a change of control occurs due to a transfer of assets of the employer or a stock purchase, a specific analysis shall need to be made to determine necessary actions to be implemented (i.e. to inform the union’s leader about such change in control).


Social Security Contributions

The amount of social security contributions is determined by the following rules that vary according to the branch in which the social security system is divided in Mexico: (i) Occupational hazards, (ii) Illness and maternity, (iii) Disability and life, (iv) Day nursery and social benefits, and (v) Retirement, early retirement and old age, as well as to the level of salary the employees receive for their work.

For the National Fund for Employees’ Housing (in Spanish, “Instituto del Fondo Nacional de la Vivienda para los Trabajadores”, “INFONAVIT”) the employer must pay 5% of the employee’s consolidated salary as housing fund contributions administered by the aforesaid government agency.

For the Retirement Savings System (in Spanish, “Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro”, “SAR”), employers have to pay 2% of the employees’ salary.


Accidents At Work

A working accident (or occupational accident) happens when an employee suffers an organic injury, malfunction or even death caused because of the activities performed at work. An occupational illness is considered a pathological state derived from the activities performed during work.

Employees who suffer a work-related accident or illness shall be entitled to:

  • Medical and surgical assistance;
  • Rehabilitation;
  • Hospitalization, when required;
  • Medication and curative materials;
  • Necessary prosthetic and orthopaedic devices; and
  • An indemnity.

In the event of a work related accident or illness, employers must provide employees medical attention, rehabilitation, hospital services, medicines, etc. In order to meet these obligations, employers register the employees with the IMSS, which assumes such obligations provided the employer pays the corresponding contributions in a timely manner. Under Mexican Social Security Law, employees receive payment of a subsidy from the IMSS equal to 100% of their salary during the time of disability for up to 52 weeks. If the employee recovers prior to 52 weeks and returns to work, or if permanent disability is determined, the payment ceases.


Discipline And Grievance

Articles 47 and 185 of the Law sets forth the legal causes for termination of the employment relation without any liability on the employer. In the case of employees in a position of trust (those who perform direction, supervision activities), the loss of trust is sufficient ground for termination as well.

Furthermore, even though low performance in Mexico is not considered as a legal cause for termination for most of the employees, such rule does not apply to sales people pursuant to article 291 of the Law, since said provision establishes that a significant and repeated decrease in the volume of operations is a special cause for termination of employment relationships, unless there are justifying circumstances.

Also, any additional disciplinary measure the employer wishes to determine for employment has to be included in the company’s Internal Work Regulations, which need to be produced by both the employer and employees, and be registered with the Labour Board/Courts to be enforceable.


Harassment/Discrimination/Equal pay

According to the law, harassment is considered grounds for termination. Also, employers may not differentiate between employees on the basis of race, skin colour, gender, age, religion views, political opinion or social condition. Also the Llw sets forth that employees shall receive the same salary in the event they perform the same work, in the same position, with the same working shifts and same conditions for efficiency.


Compulsory Training Obligations

Employers have an obligation to train their employees, and the latter have to receive the training and instruction that may allow them to increase their standards of life, skills and productivity. Training and instruction programs have to be determined jointly by employer and employees through the Joint Committee for Training, and shall be taught either by the company’s own personnel or by specialized instructors certified by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (in Spanish, “Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social”, “STPS”).


Offsetting Earnings

Any debt contracted by the employee with the employer has certain restrictions regarding salary discounts. The amount claimable is limited to one month’s salary and the deductions to be made by the employer cannot be greater than 30% of the employee’s salary exceeding the minimum salary. Also, debts contracted by employees with employers shall not accrue interest.


Payments For Maternity And Disability Leave

In the event of pregnancy, the IMSS provides the mother with obstetric care, assistance in kind during six months of lactation and a bassinet for the new-born child. In addition, the employee shall be entitled to leave with full pay (subsidy paid by the IMSS) of 42 days before and 42 days after giving birth, being able to transfer up to 28 days from before to after.

Male employees shall be granted with a paid leave of 5 days for childbirth or infant adoption.

