Dec. 9, 2016
As all the Christmas holiday chatzkies are appearing on store shelves, and as we make our holiday plans … It’s time to remember our beloved household help and employees (including muchachas y mozos).
Please plan ahead to pay them their end of the year Aguinaldos by December 20’th. (and to also pay for their vacation days) … This pay is NOT a optional bonus. Our Mexican workers and their families count-on and depend on these critical annual payments owed to them.
Basically the Aguinaldo is 15 days of pay. (calculated on a 7 day work wk)
Aguinaldo
The annual aguinaldo is the equivalent of 15 days of “Daily Rate” pay.
It is not a Christmas bonus. It is a mandatory wage payment that is due by the 20’th of December. The aguinaldo is equivalent to at least “15 days wages”, and may be pro-rated if the employee has been working for you for less than a full year.
Simplified Version to Determine Aguinaldo in $ Pesos $:
# Days Worked per Week x # Weeks Worked x Rate per Day x 15 Days / 365 Days =
Aguinaldo in $ Pesos $
** If a worker is hired to work by the week, the “Daily Rate” equals their weekly pay … divided by 7. If he / she is hired by the month, the “Daily Rate” is the monthly amount divided by 30.
**Daily Rate Simplest Example… If you have an employee who works two days a week ~ for the entire year ~ for $350 pesos each day = $700 pesos a week:
$700 pesos / 7 days = $100 pesos per day at their “Daily Rate”
$100 pesos “Daily Rate” x 15 days of Aguinaldo pay = $1500 pesos
Note that if they work only a part year:
An alternate way of calculating the aguinaldo is determined by multiplying the total days they worked in current year by 15, then divide by 365 days, and then multiply by the daily rate:
For a part-year worker coming in for 2 days a month for 9 months =>
18 days … x … 15 days of Aguinaldo = 270
270 / 365 = 0.7392 … 0.74 x $Daily Rate ($100 pesos?) = $ _____
Note. The “Daily Rate” is based on a full week. For example, if your maid only works two days per week, and gets paid $700 pesos per week ($350 pesos per day of work). You take the weeks salary of $700 divided by 7 = $100 pesos is the Daily Rate.
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Vacation Pay
Vacation pay for current year worked. … Remember that this is the official Mexican Labor Law’s “Daily Rate” ** (see below) … and remember they should also receive this pay for all past years worked.
1st year – 6 days salary
2 years – 8 days
3 years – 10 days
4 years – 12 days
5 to 9 years – 14 days
10 to 14 years – 16 days
15 to 19 years – 18 days
20 to 24 years – 20 days
25 to 29 years – 22 days
30 to 34 years – 24 days
35 to 39 years – 26 days
Happy Holidays !
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See more details at our Full Articles:
https://yucalandia.com/answers-to-common-questions/labor-law-for-household-employees-in-mexico-what-must-we-pay/
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Feel free to copy while giving proper attribution: YucaLandia/Surviving Yucatan.
© Steven M. Fry
Read on, MacDuff.
Surviving Yucatan 
I have rented a casita for two months. The maid is employed by the woman I am renting from, yet I pay her 200 pesos for four hours work one day each week. She will have come 8 times while I am here. Who is responsible for paying her bonus, since Christmas falls while I am renting?
Thank you so much,
Dean
Hi Dean,
Who pays the woman?
If you are handing her cash, then it’s your obligation to pay the Aguinaldo & Vacation pay.
Hint… It’s a tiny payment for just 8 days:
8 days of total work x $200 pesos x 15 days (Aguinaldo)/365 =
= $66 pesos
~ That’s less than $4 US dollars ~
Happy Holidays,
steve
~ That’s less than $4 US dollars ~
well said Steve
also consider an additional Christmas Bonus… something more significant
Peter
Amen,
steve
Hi Steve, Thank you for you post. We have a gardener and his son who work for us one day a week for the past 3 years and we pay them combined 350 pesos. How much would their Aguinaldo be and do we also give them vacation pay at the same time? Just want to make sure we are showing our gratitude properly?
Hi Lori,
Start by determining their official ‘Daily Rate’ that is then used (later) to determine the Aguinaldo pay & Vacation pay.
” If a worker is hired to work by the week, the “Daily Rate” equals their weekly pay … divided by 7. If he / she is hired by the month, the “Daily Rate” is the monthly amount divided by 30. ”
That means $350 pesos / 7 days = $50 pesos per day for their ‘Daily Rate’.
Aguinaldo Pay = 15 days x $50 Daily Rate = $750 pesos Aguinaldo per year.
Paid Time Off => Vacation Pay (see the table above)
“1st year – 6 days salary
2 years – 8 days
3 years – 10 days”
For the last 3 years of back pay = 6 + 8 + 10 = 24 Days of Vacation back pay owed
24 days x $50 pesos Daily Rate = $1,200 for the last 3 years of Vacation Pay.
If you did not pay past years Aguinaldos nor Vacation Pay:
(??)
.. $2,250 = 2014 – 2016’s Aguinaldo pay
+ $1,200 = 2014 – 2016’s Vacation pay
$3,450 Total owed (estimated) for 2014 – 2016
If you did not pay for the past year’s Aguinaldo & Vacation pay, then explain that you did not know the law, and that this is a payment for ALL 3 years.
Finally, the Vacation Days … are paid time off.
If they work those days anyway, tradition here in Yucatan has us give them double pay (the vacation pay + the work day).
Happy Holidays,
steve
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Alternately… If you consider them to be “Independent Contractors” … who do their jobs without instruction, without direction, (like hiring an brick-layer (albañile)) to just do a specific job, like building a wall) … then you could make a legal case that they are doing ‘projects’ – and are not your regular workers.
Under most local labor board disputes, regular workers in our homes are our employees, unless you have a specific contract that identifies them as Independent Contractors.
??Messy??
So, if I actually pay a maid a ‘living wage’ -which seems to infuriate the Mexican neighbors who pay their “slaves” what seems to be pennies on the USD- it is the law to pay that full amount at 15 days AND vacation days? I am embarrassed that I did not know of this law or any updates. I know I am well covered with the money I do give my housekeeper during the holidays, but perhaps I should separate the money accordingly so there is not a problem down the road. Thanks for the information.
Steve
Can you please clarify something about vacation pay? Is it paid on the ANNIVERSARY of the employee¹s start date, or at the end of the year in December? If, as of December an employee has only worked for eight months, do you prorate the first year¹s vacation pay? Thanx
Chuck
From: Surviving Yucatan Reply-To: Surviving Yucatan Date: Friday, December 9, 2016 at 7:56 AM To: Charles Friedman Subject: [New post] Aguinaldo Holiday Pay & Vacation Pay for 2016
WordPress.com yucalandia posted: “Dec. 9, 2016 As all the Christmas holiday chatzkies are appearing on store shelves, and as we make our holiday plans … It’s time to remember our beloved household help and employees (including muchachas y mozos). Please plan ahead to pay them their end”
any changes for 2017? some folks need to save up
Could you please send me your spread sheet on aguinaldos and vacacion? Thank you, Chris
Done…
I sent you the Aguinaldo spread sheet. We did not create it. A talented fellow called Mazbook created it 6 years ago.
Our current description of Aguinaldo & Vacation Pay calculations are at:
https://yucalandia.com/2017/11/21/8174/
All the best,
steve