Insure Your Workers and Protect Yourself
By Agustin Galindo, Attorney at Law*
According to Mexico’s Labor and Social Security laws, home workers have the right to receive Social Security benefits (IMSS). People who employ workers in their homes must pay Social Security taxes on their wages.
Definition of a “Homeworker”
A “homeworker” is a person who performs caretaking, cleaning, and assistance activities, or any other activity intrinsic to a home, and is paid for those services. This classification applies to workers who live on the property where the services are provided, or those who reside elsewhere.
The following persons are NOT considered home workers:
- Those who perform home labor activities sporadically or occasionally.
- Those who provide cleaning, assistance, client attention, or similar activities in hotels, retirement homes, restaurants, “fondas”, bars, hospitals, clinics, schools, and similar businesses.
Hiring a Homeworker
To hire a homeworker, you should have a written contract, signed by the employee that includes at least the following:
- Full name of the home worker
- Full name of the home worker’s last employer
- Address where the labor activities are to be performed
- Starting date of the contract and duration, whenever drafted for a specific period of time
- Type of work to be performed
- Salary, the form of calculation, and payment dates
- Hours of work
- Annual paid vacation and daily and weekly rest periods
- Housing and food provision, when applicable
- Conditions relating to the termination of the labor relation
- Tools to be provided for the right performance of the activities
Employee Benefits Provided by the Labor Law
Homeworkers who reside in their workplace:
- Employers shall provide housing and nourishment to workers who reside in their workplace.
- Home workers who reside in their workplace are entitled to a night’s rest of at least 9 consecutive hours, and a minimum rest of at least 3 hours between the morning and evening shifts. The workday may not exceed 8 hours.
All homeworkers shall have the following labor benefits:
- Holidays
- Vacation bonus
- Rest day payment
- Mandatory access to social security
- Christmas bonus (aguinaldo)
- Other benefits agreed upon by the parties
A homeworker has the right to enjoy 1.5 days of rest, preferably on Saturday and Sunday. By agreement, you can accumulate the half-day into a full day to be taken every 2 weeks.
Wages
The National Commission of Minimum Wages shall fix the minimum professional salaries to be paid to homeworkers.
- Homeworkers are entitled to “overtime” if they do not receive the required free time, or if their hours exceed the 8-hour maximum workday.
- The salary may be paid through a wire transfer or any other monetary payment to the worker as he/she may agree.
Termination
Workers may terminate a labor contract, at any time, with a minimum 8-day advance notice to the employer.
Employers may terminate a labor contract within the first 30 days of the starting date of the agreement without advance notice or severance compensation. After that, employers must give the worker a minimum 8-day advance notice and make any severance payments as required by the Labor Law.
My Advice
In Mexico, workers who are registered with the Social Security office (IMSS) by their employers who pay the related taxes on their wages, receive free medical care for themselves which can also be extended to other members of their family. It is their “medical insurance plan.”
Medical care is a human right. Even prior to this change in the Labor Laws, I have always advised my clients to register their homeworkers with the Social Security office (IMSS) and to pay tax contributions. I firmly believe that when a worker is insured, the employer is protected.
* About the Author: Agustin Galindo is a Mexican Attorney at Law with a master’s in International and Comparative Law from Southern Methodist University and holds a tax degree from ITAM in Mexico City.