Capital city
Mexico City
Currency
Mexican peso
($, MXN)
Population size
128,649,565
(2020 est.)
Languages spoken
Spanish
Remote-Owned Local Entity
We own our own entity in the countries where we operate to shield your company from risk and provide you and your employees with the signature Remote experience.
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is a country in the southern portion of North America. It has the world's 15th-largest economy by nominal GDP and the 11th-largest by PPP, with the United States being its largest economic partner. The large economy, area, population and politics make Mexico a regional power and a middle power, and is often identified as an emerging power.
Capital city
Mexico City
Currency
Mexican peso
($, MXN)
Languages spoken
Spanish
Population size
128,649,565 (2020 est.)
Ease of doing business
Easy
Cost of living index
$$ (100 of 139 nations)
Payroll frequency
Semi-monthly
VAT - standard rate
16%
GDP - real growth rate
1.994% (2018 est.)
Employing in Mexico requires employers to own a legal entity in the country and manage payroll, tax, benefits and compliance through their own in-country resources. The complexity and intricacies of employment regulations in Mexico makes full compliance with employment laws a burdensome process.
Through Remote’s Global Employer of Record solution, your team is employed by our local legal entities in each country, and we take care of payroll, tax, benefits and compliance so you can focus on what matters most -- your people.
Mexican employment law and employment rights are contained under the Constitution of the United Mexican States (Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos) as well as Federal Labour Law. The employment rights provided in these can apply to anyone providing subordinated services. Employment rights in Mexico are also inalienable, meaning that they apply to everyone deemed to carry out suborindated work in Mexico, regardless of the jurisdiction chosen in employment agreements.
Federal Labour Law and Mexican labour courts are very employee-protective and favours the employee. As such, Mexican employment law provides strong labor conditions and protections for employees, so employing people will generally be an important investment and commitment.
Temporary agencies are popular options for more flexible workforce arrangements. For these and many other reasons, the following are only guidelines in the broadest sense, and professional legal services are recommended when employing in Mexico.
Date | Holiday Name | Extra information |
---|---|---|
Saturday, January 1, 2022 | New Year's Day | National Holiday |
Monday, February 7, 2022 | Constitution Day | National Holiday. 1st Monday of February. Originally February 5th |
Monday, March 21, 2022 | Benito Juarez Day | National Holiday. 3rd Monday of March |
Thursday, April 14, 2022 | Holy Thursday | Not official, but observed |
Friday, April 15, 2022 | Good Friday | Not official, but observed |
Sunday, May 1, 2022 | Labor Day | National Holiday |
Thursday, May 5, 2022 | Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla | Not official, but observed |
Friday, September 16, 2022 | Independence Day | National Holiday. In some locations they also consider September 15th. |
Wednesday, November 2, 2022 | All Souls’ Day/Día de los muertos | Not official, but observed (famous holiday worldwide). In some locations they also consider November 1st. |
Monday, November 21, 2022 | Revolution Day | National Holiday. 3rd Monday of November. Originally November 20th |
Monday, December 12, 2022 | Lady of Guadalupe Day | Not official, but observed |
Sunday, December 25, 2022 | Christmas Day | National Holiday |
There are two types of minimum wages: a general minimum wage that applies to everyone regardless of age, industry and experience and a "professional" minimum wage that apply to certain employees depending on their profession, craft or activity.
For the general minimum wage, there are two categories
For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in semi-monthly installments by the 15th and 30th of each month.
We can help you get a new employee started in Mexico fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 3 working days.
Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.
For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.
Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.
At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practicing “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).
Our benefits packages in Mexico are tailored to fulfill the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Mexico.
20.40% - Maternity & Illness (fixed quota)
5% - Housing Fund
3.15% - Seniority Insurance
3% - State Payroll Tax maximum (depends on employee state and gross salary)
2% - Retirement
1.75% - Disability & Life Insurance
1.10% - Maternity & Illness (extra quota)
1.05% - Maternity & Illness - retired medical expenses quota
1% - Daycare Insurance
0.7% - Maternity & Illness - cash benefits quota
0.54355% - Labor risk insurance
1.13% - Seniority Insurance
0.63% - Disability & Life Insurance
0.40% - Maternity & Illness (extra quota)
0.38% - Maternity & Illness - retired medical expenses quota
0.25% - Maternity & Illness - Cash benefits quota
1.92% - up to 6,942.35
6.40% - 6,942.36 - 58,922.27
10.88% - 58,922.28 - 103,550.51
16.00% - 103,550.51 - 120,372.95
17.92% - 120,372.96 - 144,119.39
21.36% - 144,119,40 - 290,667.83
23.52% - 290,667.84 - 458,132.39
30.00% - 458,132.40 - 874,650.11
32.00% - 874,650.12 - 1,166,200.07
34.00% - 1,166,200.08 - 3,498,600.11
35.00% - 3,498,600.12 and above
Federal Labor Law in Mexico provides for a minimum vacation period that all employers must grant to their employees. The amount of minimum vacation days are dependent on the employee's lenght of service, as described below:
Under the Federal Labor Law and the Social Security Law, pregnant employees can take up to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave of absence. 6 weeks can be taken before the birth and 6 weeks after, but on the request of the mother and authorisation by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) up to 4 weeks of the 6 weeks can be moved to after the birth. Mothers are also entitled to additional rest breaks in the six months after the birth (the nursing period).
Employees have an entitlement to five working days of paid paternity leave of absence in the case of birth or adoption of a child.
Federal Labor Law provides a distinction between dismissal (Spanish: despido) and termination (Spanish: terminación). Dismissal can be justified by reasons related to the employee's conduct, while termination can be for economic reasons, employee's incapacity, force majeur, death of the employee or termination of the work. The two articles of Federal Labor Law of relevance are art. 47 on dismissal and art. 52 on termination.
Employers and employees have no obligation to notify the other party in advance of a dismissal or resignation and notice obligations for employees are not recognized or enforceable under Mexican law. Notice obligations for employers can be enforced if they have been agreed to, but it is uncommon for Mexican employers to do so.
If the employment contract is for more than 180 days or for an indefinite period of time, the employer may put in place a probationary period of up to 30 days. It is possible to extend the probationary period by up to 180 days for managerial, technical or professional positions