Employee Termination Procedures & Guidelines in Mexico
Termination by the employer
Mexico has very strict laws when it comes to terminating employees. Employers can terminate employees and bear no liability in the following cases only:
- employer’s being deceived with apocryphal documentation and being lied to about the employee’s capacity, aptitudes, and faculties
- lacking probity and honesty, or committing acts of violence
- assaulting co-workers
- committing serious acts against the employer and the employer’s family members or representatives
- intentionally or carelessly damaging machinery or work equipment
- endangering the workplace safety
- committing immoral acts, harassment, and/or sexual harassment
- revealing trade secrets
- failing to attend work for more than three days without just cause
- unjustifiably disobeying the employer or the employer’s representatives
- failing to adopt preventive safety and hygiene measures
- attending work in an inadequate state
- serving a prison sentence
- lacking documentation attributable to the worker
- committing similar serious acts with similar consequences
- The employer must either notify the employee personally or communicate the termination decision to the competent court.
- The employer must pay the employee a severance payment consisting of the days worked and not paid for during the last fortnight or month (depending on the form of salary payment), the proportional part of the Christmas bonus, and the proportional part of holidays and other benefits included in the contract, such as bonuses, savings fund, utilities, etc.
- The employer must request the employee to sign the receipt of the severance payment.
- The employer must submit the employee’s notice of termination to IMSS.
Employers or their representatives are forbidden to dismiss a female employee, directly or indirectly coercing her to resign because she is pregnant, has a change of marital status, or is caring for minor children.
Termination by the employee
Employees can end their employment in the following circumstance bearing no liability:
- In the first 30 days if the conditions do not match what was proposed in the first
- In case of breaches of probity or honesty, acts of violence, threats, insults, harassment, sexual harassment, bad treatment, or other similar acts against the employee and/or the employee’s spouse, parents, children, or siblings
- In case any of the acts referred in the previous point make it impossible to comply with the work relationship
- having their salary reduced
- not receiving the corresponding salary when/where agreed
- suffering damages to the employee’s work tools caused maliciously by the employer
- experiencing serious danger to their safety or health or to that of their family either because the establishment lacks hygienic conditions or because the preventive and safety measures established by law are not complied with
- being forced to put up with the employer or other people in the workplace’s inexcusable imprudence, carelessness, or lack of safety
- being forced to behave in a way disrespecting of their dignity
- being faced with similar serious acts with similar consequences as far as work is concerned
Resignation Procedure in Mexico
Employees must inform the employer in writing of their resignation, stating the reasons for their resignation and the date on which they will no longer work for the employer.
Other End of Employment Guidelines in Mexico
Severance
This is a legal recourse for companies unable to pay their creditors. Under this procedure, companies can seek agreements and restructure their obligations.
Preferential treatment is given to credit applications which will be used for covering employee wages and salaries accrued in the past year, as well as for severance payments.
If the employer is not financially solvent, the employer must terminate the employment relationship and pay employees three months’ salary as severance pay, proportional parts of vacation, vacation bonus, and Christmas bonus, as well as 12 days’ salary for each year of service rendered as seniority bonus.Employee termination protection
Employee’s physical or mental incapacity or manifest inability, which makes performing the work impossible
If the work risk produces total permanent disability to the employee, the indemnity shall consist of an amount equivalent to 1,095 days’ salary.
