The Mexican Chamber of Deputies on Dec. 8, 2020, approved modifications and additions to the Federal Labor Law on Teleworking, known as "home office," recognizing the modality of remote work using information and communication technologies.

Definition

A working person under the teleworking modality is the one who provides their personal, paid and subordinate services in a place other than the company or employer's workplace and primarily uses information and communication technologies. When 40 percent of the work is being performed outside the workplace, it will be considered teleworking.

Relevant Points

• General working conditions must be established in the labor contract, including the following: 1) the equipment and work supplies, including that related to health and safety obligations; 2) the description and amount that the employer will pay the worker under the telework modality for the payment of services at home related to telework; and 3) the contact and supervision mechanisms between the parties, as well as the duration and distribution of schedules, provided they do not exceed the legal maximums.
• Telework must be considered in the collective contract and must facilitate the remote communication and dissemination mechanisms that the work center has, including email or others, in order to guarantee that teleworkers are aware of the procedures for freedom of association and collective bargaining. In the absence of a collective agreement, the conditions must be included in the internal work regulations.
• Special obligations are incorporated for employers in order to provide the means, resources and tools necessary to carry out the work, such as: 1) delivery of computer equipment, ergonomic chairs and printers, among others; 2) assumption of the costs derived from the work, such as the payment of telecommunication services (internet) and the proportional part of electricity; 3) implementation of mechanisms that preserve the security of the information and data used; 4) respect for the right to disconnect; and 5) establishment of mechanisms and adequate training for the use of information and communication technologies.
• Special obligations are incorporated for workers, including the following: 1) the care, storage and conservation of the supplies provided to carry out their work; 2) respect for the provisions on safety and health at work established by the employer; 3) the protection of data used in the performance of their activities; and 4) prompt notification of the agreed costs for the use of the telecommunications services and electricity consumption, derived from teleworking.
• The guarantee of changing the modality from face-to-face to teleworking is established.
• It is incorporated that the employer must promote balance in labor relations, as well as observe personal life with the working day with a gender perspective.
• There is a guarantee of the right to privacy and respect for personal data, and only video cameras and microphones may be used to supervise telework in an extraordinary way.
• The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare must prepare an Official Mexican Standard regarding the special health and safety conditions that are developed in the telework modality.

The following special powers and duties are established for the labor inspectorate to review measures on the due fulfillment of the special obligations derived from telework: 1) verification that employers keep a record of the supplies delivered; 2) compliance with occupational health and safety obligations; 3) ensuring that salaries are not lower than those paid in the company to the face-to-face worker with the same or similar functions and 4) verification of due compliance with the special obligations in telework.

The reform takes effect the day after its publication in Mexico's Official Gazette of the Federation.