Employees who suffer a work accident are entitled to a subsidy paid from the 4th day of disability and for up to 52 weeks. The said subsidy shall be equal to sixty per cent of the employee’s last salary.

The parents of minors diagnosed with any type of cancer, will enjoy a license in order to accompany the patients through their corresponding medical treatments. The Mexican Social Security Institute may grant a subsidy of 60% of the employee’s salary in the event the employee has covered at least 30 weekly contributions in the period of 12 months prior to the date of diagnosis by the institutional medical services, and in case of not complying with such period, that the employee has at least registered 52 weeks of immediate contributions prior to the start of the license.


Compulsory Insurance

All insurances are covered by the IMSS as long as the employer makes the corresponding payments of social security contributions. If the employer fails to do so, then shall be liable to cover all the medical, hospital and health care in favour of the employee, in addition to other personal liability in which the employer will incur for failing to comply with its social security obligations.


Absence For Military Or Public Service Duties

The employer has an obligation to grant employees leave to comply with public service duties, such as electoral services/elections, during census and jury duties. They have also an obligation to provide employees leave for them to attend or perform a commission as part of the union, as long as the employees gave notice of such a situation in advance.


Works Councils or Trade Unions

Having a collective bargaining agreement executed with a union is not mandatory pursuant to the Law; however, in the event that an employer engages an employee adhered to a union, then it will have the obligation to enter into such agreement; otherwise, the relevant union may start strike actions and/or work stoppages against the employer.

In general terms, a trade union has the duty to represent its members in any matter which concerns them.

Collective bargaining agreements are common in Mexico and are legally enforceable. The main purpose of a collective agreement is to establish the working conditions under which services shall be rendered in one or more companies or establishments by the employees that will be covered by such agreements.

On 2019 the law had an important amendment in relation to unions and collective bargaining agreements as follows:

  • Right to a free, direct and secret voting for union leaders
  • Creation of the Federal Center of Conciliation and Labour Registry for the (a) union registrations, (b) the registration of collective bargaining agreements and (c) employee representation verification
  • Sanction to employer’s interference in any Union matter

Employees’ Right To Strike

Trade unions acting on behalf of their members (workers) have the legal ability to initiate any proceedings to defend the employees’ interests. The most important right for trade unions is the right to strike. A strike is the temporary suspension of all work carried out at a certain business. The strike must follow one of the objectives listed as follows:

  • To obtain a balance between production factors, harmonizing the employees’ and the employer’s rights;
  • To obtain from the employer the execution of a collective bargaining agreement or demand revision thereof;
  • To obtain the execution of a ‘law-agreement’ and demand the revision thereof;
  • To demand the fulfilment of the existing collective bargaining agreement or the ‘law-agreement’;
  • To request the fulfilment of legal provisions in connection with profit sharing;
  • To support a strike having one of the objectives previously listed; and
  • To request the revision of wages under the terms and conditions established in law

Employees On Strike

When on strike, the employment relationship is deemed as suspended, but not terminated.; therefore, employees cannot be terminated by any reason whatsoever by the employer throughout the duration of the strike.


Employers’ Responsibility For Actions Of Their Employees

Employers have full responsibility for all the acts carried out by their personnel, except in those cases where the conduct of the employees fall into the category of causes for termination without liability on employers. When not on duty, employees are fully responsible for their own actions.

4

FIRING THE EMPLOYEE

Procedures For Terminating the Agreement

An employer may terminate the employment relationship without liability if the employee’s actions constitute legal cause for termination, as set forth in the Law. For such purposes, the employer has a 30-day period in order to provide the employee with the corresponding termination notice; otherwise, any termination performed once such period has surpassed, will be construed as an unjustified dismissal. If the employer terminates the employment relationship with cause, the employee shall only be entitled to receive his/her outstanding accrued salaries and employment benefits. However, at the moment of dismissal, the employer must provide the employee with a written notice stating the reasons for termination. Nevertheless, the law allows the possibility of filing the written notice with the Labour Board/Courts. In the event of a dispute regarding an employee’s dismissal, the burden generally rests with the employer to prove legal cause as well as to prove the delivery of the termination notice. Furthermore, the Law does not establish any statutory notice period to communicate the termination therefore the employer may communicate the termination on the same day.

