7 aspects to consider about the application of the vacation reform

In January the vacation reform will enter into force and with it, the labor force governed by the Federal Labor Law (LFT) will have the right to more days off. Without transitory articles that mark a gradual increase, the legal modifications will be in force as of the first day of 2023 and will be mandatory for all employers.

The first thing you have to know is that this reform doubled the minimum holiday floora benefit protected by labor legislation and which had not changed for a little over five decades.

Some of the frequent questions among workers are whether there will be a compensation of days for seniority prior to the validity of the reform, from when the new regulatory framework will become effective or what the continuity of the days will be like.

These are the 7 aspects that you must take into account in the face of the new provision:

1. Entry into force

According to the publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation, the reform will be in force as of January 1, 2023. This means that the following year all companies must grant more vacation days to their workers after they complete a year or more of service.

2. When will it be effective?

Although the legal modification will be in force from the first day of 2023, the new minimum floor will not be effective at the same time for everyone. In other words, people will see the benefit based on the date they accumulate seniority. For example, those who complete a year or more of service in January will access the new minimum floor before people who have a work anniversary in October or November.

According to specialists in labor law, as long as the person does not add a new year of seniority in 2023, the vacation days established by the Law before the reform will correspond to him, and when he adjusts one more year of service, he will jump to the new period; that is, employers are not required to grant the increase beforehand.

3. Vacation bonus

The reform to the LFT only modified the days and the formula to enjoy the rest, but the vacation premium that workers receive had no changes, will continue to be equivalent to 25% of the salary received during the corresponding period based on seniority. However, as the number of days to which a person is entitled increases, the amount of the vacation premium will be higher since the calculation will be on a higher basis.

4. What will the continuous days be like?

The modifications approved by Congress contemplate that people can take at least 12 continuous days of the vacation period to which they are entitled. But one of the changes in the regulation is that the power to decide if they want to divide their days and when they want to take them, was transferred to the workers.

5. How are the contracts?

It is likely that some companies make adjustments to the contracts, although most of the time these documents refer to the minimum benefits of the Law, labor law specialists agree.

The changes will benefit both new recruits and those who have served a company for more than one year.

6. How will the days increase?

The formula of gradual increases had no changes, this means that the vacation period will be extended as people accumulate seniority. Rest days will increase by two days for each year of work until reaching 20 days, this will happen after five years of service, from the sixth year, two days will be added for each cycle of five years worked.

The only difference is that will start from a higher base. To put it in perspective, before the reform it could take a person 22 years of work in the same company to reach 20 days of vacation, with the legal changes that will happen to five years of seniority.

7. What happens if I had more days of Law?

This will depend on how many additional days a company will grant. The first thing to consider at this point is that no company will be able to offer fewer vacations to what the LFT marks. For example, if a company offered 10 days from the first year of work, it will have to increase at least that benefit to a period of 12; In the case of companies that provided 15 days, they probably do not need to make a change, until people are entitled to a longer break due to seniority.

An important fact to take into account is that the second transitory article of the reform specifies that the changes will be applied whenever they are more favorable to workersThis means that if a company grants a longer period than the labor legislation, the person will keep that benefit because it is the most favorable.

The STPS responds

Through social networks, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS) launched an information campaign to answer frequent questions about the vacation reform, some curious facts that the agency highlights are:

• Rest days are not added to the days of the vacation period.
• People who work seasonally are entitled to a vacation period proportional to the days they worked.
• If the employment relationship ends before completing one year of work, the person has the right to receive a remuneration proportional to the time of service.
• The employer must provide proof of seniority.
• The certificate contains the vacation days and the period in which it corresponds to take them.
• Vacations are not cumulative from year to year. That is, if the legal term to enjoy them expires, the employer is not obliged to replace them.
• Domestic workers are also entitled to paid vacations and the new minimum floor.

The Ministry of Labor points out that employers they can not condition the holidays to a number of sales, people served or achievement of goals, and cannot be exchanged for any remuneration or material good.