Following the principles of art. 123(A) of the Constitution, the Federal Labour Act governs the employment relationship of "workers, employees, domestic workers, craftspersons and in general to all contracts of employment". (see art. 1 FLA).

Those relations regulated in art. 123(B) of the Constitution (public and civil servants) do not fall into the scope of application of FLA and are subject to separate regulations (which were adopted by Federal Act of 27 December 1963).

In addition, according to art. 351 and 352 FLA, the FLA does apply to family workshops "talleres familiales", except for the provisions related to hygiene and safety.

Note that workers in positions of trust, seafarers, flight crews, railway workers, road transport workers, the labour force in zones under federal jurisdiction, rural workers, commercial travellers, professional sportsmen, actors, musicians, home workers, domestic employees, mine workers, workers in hotels, restaurants, bars and similar establishments, family undertakings, resident medical doctors during specialist training and employees of universities and autonomous institutions of higher learning are subject to the special provisions of the Title VI of the FLA, which comprises arts. 181 to 353 u.

The employment relationship may be for a specified piece of work or of specified duration or of unspecified duration. In the absence of any express stipulation, the relationship is to be deemed to be of unspecified duration.
A contract for a specified piece of work may be made only when such contract is required by the nature of the work (art. 36, FLA). A contract of a specified duration may be made only in the following cases (art. 37, FLA):
*where the nature of the work to be done so requires;
*when the contract is to provide a temporary substitute for another employee; and
*in the other cases provided for in this Act.

Employment relationships for work in mines lacking in minerals capable of paying the cost of the operation or for the reopening of abandoned or unworked mines may be for a specified period, for a specified piece of work or for the investment of a fixed capital sum (art. 38, FLA).

If on the expiry of the specified period the material to be worked still subsists, the employment relationship continues for as long as this circumstance continues (art. 39, FLA).

No statutory limitation.

No statutory limitation.

Article 39 (A) establishes that: In contracts for an undetermined period of time and those exceeding 180 days, a probationary period of no more than 30 days can be established, with the sole aim of verifying that the employer meets the requirements and knowledge demanded for the vacancy.

The probationary period set in the previous paragraph, can extend to 180 days, only for the recruitment of directing and managing posts, or other persons exercising directing or administrative functions in the enterprise or business, or to perform technical or specialized tasks. […]

* A dismissal on the ground of trade union membership or participation in a lawful strike amounts to a dismissal without cause (art. 123 A XXII of the Constitution).

* Art. 3 of the FLA prohibits discrimination between workers on the grounds of ethnic or national origin, race, sex, age, disabilities, social condition, health condition, religion belief, condition of migrant, opinions, sexual orientation, marital status or any other ground threatening human dignity .

(Note also that Art. 1 of the Constitution establishes a general prohibition of any discrimination on the grounds of ethnic or national origin, gender, age, disabilities, social condition, health condition, religion, opinions, sexual orientation, marital status or any other ground threatening human dignity or which aims to diminish human rights and freedoms).

See also art 1(III) and 9 Federal Law to prevent and eliminate discrimination of 2003, last amended in 2012.

•Pregnancy, change of marital statutes and taking care of underaged children - art 133 (XV) FLA : The employers and their representatives cannot dismiss or coerce an employee, directly or indirectly, on the grounds of pregnancy, change of marital status or for taking care of underaged children. For pregnancy and maternity, see also art 170 FLA.

Fulfilling state duties and performing jury services – art 132 FLA (VIII): Employers must allow workers the necessary time to exercise their right to vote and to fulfil jury, electoral and registration services as observed in article 5 of the Constitution when the tasks must be fulfilled in working hours.

*Art. 161 FLA: Workers with more than 20 years of service can only be dismissed on of the grounds listed art. 47 (reasons related to the worker's conduct) provided that such reason is particularly serious or makes it impossible to continue the employment relationship.

Art. 47 FLA: written notification clearly stating the effective date of the dismissal, the conduct motivating such dismissal, and the date or dates when such conduct happened. If the worker refuses such notification, the employer shall inform the Board of Conciliation and Arbitration in five working days. For that, he/she will have to provide the last registered residence of the employee, so the authority can personally notify him/her.
The periods in which the actions deriving from a dismissal must take place do not start running until the worker does not receive personally the notification.
If the employer fails to notify the worker personally or through the Board of Conciliation and Arbitration, the Board can consider the dismissal unjustified and, therefore, void.

