December 27, 2022 UPDATE:
Rather than the previous minimum 6 legally required paid-vacation days off work for Mexican workers, it’s now a minimum of 12 “continuous”** total paid-vacation days off work for all employees in 2023.
D.O.F. 12/26/2022 (Diario Official de la Federacion)
**Notice that if both the worker & employer mutually agree, the 12 days of vacation do not have to be taken consecutively.
Vacaciones dignas 2023:
AGUINALDO’s ! … and Vacation Days-Pay …
Nov. 21, 2023
As Christmas holiday chatzkies are appearing on store shelves …. as we make our holiday plans … It’s time to remember our beloved household help and employees (including nuestro querido “muchachas” y “mozos”).
Please plan ahead to pay them their end of the year Aguinaldos and Vacation Pay by at least December 20’th …. and Plan to also give them paid-Vacation days OFF for the year … Ignore the gringo-myths: The Aguinaldo is NOT a optional bonus. Our Mexican workers and their families count-on and depend on these critical annual payments owed to them, by law.
Because the Annual vacation pay & Aguinaldo payments are mandatory, you can pay them whenever you want … like even ~NOW~ … so they can enjoy using those $$ for the upcoming holiday sales !
Aguinaldo
Basically the Aguinaldo is 15 days of pay. (calculated on a 7 day work wk).
Specifically, the annual aguinaldo payment is precisely 15 days of “Daily Rate pay”. … “Daily Rate pay” is a bit peculiar, because you take their weekly pay, and divide by 7 days.
Example, if your cleaning person is paid $400 pesos each time, for 2 times a week, then their “Daily Rate Pay” is => $800/7 days = $114.29 per day.
This means a 15 day Aguinaldo for her would be:
15 days x $114.29/day = $1,714.29 for the Year
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.
If the person only worked part time or just some months of the year … You can simply divide their TOTAL annual pay by 365 days … to get the “Daily Rate Pay”.
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.
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.
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 times 15 … then divide by 365 days .. and then finally … multiply that value by the daily rate:
For a part-year worker coming in for 2 days a month for 9 months =>
18 days total worked … x … 15 days of Aguinaldo = 270
270 / 365 = 0.7392 … 0.74 x $Daily Rate ($100 pesos/day?) = $ _____
==================================
Vacation Pay – 2023 Update !
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 – 12 days of Daily Rate pay**
2 years – 14 days
3 years – 16 days
4 years – 18 days
5 years – 20 days
6 to 10 years – 22 days
11 to 15 years – 24 days
16 to 20 years – 26 days
21 to 25 years – 28 days
26 to 30 years – 30 days
31 to 36 years – 32 days
**Daily Rate pay is based on a 7 day work-week calculation. Either divide their weekly pay by 7 to get their Daily Rate pay … or .. Calculate the full year pay, and divide by 365 days to get the Daily Rate pay.
Happy Holidays !
* * * *
See more details at our Full Articles:
Complicated, for sure, but I’m glad this is mandatory. I live right on the border and can always tell when people have been paid their aguinaldo: long lines at the border.
This is a small border crossing and it’s not unusual for there to be little to no line, but on this day, usually within a week before Christmas, the line to cross north runs for blocks. Everyone want to cross to go Christmas shopping! I NEVER cross around that time. I don’t want to get stuck waiting an hour or so at the border.
December 27, 2022 UPDATE:
Rather than the previous minimum 6 legally required paid-vacation days off work for Mexican workers, it’s now a minimum of 12 “continuous”** total paid-vacation days off work for all employees in 2023.
D.O.F. 12/26/2022 (Diario Official de la Federacion)
**Notice that if both the worker & employer mutually agree, the 12 days of vacation do not have to be taken consecutively.
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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.
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 times 15 … then divide by 365 days .. and then finally … multiply that value by the daily rate:
For a part-year worker coming in for 2 days a month for 9 months =>
18 days total worked … x … 15 days of Aguinaldo = 270
270 / 365 = 0.7392 … 0.74 x $Daily Rate ($100 pesos/day?) = $ _____
==================================
Vacation Pay – 2023 Update !
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 – 12 days of Daily Rate pay**
2 years – 14 days
3 years – 16 days
4 years – 18 days
5 years – 20 days
6 to 10 years – 22 days
11 to 15 years – 24 days
16 to 20 years – 26 days
21 to 25 years – 28 days
26 to 30 years – 30 days
31 to 36 years – 32 days
**Daily Rate pay is based on a 7 day work-week calculation. Either divide their weekly pay by 7 to get their Daily Rate pay … or .. Calculate the full year pay, and divide by 365 days to get the Daily Rate pay.
Happy Holidays !
* * * *
See more details at our Full Articles:
Surviving Yucatan 
Thank you again for regular publication and distribution of the holiday pay and aquinado computations.
Complicated, for sure, but I’m glad this is mandatory. I live right on the border and can always tell when people have been paid their aguinaldo: long lines at the border.
This is a small border crossing and it’s not unusual for there to be little to no line, but on this day, usually within a week before Christmas, the line to cross north runs for blocks. Everyone want to cross to go Christmas shopping! I NEVER cross around that time. I don’t want to get stuck waiting an hour or so at the border.