Senate approves the Silla Act – Impending changes for employers
On December 4, 2024, the Plenary of the Mexican Senate unanimously approved the Chair Law, a key reform to the Federal Labor Law (LFT) that
LABOR LAW AND SOCIAL SECURITY
1. LABOR LAW
2. LITIGATION
3. SOCIAL SECURITY
We focus our labor law practice on comprehensive consulting for companies. Knowing that the global reality implies a sequence of challenges and changes in the usual practices of companies in Mexico, at Vega, Guerrero & Asociados, we provide the tools so that employers can take the best decisions about their employee-employer relationships. In addition, we count with a practice group specialized in litigation to defend companies from actions that may be undertaken by the employers or by the unions.
At Vega, Guerrero & Asociados, we are convinced that most of the conflicts generated in the company can be prevented through an effective and correct consulting, therefore, the labor consulting team actively participates in the decisions taken by the appropriate areas of the company, giving an overview regarding their legal obligation, but above all, giving alternatives by virtue of the acquired experience by quality practices we have implemented in the last years with our various clients.
We support the company in the preparation and implementation of their employment contracts. We consider that a single format for every contract is not the best option in most of the cases, because for each employment relationship, different elements must be taken into consideration, such as the specific temporality, project or season in which the employer will develop his activities. Likewise, it is important to consider the modality that will be established in the contract in its respective case, which could be trial period or initial trainings, as well as to advise the company in the processes of the termination of the employment relationships by the end of the period or modality.
One of the most important legal instrument that govern employment relationships, is the Internal Work Regulations, which contains the internal rules that must be followed in the workplace, therefore, its preparation is a task that must be carried out altogether, company, employees and labor lawyers, since the possibility of carrying out sanctioning procedures to the employees who fail to comply the agreed regulations and imposing the appropriate sanction, depends on this instrument. For this reason, at Vega, Guerrero & Asociados, we have specialized in the development of this regulations, coming along and advising the company since the formation of the mixed commission, as well as the preparation and deposit of the final document of the Regulation before the Boards of Conciliation. It should be noticed that in the next months, the Internal Work Regulations will have to be filed before the Federal Center of Labor Conciliation and Register.
We advise companies on the preparation of the administrative records, in which it is established what are the specific behaviors or omissions that employees have had, mainly regarding to possible breaches of the law, the contract and/or the Internal Work Regulations, since these records can help companies to integrate the personal files of the employees, as well as if needed, to impose sanctions or to carry employment terminations by just cause. The preparation and preservation of these documents will play an important role in the new trials before the labor courts.
We support companies with the attendance and representation in the conciliatory meetings that are required by the labor authorities, which seek to reach agreements with employees or ex-employees who for some reason have filed a complaint against the company. Our team of lawyers has special training in negotiation issues, which allow us to reach favorable agreements for our represented clients and in this way avoid future trials.
We carry out employment termination procedures advising the company since the preparation of the documents that legally support the process, such as employment termination agreements, settlements, or in its specific case, resignations by the employee. We assist our clients by accompanying them in their facilities to carry out the relevant announcements to the employees regarding the terminations, as well as the following ratification of the employment termination before the competent authorities.
As part of the services we provide at our firm, we accompany companies when they receive inspections visits by the labor authorities, such as the Ministry of Labor and Social Security or the counterpart in the federal entities, supporting the development of the inspection, as well as dealing with the observations that may be derived from the mentioned visits.
On some occasions, our clients require the service of companies that provide personnel supply services to develop some specific and specialized activities, for this reason at Vega, Guerrero & Asociados we advise them so that these processes adhere to the established in the labor, tax and other applicable laws. We assist in the review and modification of the service provision contracts between the operating company and the service provider company, as well as the follow-up regarding the compliance of the labor and social security obligations that the service provider company must carry out.
