How to calculate the Christmas bonus for domestic workers?

“Guys, how do you calculate the domestic staff bonus?” asks a woman in a virtual group. “In an ideal world, what you pay for 15 days of work”, answers another. In the question and in the answer there are hits and misses.

The Facebook post sparked nearly 300 comments that were pro-domestic workers’ rights, discriminatory and others denoting genuine misinformation and confusion.

First, domestic workers in Mexico have demanded that they be named like that, employees or domestic workers. Not domestic or any other word that could ignore their human dignity or their status as workers in a fundamental sector for the rest of the economic activities.

Then, it is true, the minimum bonus corresponds to 15 days of salary. But it is not part of an ideal world, but of a world that barely covers what the Federal Labor Law (LFT) indicates.

Article 87 of said legal framework indicates that “workers will be entitled to an annual bonus that must be paid before the day December 20th, equivalent to fifteen days of salary, at least. Then, in that same law, article 334 Bis indicates that domestic workers have the right to a Christmas bonus, among other benefits.

According to the Federal Attorney for the Defense of Labor (Profedet), the Christmas bonus has been guaranteed in the LFT since 1970. “Prior to this date, some employers gave a certain amount of money to their employees for being Christmas time, but it was not required. However, in the reform of that year, the payment of this benefit was established as mandatory and they called it a Christmas bonus.

That was over 50 years ago. But until 2019, after decades of struggle, domestic workers managed to get the Union Congress to reform labor legislation to clearly establish that they also have right to bonus and that it is an obligation of the people who hire them to pay it.

The formulas for the payment of the bonus

The Christmas bonus corresponds to domestic workers who work in any of the three modalities of this employment: plant, entrance by exit and in several houses. To those who worked for a year, but also, proportionally, to those who have worked for less time.

Must be paid in cash and in a single exhibition. “It is not given out of affection, because it is a right. The bonus is not a pantry, nor is it the skirt that I no longer wear, nor the turkey, nor any other gift. We can give all these things if we want, but they do not constitute the Christmas bonus”, the National Center for Professional Training and Leadership of Domestic Employees (Caceh) and the organization of employers Hogar Justo Hogar clarified in a communication campaign.

» Case 1. Entry-exit workersThey worked the whole year and do not go to a house every day. Let’s say you go two days a week:

Payment per day: 500 pesos

500 x 2 days of work a week = 1,000 pesos is the weekly salary

1000 x 2 weeks a month = 2,000 biweekly pesos

The worker will receive 2,000 pesos for Christmas bonus

» Case 2. Entry-exit modality, but he did not work all year and does not come every day. In this example, we will assume that you have attended one day a week for eight months and you are paid 350 pesos.

First you have to know how many days he worked in that house. Within a month, there were four; in eight months, there were 32.

Then, the minimum days of the Christmas bonus are divided by the days of the year: 15 / 365 = 0.04

The result is multiplied by the days worked, to obtain the proportional days of Christmas bonus that must be paid. That is, 0.04 x 32 = 1.3

Now that we know that proportion, it is divided by the daily salary and that will be the minimum amount to receive as a Christmas bonus. That is, 1.3 x 350 pesos = 460 pesos of bonus.

» Case 3. plant worker. For the calculation, at least 50% more must be added to the amount of the salary in cash for lodging and food.

Let’s say that you earn 4,000 pesos a fortnight, that would be the amount to be paid as a Christmas bonus, but you must add 2,000 more pesos for lodging and food. The bonus must be at least 6,000 pesos.

Complaints for non-compliance with payment

If employers do not pay the bonus before December 20, they will have to pay a fine of at least 50 Updated Measurement Units (UMA), which this year is equivalent to 96.22 pesos each. That is, the sanction could be more than 4,800 pesos.

If you have any questions about the payment of this legal benefit, Profedet offers guidance on the telephones (800) 911-7877, (800) 717-2942 and (55) 5998-2000, extensions: 44740 and 44741.

Other ways to contact the Attorney General’s Office are by email orientacionprofedet@stps.gob.mx and also by WhatsApp at the number +55 1484-8737

If you have not received the Christmas bonus, you can also report it to the email quejasdelservicio@stps.gob.mx or to the number (55) 5998-2000, extensions 44750 and 44917.