No statutory minimum notice period.

Art. 434 II, III, V: Grounds for collective termination:
- the known and obvious inability of the undertaking to pay its way;
- the exhaustion of the substance being extracted by a mining undertaking;
- statutory declaration of insolvency proceedings or bankruptcy if the competent authority or the creditors decide on the definitive closure of the undertaking or the definitive retrenchment of production.

See: art. 892-899 FLA (for 434 subsections I, III and V) and art. 900-919 FLA (for art 434 subsection II) on Proceedings applicable to collective disputes (including collective termination): duty to inform and consult with employees representatives.

*Notification to the Board of Conciliation: Art. 435 FLA.
*Proceedings before the Board of Conciliation: art. 892-899 (for 434 subsections I, III and V) and art. 903-919 FLA (for art 434 subsection II).

See: art. 892-899 and art. 900-919 FLA on Proceedings applicable to collective disputes (including collective termination): duty to inform and consult with employees representatives.
Note that the procedure is brought before the Board of Conciliation and it is in charge of informing and calling upon the workeru2019s representatives for negotiation. (see art. 434 FLA)

*Art. 435 FLA: approval by the Board of Conciliation Arbitration
*Proceedings before the Board of Conciliation when collective termination is based to the self-evident non profitability of the operations of the undertaking:: art. 892ff (for 434 subsections I, III and V) and art. 903-919 FLA (for art 434 subsection II).

On the proceedings to be followed in case of bankruptcy, see art. 782 FLA.

However, during the proceedings before the Board of Conciliation, if the employer and the trade union reach an agreement, the Board will approve it (art. 906 IV) FLA).

Art. 437 FLA: seniority-based priority to remain in the undertaking.

Art. 438 following 154 FLA: In equal circumstances, the following workers will be hired with priority: Mexican workers over non-Mexican workers, workers who satisfactory served for a longer period of time, workers who do not have any other economic income and have family responsibilities, workers who have finished compulsory education, qualified personnel over non-qualified, workers with better skills and knowledge and workers members of trade unions.
In case of collective agreement with admission clause, this should prevail over the present article.

No severance pay.

Art. 436 FLA: 3 months' salary + seniority award (12 days per year of service).

Art. 48 and 50 FLA (articles modified in November 2012)

Art. 50 FLA.

u2022Art. 48 FLA: The worker may request to the Conciliation Authority or the Tribunal, if no conciliatory arrangement is reached, his/her reinstatement in the post occupied or compensation in the form of three months wages, at his or her choice.
If in the corresponding trial the employer does not prove the reason for dismissal, the worker is entitled to (in addition to reinstatement or compensation of three months wages) receive lost wages from the date of the unfair dismissal up to 12 months. If after 12 months the trial proceedings have not yet been concluded or the judgment has not been complied with, the worker shall also receive interests (2% monthly of 15 months wages).

Under art. 49 of the FLA, the employer may, in the following cases, be released from the obligation to reinstate the worker by paying the compensation referred to in art. 50:

-in the case of workers who have been employed for less than one year in the undertaking;
-if sufficient evidence is furnished to the satisfaction of the Tribunal that the worker to perform his/her work needs to be in direct and permanent contact with the employer and the Tribunal determines, taking into consideration all the circumstances of the case, that continuation of the work is impossible;
-in the case of employees in a position of trust;
-in domestic service; and
-in the case of casual workers.

Art. 123 (A)(XX) of the Mexican Constitution.
Employment disputes are heard by Labour Courts [u2026] However, before resorting to labour courts, workers and employers must resort to the appropriate conciliatory institution.

Art. 684-B FLA: Before requesting the Tribunals intervention, workers and employers shall request from the competent Conciliatory Centre the start of conciliation proceedings, except in some specific cases determined by the FLA (e.g. those established in article 685 Ter)

Preliminary mandatory conciliation proceedings regulation is in Arts. 684-A to 684-E.