One of the obligations that employers in Mexico have is to form various mixed commissions composed of the employer´s representatives, as well as the employees’ representatives, such as the one for the profit sharing, the one of training and skills development, the one for the safety and hygiene, the one for the preparation of Internal Work Regulations, the one for the preparation of the General Antiquities Table, the one for productivity and the one for the applications of disciplinary measures, among others. We advise companies to form these mixed commissions in the terms established by the law so they can have full functioning and help the company in giving positive results
Since the reform of the Federal Labor Law published in May 2019, one of the obligations of every employer in Mexico is to implement a Protocol to prevent gender discrimination and attention to violence and sexual harassment, as well as to eradicate child labor; for this reason at Vega, Guerrero & Asociados we advise companies in the preparation of the mentioned Protocol, as well as in the establishment of the Attention and Follow-up Committee, thereby complying with the established in the mexican law, as well as carrying out what stated in the Convention 190 regarding violence and harassment, of the International Labor Organization.
We support our clients in the development and implementation of various policies and manuals which help govern the details regarding different employment relationships elements, such as the uses and responsibilities of the working tools, employees’ education aid, among others.
We provide advice to our clients regarding the decisions the must take in their day-to-day relationship with the union that represents the collective labor agreement, as well as with the various unions that may exist within the workplace and overall, within relative to the collective labor law. Our team of lawyers has been trained and specialized in the issues attending the new collective labor relationships in Mexico since the entry into force of the Convention 98 of the International Labor Organization, the 2017 constitutional reform and the 2019 labor reform.
We support our clients with the training and updating courses of their employees, both operational or unionized, as well as administrative or trustworthy and top managers, always looking up on teaching topics of interest to the employees which can help to achieve better results in the company. Additionally, in the event of reforms or new criteria by the authorities, we provide courses so that the company’s Human Resources personnel can have the necessary elements to make the best decisions for the benefit of the company.
We carry out labor audits to our clients for the proper compliance with the labor regulations regarding the general working conditions, as well as with regard to the training and the safety, hygiene an environmental measures at work, with the purpose that the company periodically verifies that it has the complete and correct files of their workers, in addition to having the current labor documents and practices that certify the proper compliance of the law and regulations.
At Vega, Guerrero & Asociados, we are convinced that one of the main tools to be able to make the right decisions is the information, therefore, our team of lawyers periodically prepare alerts to our clients regarding reforms or new criteria by the authorities, which are sent in a timely manner for its analysis.
An experienced group of high-risk litigation lawyers, who have defended transnational companies in trials where top managers have been involved, carry out the strategies to achieve the best results within the labor trials presented in the company. In addition, our lawyers have the experience of having worked in the most important law firms in the country and in the world, which is why it has allowed them to participate in complex trials that have involved creative defenses to obtain positives results. Besides, our lawyers maintain good relationships with the relevant authorities to be able to carry out the close and proper follow-up of the files entrusted to us.
Derived from the 2019 reform of the Federal Law, labor trials in Mexico will have a complete change in the coming years, since from 2020, the country will start a process of disappearance of the Conciliation and Arbitration Boards, to give entrance for the creation of Labor Courts dependent on the Judiciary Power, which implies the implementation on a new procedure. In this sense, our lawyers continually receive the appropriate and permanent training to carry out these new procedures.
At Vega, Guerrero & Asociados, we have successfully advised companies that have been involved in matters of strikes situations or in lawsuits of the collective labor agreements, therefore, our team of lawyer has experience on high-risk collective labor litigation matters, which helps the company to solve this type of issues.
We provide support regarding legal advice or memos for companies regarding the compliance with the social securities regulations, particularly, everything related to the social security of their employees, such as issues related with the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), with the Institute of the National Fund for Housing for Workers (INFONAVIT), as well as with issues related to pensions and retirement.
We come along with our clients in those moments in which they receive inspections visits by the social security authorities, which allow us to prepare an appropriate defense since the first moment in which the first inconvenience from the authority is generated against the company.
Our team of lawyers is highly trained to fight against resolutions by the authorities in social security matters that impose sanctions to the companies, for which an interdisciplinary team prepares the defense strategy and implements it altogether with our clients to achieve the best results.
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