Employee benefits and leave in Mexico

At a glance

Key figures with the official source for each, checked November 2026.

Vacation and the vacation premium

Article 76 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo, as amended in December 2022, sets the vacation scale:

• At least 12 days are taken consecutively. The worker decides how to split the rest (Art. 78).
• Vacation must be granted within six months after each service year ends (Art. 81).
• It cannot be exchanged for pay while employment continues. On exit, unused and prorated days are paid out (Art. 79).
• A premium of at least 25% is paid on vacation salary (Art. 80).
• The employer gives each worker a yearly statement of seniority and vacation entitlement.

Employers competing for professional talent often add days above the scale or raise the premium. Those extras become contractual and feed into the integrated salary used for IMSS contributions and severance.

Public holidays and rest days

Article 74 lists the mandatory rest days:

• January 1.
• The first Monday of February, for Constitution Day.
• The third Monday of March, for Benito Juárez's birthday.
• May 1.
• September 16.
• The third Monday of November, for Revolution Day.
• December 25.
• October 1 every six years, when the federal executive changes.
• Days set by electoral law for federal and local elections.

Staff who work on one of these days receive their normal holiday pay plus double pay for the work done (Art. 75). Many popular dates, such as Holy Thursday, Good Friday, November 2 and December 12, are not statutory holidays. Employers often grant some of them by policy.

The weekly rest rule is one day off with full pay for every six days worked (Art. 69). Work on a rest day is paid at double on top of the day's pay (Art. 73). Staff whose normal schedule includes Sunday earn a premium of at least 25% on that day's salary (Art. 71).

The 40 hour week: where it stands in November 2026

The reduction of the working week is now law. A constitutional amendment to Article 123 was published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on March 3, 2026. The matching reform to the Ley Federal del Trabajo followed on May 1, 2026. Article 59 now sets the ordinary maximum at 40 hours a week, reached in steps.

• Salaries and benefits cannot be reduced because of the shorter week.
• Overtime is paid at double. Once fully phased in, up to 12 hours a week are allowed, at most 4 hours a day on 4 days. The allowance starts at 9 hours and rises in steps to 2030.
• Beyond that, at most 4 more hours a week, paid at triple. Ordinary and overtime hours together may not pass 12 in a day.
• Employers must record each worker's start and finish times electronically (Art. 132, XXXIV). The duty applies from January 1, 2027, under general rules to be issued by the labor ministry. Fines run from 250 to 5,000 UMA.

Sickness and work injury

Sick pay is an IMSS benefit, not an employer benefit. When an IMSS doctor certifies a non-work illness:

• The subsidy starts on the fourth day of incapacity (Ley del Seguro Social Art. 96).
• It equals 60% of the last daily contribution salary (Art. 98).
• It lasts up to 52 weeks and can be extended by 26 weeks on medical opinion.
• The worker needs at least 4 weekly contributions immediately before the illness (Art. 97).

The LFT treats non-work incapacity as a suspension of the employment relationship, so the law does not oblige the employer to pay salary for the first three days or to top up the 60%. Many employers do both by policy. Because the subsidy is calculated on contribution salary, which is capped at 25 UMA, higher earners receive well under 60% of their real pay unless the employer tops up.

Work accidents and occupational illness fall under the work risk branch, which the employer funds alone. The IMSS pays 100% of the contribution salary while the worker is incapacitated (Art. 58). If the worker was not registered, the employer must reimburse the IMSS for the full cost of the benefits.

Maternity, paternity and family leave

Maternity. Article 170 of the LFT gives six weeks of rest before the birth and six weeks after. Up to four of the weeks before the birth can be moved to after it with medical authorisation. If the child is born with a disability or needs hospital care, the rest after the birth can run to eight weeks. The IMSS pays 100% of contribution salary for 42 days before and 42 days after the birth when the worker has 30 weekly contributions in the previous 12 months. If she does not qualify, the employer pays full salary (Ley del Seguro Social Arts. 101 to 103).

• Two paid 30 minute nursing breaks a day for up to six months, or a workday shortened by one hour by agreement.
• A right to return to the same post within one year of the birth.
• Leave counts toward seniority.

Paternity. Five paid working days for a birth or adoption, paid by the employer.

Adoption. Six weeks of paid leave from the day the child is received.

Care of a child with cancer. Parents can take IMSS leave in blocks of 1 to 28 days, up to 364 days over three years, with a subsidy of 60% of contribution salary (Art. 140 Bis).

Pension, housing and other mandatory contributions

Registration with the IMSS gives the employee five insurance branches: sickness and maternity, work risk, disability and life, retirement and old age, and daycare and social benefits. Two of them build personal savings.

• Retirement account. The employer pays 2% for retirement plus an old-age contribution of 3.150% to 7.513% in 2026, depending on salary. The employee pays 1.125%.
• Housing. The employer pays 5% of salary to the worker's INFONAVIT housing sub-account. It can be used toward a mortgage.

The employer also owes the aguinaldo of at least 15 days and a share of profits under the PTU rules.

Remote staff have extra protections. When more than 40% of working time is at the worker's home, the telework chapter of the LFT applies. The arrangement must be in writing. The employer supplies and records the equipment, contributes to service costs such as internet and electricity, and respects the right to disconnect. Either side may ask to return to on-site work. Workplaces must also provide seating with back support and may not require staff to stand for the whole shift.

Market-standard supplementary benefits

The statutory floor is rarely the whole package for professional roles. Employers in Mexico commonly add the items below. None is required by law, and levels vary by sector and city.

• Major medical insurance (seguro de gastos médicos mayores). The most requested benefit, because it gives access to private hospitals. Family cover is common at senior levels.
• Life insurance. Usually a multiple of annual salary.
• Food vouchers (vales de despensa). A monthly allowance on an electronic card, with favourable tax treatment within legal limits.
• Savings fund (fondo de ahorro). Matched employer and employee contributions, paid out once a year.
• Aguinaldo of 30 days in place of the legal 15.
• Extra vacation days or a vacation premium above 25%.
• Sick pay top-up covering the first three days and the gap above the IMSS subsidy.
• Home office allowance for remote staff.

Before promising any of these, check two things. Benefits paid regularly can become part of the integrated salary, which raises IMSS contributions and severance. Under an EOR, supplementary benefits are delivered through the EOR's own plans, so confirm what is available and at what cost before the offer letter goes out.

Frequently asked questions

More on hiring in Mexico

Employer of record and hiring guide for Mexico · Payroll and taxes · Termination and notice · Contractors vs employees · Cost calculator · EOR vs PEO vs entity

Sources

• Ley Federal del Trabajo (Cámara de Diputados, last reform DOF 14-05-2026)
• Ley del Seguro Social (Cámara de Diputados)
• Ley del INFONAVIT (Cámara de Diputados)
• Cámara de Diputados, list of LFT reform decrees (working week decree of 01-05-2026)
• INEGI, UMA 2026 press release
• EY Law Flash, constitutional reform on the working week (secondary)
• Greenberg Traurig, LFT reform on the working week (secondary)

This page is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Rates, thresholds and procedures change, and how they apply depends on the facts. Confirm current figures with a qualified adviser or with Dryft before acting. Checked November 2026.