Hours of Work in Mexico
Capital
Mexico City
Official Language
Spanish
Currency
Mexican Peso
Payroll cycle
Bi-monthly
Quick facts about Mexico
Located at the southern end of North America, Mexico is one of the most important economic partners to the United States and Canada. Mexico’s rich history and its ever growing economy has turned the country into an appealing destination for digital nomads. The country’s strong university system also makes Mexico one of the best places to recruit developers, marketers, and other knowledge workers.
Standard working hours (or hours of work) in Mexico depend on what type of shift the employee works. Mexico’s labor laws break hours of work into day, night, and mixed shifts.
Shift | Hours of shift | Length of shift | Maximum amount of hours per week |
Day | Shifts between 6am-8pm | 8 hours | 48 hours per week |
Night | Shifts between 8pm-6am | 7 hours | 42 hours per week |
Mixed | Shifts during both day and night. The night period needs to be shorter than 3.5 hours | 7.5 hours | 45 hours per wee |
Employees may work on Saturdays at the employer's request, but they aren’t able to work more than the maximum hours of work per week without overtime compensation.
Typical work weeks in Mexico are Monday-Saturday, 8 hours per day.
Rest periods in Mexico
In Mexico, the required rest period for employees is regulated by the Federal Labor Law. Employees are entitled to a daily rest period of at least 30 minutes during their working hours. This rest period is considered paid time and is typically provided for meals or personal breaks.
Many companies give rest periods or meal periods between 1pm-4pm.
Additionally, the law stipulates that employees should have at least one day of rest per week. For every 6 days of work, employees are entitled to a rest day. This day is commonly referred to as the "weekly rest day" and should be granted on Sundays.
If an employee works on their weekly rest day, they should be given an alternative day off during the week.
When an employee works on one of their rest or vacation days, the employer must pay double the worker’s regular salary and additional compensation for work done on vacation days.
Overtime in Mexico
Labor laws in Mexico allow employers to request an employee to exceed their normal working hours and work overtime depending on the circumstances for 3 hours per day or 3 times per week.
For the first 9 hours of overtime, employees receive their regular wages plus 100% of their hourly wages for each hour worked. If the overtime exceeds 9 hours, they are paid their regular hours plus 200% of their wages
If you need more help understanding hours of work and other compliance regulations, visit the Mexico employer-of-record page.
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Via makes hiring talent around the world and building your global team seamless by helping you onboard workers in as little as 2-3 business days. With our easy-to-use platform, Via helps you manage local HR processes for direct employment such as work visas & permits, employee data privacy compliance, benefits, global payroll, background checks, and more. Our team of local labor lawyers and on-the-ground experts provide 24-hour local support and ensure that your company remains compliant while expanding abroad. As your employer-of-record/entity abroad, Via assumes responsibility for employment liability, so that you can focus on what matters: recruiting and managing your team.