Moreover, the Law establishes that failure to notify the employee personally or through the Labour Board/Court his/her employment termination, will presume the unjustified dismissal, unless the employer has sufficient evidence to demonstrate in a labour trial that it terminated the employment relationship with cause since the employee incurred in any of the legal termination causes set forth within the Law. In that sense, if the termination occurs due to an unjustified cause, the employee will be entitled to receive the corresponding full statutory severance which is comprised as follows:

    1. Three months’ salary, which must be calculated based on a daily integrated salary;
    2. 20 days’ salary for each year of service, which also must be calculated based on a daily integrated salary;
    3. Seniority premium equal to twelve days’ salary per year of service plus a proportional part thereof if the employee worked for a period of less than one year. For calculation purposes the amount of salary to be used is capped to twice the general minimum wage in force at the place of rendering of services; and
    4. Accrued salaries and employment benefits owed to the employee, such as Christmas bonus, earned and proportional vacations, vacation bonus, wages, etcetera.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, as a common practice in Mexico, in order to avoid the burden that will be on the employer to prove termination with cause as well as delivery of the termination notice, or in those cases in which the employer does not have sufficient evidence to demonstrate cause for dismissal, employers could enter into a negotiation with the employee in order to pay him/her a percentage of his/her severance package. Also, employment terminations could be documented as follows:

    1. Employee may address to the company unilateral communication advising his/her voluntary termination (resignation letter). A release receipt with the breakdown of the employment benefits and salaries that are being covered should also be collected upon delivery of the agreed amount.
    2. A termination agreement may be executed between both parties, which can be ratified by the parties with the Labour Board/Courts with jurisdiction over the place where the employee renders his/her services for the authority’s approval.

Instant Dismissal

Please refer the Procedures for Terminating the Agreement section above.


Employee's Resignation

The law sets forth the possibility for employees to terminate their employment unilaterally upon their voluntary resignation; however, under this scenario, they are only entitled to accrued salaries as of the last day of employment, plus the benefits accrued during their employment.


Termination On Notice

Please refer to the Procedures for Terminating the Agreement section above.


Termination By Reason Of The Employee's Age

It is not possible to terminate an employment contract derived from the employees reaching certain age. Nevertheless, when an employee opts to retire, pursuant to the Social Security Law and, if applicable, the Pension Plan granted by the employer, the employment relation is deem terminated.


Automatic Termination In Cases Of Force Majeure

Force majeure (not attributable to the employer) could be a cause for temporary suspension of the employment relations.


Collective Dismissals

A collective bargaining agreement may be terminated as follows:

    1. Mutual agreement, upon previous consent of the employee’s majority
    2. The termination of the specific task for which the agreement was executed
    3. In the event of the company shutdown, as long as the collective bargaining agreement applies exclusively to such establishment.

Termination By Parties’ Agreement

Please refer to the Procedures for Terminating the Agreement section above.


Directors Or Other Senior Officers

The same rules apply for all employees regardless of their position and whether they are directors or senior officers of the company.


Special Rules For Categories Of Employee

Special rules apply for specific employees, such as those who work in railroads, flight crews and others. However, such cases have to be analysed in a case-by-case basis in order to identify the specific requirements for each one of them.


Whistleblower Laws

The Mexican law does not regulate this concept. Nevertheless, they are becoming more common..

Currently companies are creating internal compliance hotlines for the employees to be able to report any conduct against the employer’s ethic code, code of conduct and/or any other related internal policies.


Specific Rules For Companies in Financial Difficulties

Bankruptcy is a cause for collective termination of the employment relations, if the authority or the creditors determine the definitive closure of the company or the definitive reduction of the work. In this case, a notice shall be given to the Labour Board, for said authority to approve or disapprove the collective termination.


Special Rules For Garden Leave

There are none in Mexico in terms of the law. In that sense, as long as the employer does not provide the employee with the corresponding termination notice, or if the employee does not provide the employer with his/her corresponding voluntary resignation letter, the employee shall continue providing his/her services for the employer in the ordinary course of business.


Restricting Future Activities

Restrictive covenants such as non-compete agreements/provisions are not regulated by the law but by civil criteria issued by Mexican courts. However, pursuant to the Mexican Constitution, nobody can keep an individual from engaging a job as long as it is legal.


Severance Payments

Please refer to Section 4 above regarding Firing the Employee: Procedures for Terminating the Agreement.


Special Tax Provisions And Severance Payments

Tax provisions applicable for severance payments are the same as any other payment made, in terms of income tax and social security contributions.


Allowances Payable To Employees After Termination

Employers have no obligation to pay any allowance to employees after terminating their employment relation, except for the benefits accrued during the time they worked, or if the employees worked for more than one year, the proportional part of the last year of work.


Time Limits For Claims Following Termination

Statute of limitation for employees to file a claim in order to request the payment of statutory severance or their reinstate in their positions is of two months after the effective date of termination.

5

GENERAL

Specific Matters Which Are Important Or Unique To This Jurisdiction

On 2019 the Mexican Congress passed the amendments to the law in terms of which several changes were made to said legal statute. These changes are focused on making the labour procedure a judicial one. As mentioned before, the Labour Boards will disappear and will be replaced by Labour Courts both at the federal and local levels. These changes are aimed to improve the procedures and guarantee the effective and fair resolution of labour disputes.

Regarding collective/union matters, the amendments are focused on guaranteeing the legal representation of the employees by the unions in all its facets. Furthermore, the amendments to the Law will allow companies to operate under a union-free environment.

Through all these years there have been several cases of unions that were inactive and never represented the employees or at least not the collective interests of them. From now on, this representation must be proved with the new governmental agency that is being created.

Moreover, due to the Covid-19 pandemic issue, the Mexican government issued criterion in terms of which such disease could be now considered as an occupational disease.

Another important amendment is related to the Teleworking or the Home Office scheme.

This amendment decree to the Law regarding home office and teleworking were published in the DOF, which entered into force on January 12, 2021. The Amendment Decree considers, among other things, the following changes and additions:

    1. Home Office is defined as the type of work that is usually performed for the employer from the employees’ domicile or in a location freely chosen by him/her, without the immediate supervision nor the immediate direction of the work provider.
    2. Teleworking refers to the subordinate work arrangement in which the paid activities are performed in a different place from the employer’s workplace
    3. In the event of working under this modality less than 40% of the time, such will not be considered as teleworking. Likewise, it will not be considered teleworking work if the work is carried out occasionally or sporadically.
    4. The terms and conditions of employment under teleworking regime shall be included within the individual employment agreements.
    5. The employers, among others, will have the obligations to: (i) provide, install, and take care of the maintenance of all the equipment required for the teleworking (computers, ergonomic chairs, printers, amongst others); and (ii) bear the expenses derived from the teleworking modality, such as telecommunication expenses and proportional part of electricity.
    6. The supervising tools must be proportional to their objectives in order to honour the employees’ right to privacy.


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Contact a Contributing Author:
Luis E. Cervantes
González Calvillo, S.C.
Mexico


Fernando de Buen
González Calvillo, S.C.
Mexico

Disclaimer:

© 2021, Gonzalez Calvillo S.C. All rights reserved by Gonzalez Calvillo S.C. as author and the owner of the copyright in this chapter. Gonzalez Calvillo S.C. has granted to Multilaw non-exclusive worldwide license to use and include this chapter in this guide and to sublicense Lexis Nexis, a division of RELX Inc. and its affiliates certain rights to use and distribute this Guide.

The information in the How to Hire and Fire Guide provides a general overview at the time of publication and is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all legal developments nor should it be taken as opinion or legal advice on the matters covered. It is for general information purposes only and readers should take legal advice from a Multilaw member firm.

Publication Date: June 2021