Salaries are normally paid in cash on the last workday of the week – or with the employee’s prior consent, an employer may pay wages by check, direct deposit, transfers, or through any other electronic means.
Social Security
Maids and gardeners and other part-time staff will soon be entitled to Social Security. Employers will be required to comply with the new law, meaning that they will have to make a monetary contribution to IMSS and retain and forward an employee’s contribution to the same institute. Payment is based on the employee’s daily wage which is calculated by dividing total weekly income by 7.
1. Who counts as a domestic worker?
Domestic workers are those who perform care activities, cleaning, assistance, or any other work related to house chores. These activities must happen within the framework of an employment relationship, meaning the domestic worker must receive economic compensation in return (so a mother who provides childcare and does housework without pay does not count).
The job can be performed de planta, meaning the worker has one employer and lives in the employer’s homes; or de entrada por salida, referring to those who live out of the employer’s home and can work either exclusively for one employer or for different ones.
The bill also states that those who perform such activities occasionally or sporadically and who provide cleaning, assistance, customer service and other analog services in hotels, nursing homes, restaurants, inns, bars, hospitals, sanatoriums, or similar establishments, won’t be considered domestic workers
The law clarifies who counts as a domestic worker.
2. The law defines the rights and obligations of domestic workers.
Overall, domestic workers will have the right to access the five types of benefits that the Social Security Law provides: sickness and maternity leave; workers’ compensation; disability and life insurance; retirement and unemployment in old age; childcare insurance and social benefits.
They must have at least 1 1/2 days off per week, nine hours of nightly rest per day and a three-hour rest every day between morning and evening shifts. If the domestic worker is live-in (de planta), their daily wage must include food and lodging.
If the domestic worker is pregnant, she has the right to medical attention starting the first day of IMSS enrollment. To access maternity leave, at least thirty weekly contributions must have been paid in the twelve-month period prior to the date on which the disability payment should begin.
3. The law also defines the rights and obligations of the patrón or employer.
Employers must register each employee’s start date with the IMSS for both live-in (de planta) and non-live-in (de entrada por salida) workers. Each employer will be responsible for signing up the domestic worker on the IMSS website, and providing information about the agreed daily salary and monthly hours.
If employers want to fire the worker, they can do so without any responsibility within thirty days following the employee’s start day. After the first month, employers must make required severance payments but do not have to give a reason for their decision .
If the employer stops reporting monthly contributions, the IMSS will automatically consider the employment relationship to be over.
4. An online tool calculates voluntary contributions for both workers and employers
The patrón (boss) must withhold the corresponding contribution and submit it to the IMSS via monthly payments online or at the designated bank. If the domestic worker has more than one employer, each patrón must pay a contribution based on the number of days the employee worked for them that month.
The amount the employer and employee are required to pay may be determined using this calculator. And, registration may be completed here. Information about how to register an employee is available in English in this article. Employers have until the 20th of each month to make the payment.
Hiring a domestic employee will hold the same legal obligations as if you owned a business. The employer will be required to formalize the employment with a contract, and offer the same rights as any employee in Mexico.
An employee making for example 1600 pesos a week would cost the employer approx. 800 pesos a month for this coverage. It is important employees are provided Social Security and to be based on full wage. The ramifications are significant.
Children under 15 are prohibited from working, and teenagers age 15 and older may work no more than six hours a day.
Aguinaldo Pay
Each employee is entitle to Aguinaldo pay based on time worked, in accordance with provisions of Article 87 of the Mexican labor law. Payment is to be made before December 20 of each year.
Aguinaldo pay: weekly income divided by 7 = daily rate
Daily rate x 15 days = Aguinaldo
Example: employee earns 1400 pesos per week. Daily rate = 1400 / 7 = 200. Aguinaldo = 200 x 15 = 3000 pesos
Vacation Pay
Vacation pay as per Articulo 76 and 78 of the LEY FEDERAL DEL TRABAJO is to be provided to workers including those that provide seasonal and intermittent services in proportion to the number of workdays in the year either before the vacation or before the year’s end if no vacation was taken. Vacation pay is paid in one lump sum. The vacation pay must equal the required number of vacation days of salary plus 25% of the amount (vacation premium) as per Articulo 80 of the LEY FEDERAL DEL TRABAJO.
To calculate the amount of vacation pay use the amount earned in a week divided by 7 to determine the daily rate. Multiply that times the number of vacation days x 1.25 (that is the 25% premium).
Example: employee earns 700 pesos in a week, divided by 7 = daily rate of 100 pesos. Vacation days after year 1 is 6 days. Therefore, 6 x 100 = 600 pesos x 25% extra for premium = 600 x 1.25 = 750 pesos.
The number of vacation days will double to those below by January 1.
