MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Mauricio Moreno Rey, Anahí Serrano, Erick Sastré and Karla Fajardo, Cannizzo, Ortiz y Asociados, S.C.
1. Employment Terms 1.1 Employee Status
provided by the Federal Labour Law (for example, the duration of labour relationships for the exploitation of mines lacking profitable minerals or for the restoration of abandoned mines or mines at a standstill may be agreed upon for a specific task, for a fixed term or for the investment of specific capital); (iii) seasonal ( por temporada ); and (iv) for an indefinite term ( por tiempo indeterminado ). The last of these, in turn, may be sub - ject to a probation period ( prueba ) or initial training ( capacitación inicial ). In the absence of any express stipulation otherwise, the employment relationship is understood to be for an indefinite term. In terms of the Federal Labour Law, working condi - tions must be agreed in writing if there is no applicable collective bargaining agreement in place, and such a document must be executed in at least two counter - parts, one for each party. The document must contain at least the following: • name, nationality, age, sex, marital status, Unique Population Registry Code ( Clave Única de Registro de Población , or CURP), Federal Taxpayer Reg - istry Code and address of the employee and the employer; • whether the employment relationship is for a spe - cific task or term, seasonal, or for an indefinite term and, if so, whether it is subject to an initial training period or probation period; • the service or services to be rendered, which shall be specified as accurately as possible; • the place or places where the work is to be per - formed; • the duration of the workday; • the form and amount of the salary; • the day and place of payment of the salary; • the specification that the employee will be trained in accordance with the plans and programmes set forth or to be determined in the company; • other working conditions, such as rest days, holidays and others, agreed upon between the employee and the employer; and • designation of beneficiaries for the payment of wages and benefits accrued but not collected prior to the death or disappearance of the employee.
Although in practice there is a difference between blue-collar and white-collar employees, this difference does not derive from the law. The Federal Labour Law provides for several types of employees, namely the following: • Employees in positions of trust ( empleados de con - fianza ): These are employees who perform man - agement, inspection, supervision and oversight tasks, when they are of a general nature, or the personal work of the employer within the company or establishment. The category of trusted employ - ees depends on the nature of the tasks performed and not on the name given to the position. • Employees who render their services for a Mexican employer outside the national territory: The Fed - eral Labour Law provides special rights for such employees under Article 28. • The Federal Labour Law contains several chapters addressing the status of various types of employ - ees and providing specific rights and protections to each of them, for example, women workers, workers between the ages of 15 and 18, trusted employees, employees working on ships, aircraft crew, railway workers, auto transport workers, public service freight manoeuvring workers, farm workers, commercial agents, professional sport - spersons, musicians and actors, domestic work - ers, teleworkers, mine workers, workers in hotels, restaurants, bars and other similar establishments, workers in a family industry, doctors, workers in educational institutions, among others. • Employees employed for a specific task, whether for a fixed term, seasonally or for an indefinite term: See 1.2 Employment Contracts for more informa- tion. 1.2 Employment Contracts In Mexico, employment relationships may be: (i) for a specific task ( obra determinada ), which may only be agreed upon when its nature so requires; (ii) for a fixed term ( por tiempo determinado ), which may only be agreed upon when required by the nature of the work to be performed, when the purpose thereof is to tem - porarily replace another employee, and in other cases
358 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook