MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: José Luis Diaz Badial, Jose Luis Diaz Castañeda and Mario Ivan Peña Padilla, Martinez y de Labra Abogados
cies, this may even be considered essential to ensure the impartiality and credibility of the process. While the LFT in Mexico does not generally require observers for all internal interviews, it is common practice for them to serve as witnesses, attesting to the conduct of the interview or investigation. 3.6 Support Person and/or Lawyer The right of an employee to be accompanied by a sup - port person or lawyer during an interview in an internal HR investigation can vary significantly depending on factors such as labour legislation, internal company policies and unionisation. Interviewees may also be accompanied by witnesses who can testify on their behalf. 3.7 Information It is essential that the team of interviewers provides key information at the beginning and end of the inter - view to establish clear expectations, foster trust and ensure a professional process. This information should include the reason for the interview and its objectives. It is important to note that the entire process will be recorded in the interview minutes. All participants will be asked to read and sign the minutes to confirm their If an interviewee requests a break during an internal HR investigation interview, this will generally be grant - ed, unless there is a justifiable reason for the inter - view to continue. However, the interview must resume within a reasonable timeframe. If the interview has already been ongoing for a con - siderable period of time, it may be suspended at the interviewer’s request and continued on a different day and at a different time. 3.9 Minutes Administrative reports or minutes can be filed dur - ing or as a result of an internal HR investigation. These reports document any findings, deficiencies or instances of non-compliance identified during the review, and they serve as an internal company tool for acceptance of their content. 3.8 Stopping the Interview
monitoring compliance with labour regulations and the Internal Work Regulations (RIT). The reports are made available for review by all par - ties involved, who must sign them to confirm accept - ance. Anyone who chooses not to sign must note this refusal in the report itself. Reports must be prepared by company personnel, preferably from the HR department. Therefore, it is uncommon for individuals external to the company An internal HR investigation interview can be recorded by any of the individuals taking part in the conversa - tion. Ideally, however, the consent of all participants should be obtained, both for legal and ethical reasons. 3.11 Other Fact-Finding In addition to interviews, HR teams can use several techniques and mechanisms to gather and preserve evidence during internal investigations. These may include: • reviewing and analysing documents and electronic and digital data; • reviewing surveillance or monitoring logs (eg, closed-circuit television), if legal and justified; and • conducting physical inspections and collecting physical evidence (eg, closed-circuit television videos held by the company) to analyse and obtain material related to the investigation. 4. Protection of the Parties During an HR Internal Investigation 4.1 Protection of the Reporter The employer must take measures to protect the whistle-blower during an internal HR investigation as part of their general obligation to ensure the safety and physical and mental well-being of all workers in the workplace, and to prevent retaliation. Although the LFT in Mexico does not detail specific measures for the private sector, the obligation to pro - to prepare them. 3.10 Recording
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