On December 5th, the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court for the Nation declared the exclusion of domestic employees from the mandatory Mexican Social Security regime as discriminatory; in this project, by justice Alberto Pérez Dayan which has been approved, it was determined that it is unconstitutional for employers to not be obliged to register domestic employees before the Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS)).
The arguments mentioned by the justice highlight the following:
“Domestic work has been traditionally object of inadequate conditions, extensive hours and low salaries, under conditions that are far from the concept of dignified work”.
These conditions prevent the domestic employee from having a real opportunity to have access to the benefits protecting them from circumstances and unforeseen events.
Due to the foregoing, an amparo has been granted and IMSS is informed of this discriminatory situation and it is ordered that, during the first semester of 2019, a “pilot program” be implemented in order to design and execute a special social security regime that is simple and clear for employers and offers protection to home employees.
The pilot study shall take into consideration the nature of domestic work, as is the case that sometimes employees have more than one employer and that labor relations are usually not established under a labor agreement. In addition to the foregoing, it needs to consider that the majority of employers are homemakers or parents, it also establishes that this new regime shall be mandatory and not voluntary.
The purpose of this Project is that within a term that shall not exceed 18 months as of the implementation thereof, IMSS is able to propose to Congress the necessary legal adjustments for the formal incorporation of the new special social security system for home employees, and in this regard, within a term of 3 years, effective, robust and sufficient social security is obtained for all domestic employees (maids) in the country.
Please contact us if you need further clarification or have any question in this regard.
