The bonus is a labor benefit of a mandatory nature that employers must grant to employees and this cannot be affected or replaced by any type of gift or incentive, warned Lina Padilla Reyes, member of the Communication Committee of the Mexican Association of Human Capital Companies (AMECH).
In a document in which he states that “it is time to talk about Christmas bonuses”, Padilla Reyes said that his payment is approaching, “the new regulation indicates that from November 14workers at the service of the state, among them: public servants and individuals hired to provide their professional services, will receive a Christmas bonus -a benefit that is delivered every year before December 20-, as determined by the Federal Labor Law (LFT)”.
He recalled that, “since 1970, the LFT stipulates the payment of the Christmas bonus as an obligation for employers, which must be strictly covered by all workers who have a subordinate employment relationship with an employer, so it is It is important to know the calculation for its distribution.
In this sense, he stated that it is important to consider that this is the equivalent to at least 15 days of salary“if the worker has worked every day of the year since January 1, or the days proportional to the time he worked during the current period, always taking as a minimum the base of the 15 days stipulated in article 87 of the Federal Labor Law for the calculation of the corresponding proportional, for example, a person who worked 250 days with a monthly salary of 5,300 pesos, will receive a bonus of 1,815.07 since the daily salary that is taken is not integrated, it is that is, it does not include additional benefits”.
He also said that the bonus is free of any discount Without justification. “Employers can in no case argue economic difficulties of the company or lack of profits for not paying it or reducing its amount.”
There are some supposed cases in which discounts can be applied; but only if: the worker has received advance payments of the Christmas bonus; in the event that he had a withholding for alimony or that the worker had generated disabilities due to general illness (maternity or work risk disabilities are not discounted from the Christmas bonus calculation).
According to the Federal Attorney for the Defense of Labor (PROFEDET), if for any reason the employer fails to pay the Christmas bonus, or does so late, they may be subject to a fine ranging from 50 to 5,000 UMAs, that is, from 4,811 to 481,100 pesos.
“Compliance with this obligation in a timely manner not only benefits the employee who receives their payment, but also avoids situations that demotivate staff and that can even lead to legal problems,” added Padilla Reyes.