Year 1 = 12 days Year 2 = 14 days Year 3 = 16 days Year 4 = 18 days Year 5 = 20 days
Year 6 to 10 = 22 days Year 11 to 15 = 24 days Year 16 to 20 = 26 days
Statutory Holiday / Sunday / Christmas Pay
If an employee is required to work on one of the Official Government holidays, they receive regular payment for the day plus double time for hours worked as per Articulo 74 of the LEY FEDERAL DEL TRABAJO.
Jan 1 New Year’s Day
First Monday of February* Constitution Day
Third Monday of March* Benito Juárez’ Birthday
May 1 Labor Day
Sep 16 Independence Day
Third Monday of November* Revolution Day
Dec 25 Christmas Day
Federal Election Day, once every 6 years.
*These 3 days are established by Mexican law and may be changed to tie in with a weekend.
Sunday Pay: If an employee is required to work on a Sunday, pay + 25% is required. If that employee has worked the other six days of the week, the employee is entitled to overtime pay as well as the 25% premium.
Aguinaldo (Christmas Payment): Aguinaldo is considered a regular part of an employee’s wages. It is not a bonus and is required by law to be paid to all employees as per Article 87 of the LEY FEDERAL DEL TRABAJO. Payment is to be made before December 20th although many pay a week or more earlier. The Aguinaldo amount to be paid is what an employee would earn over a 15-day period which is half of a typical month.
The easiest calculation is the amount earned in a week divided by 7 to determine the daily rate. Multiply that times 15 days.
Example: employee earns 700 pesos in a week, divided by 7 = daily rate of 100 pesos. Aguinaldo is 100 x 15 = 1500 pesos. If the employee worked only part of the year, pro-rate this payment. This is to be paid in cash or with the prior consent of the worker by bank deposit, debit cards, check, transfers or other electronic means. It is not to be paid in merchandise, vouchers, tokens or any other form intended to substitute currency.
Hours and Premium Pay
The working week must not exceed:
48 hours for day shifts 42 hours for night shifts 45 hours for mixed shifts
The working week consists of six working days. However, the daily or weekly distribution of hours can be agreed so that employees have all, or part of, Saturday and Sunday as regular days off.
Employees required to work on Sundays (as a regular work day) as noted above are entitled to an additional bonus amounting to an extra 25% of their usual daily wages.
An employee can only be required to work overtime in exceptional circumstances.
Employees are paid:
Double their usual wages for the first nine hours of overtime per week.
Three times their usual wages for each subsequent hour of overtime per week.
Rest Breaks
Employees are entitled to at least one full day of rest after six days of work. If employees agree to work on their day off, they receive triple their wages for that day. In addition, employees are entitled to a rest break of at least 30 minutes during a working day. If the rest break given to an employee is less than 30 minutes long or the employee is not entitled to leave the work facilities to rest, then that rest break must be determined as time actually worked and remunerated. As noted below under maternity right, a special rule applies regarding working mothers, who must have two additional daily breaks of 30 minutes each when breastfeeding.
Sick Leave
Employees must obtain a certificate from the IMSS in the case of illness or injury (FLL and Social Security Law of 1997). Of course, they are to be provided IMSS by the employer.
Once a certificate has been obtained from the IMSS the entitlement to sick leave varies, depending on the type of illness and degree of incapacity. The IMSS decides whether sick leave is to be granted, as well as the amount to be paid to employees during the illness or injury. The IMSS pays this amount directly to the employees.
Pregnancy, Nursing Mothers, Adoption
They must not work night shifts in industrial plants that have a hazardous work environment; work after 10:00 pm in commercial or service establishments; work overtime; carry out any work that could endanger their health or that of their child. This includes work involving the use of considerable force (for example, lifting or pushing) and standing for long periods of time.
Pregnant employees are entitled to six weeks statutory maternity leave before and six weeks after giving birth. During maternity leave, the IMSS pays the employee’s registered salary. If the employee’s salary is above the cap registered salary (25 times the minimum daily wage), then the employer pays the difference between that amount and the employee’s total wage. Pregnant employees, subject to prior medical approval and authorization from the employer and IMSS, may transfer up to 4 weeks of the six weeks, which are supposed to be enjoyed prior to childbirth, to the moment after the birth.
During the nursing period, the new mother is entitled to two additional 30-minute rest periods every day to feed the child, in an adequate and hygienic place set aside by the employer. This provision is available to the mother for up to 6 months following the birth.
When returning from maternity leave, the employee is entitled to be reinstated, provided that not more than one year has passed since the date of childbirth.
Fathers are entitled to five days of paternity leave in the event of a child’s birth.
There are no rights for employees in cases of surrogacy in Mexico.
Female employees that adopt a child are entitled to take adoption leave of six weeks when they take placement of a child.
Fathers that adopt a child are entitled to five days’ leave when they take placement of a child.
Trial / Probationary Employment
These may be a maximum of 180 days for management, technical or specialized professional positions and up to 100 days for technical roles. Employees at lower levels may be offered a 30-day probationary period.
