FAQ Intugo
Frequently Asked Questions
Recruitment and Outreach Strategy
To fill all open positions, we utilize a diverse range of recruitment channels. This includes advertising on social media, online job boards, and traditional media outlets such as newspapers and radio. We also conduct fieldwork, attend job fairs, and build relationships with local universities, training centers, and government agencies.
Additionally, we run referral programs and outdoor advertising campaigns to attract walk-in candidates. We keep our clients informed of our progress throughout the recruitment process and, with their authorization, promote their brand to attract top talent.
Brand Management and Liability
Intugo manages our clients’ brand during the recruitment process to ensure the client company is protected from any liability. All materials used under a client’s brand must be authorized by them prior to use.
The Intugo Interview Process
We use a three-stage interview process to ensure we find the right candidate for your needs.
First, our specialized recruiters conduct an initial screening. If a candidate is a good fit, they move on to the next stage, which includes any required tests.
Next, an Intugo HR Coordinator interviews the top candidates and selects the ones who will be presented to you.
Finally, you interview the candidates and make the final hiring decision.
Customized Recruitment and Testing
We can adapt our interview process to meet your specific needs. Candidates can take any required tests at any stage, and while we can provide general screening tools, you may need to supply more specialized tests. Together, we’ll determine the most efficient and practical options for each job profile.
Hiring and Onboarding
Once a candidate is selected, our HR team will work with you to gather all necessary hiring documents and credentials. This can include travel documents, references, drug tests, background checks, and proof of academic degrees, among others.
We handle all the legal aspects of hiring in Mexico. We’ll sign an employment contract and an internal rule book with the new employee, ensuring full compliance with Mexican Federal Labor Law. If you have any company documents—like non-disclosure agreements or operational policies—we can include those as well, provided they meet legal requirements. Finally, Intugo will maintain a complete employee file for each new hire.
Employee Onboarding and Orientation
Every new hire at Intugo goes through a comprehensive orientation to learn about our company, our parent company The Offshore Group, and our clients. This onboarding session is crucial for them to understand our operational structure.
Employees learn that Intugo is their legal employer and will handle all HR matters, from contracts and payroll to internal communication. At the same time, they’ll understand that they will be working within the client’s specific corporate culture. During this session, we also review all operational processes and conduct a facility tour.
Client-Specific Training
While Intugo’s HR team can learn and incorporate your company’s orientation into our session, we recommend that one of your supervisors continues with a separate, client-specific orientation. This ensures the new employee is fully immersed in your corporate culture and prepared for their role with your team.
Employment Contracts with Intugo
We offer two types of temporary contracts for new hires, which transition to permanent employment.
Training Period Contracts: These last from 30 to 90 days and are used for most new hires. We can only use one of these contracts per employee.
Trial Period Contracts: For highly specialized, technical, or management roles, we use these contracts, which can last from 30 to 180 days. Similar to the training contracts, only one trial period contract can be used. Our HR team will advise you on whether this option is suitable for a specific position.
Once the temporary period ends, the employee moves to a permanent (indefinite) contract. You can also choose to make an employee permanent at any point during their temporary contract.
Managing Employee Contracts
Our HR team closely monitors employee tenure and will notify you when a temporary contract is about to become permanent. We can provide regular reports on contract status, whether weekly or monthly, to align with your needs.
If you need to terminate an employee for cause (e.g., poor performance or misconduct), you must notify our HR team. We will guide you through the process of documenting the issues to ensure a smooth termination without severance pay. While there is a small, unlikely risk of the employee pursuing legal action, proper documentation significantly reduces this risk.
If an employee is terminated without a documented reason, or if the termination is due to a reason not caused by the employee, we will initiate a negotiation for severance. The terms are as follows:
Temporary Contracts: A payment for the remaining term of the contract, capped at a maximum of three months’ salary.
Indefinite Contracts: A payment of up to three months’ salary plus a seniority bonus (averaging $150 USD per year of employment).
Statistically, it is highly unlikely that a severance negotiation will result in a payment exceeding 1.5 months’ salary. Additionally, less than 5% of involuntary terminations end in a negotiation for severance.
Understanding Severance in Mexico
Severance is a legal obligation in Mexico when an employee is terminated without cause. It includes a payment of:
Three months’ salary at the employee’s most recent pay rate.
12 days’ pay per year of service (capped at two times the minimum wage).
An additional 20 days’ pay per year of service if the employee sues for reinstatement and a court rules in their favor.
Grounds for Justified Termination
Under Article 47 of the Mexican Federal Labor Law, an employee can be terminated without severance for specific, justified reasons. These reasons include:
Dishonesty and Misconduct
Providing false information on a resume or with certifications. (Note: this reason is only valid for the first 30 days of employment).
Committing dishonest or violent acts against the employer, their family, or management, either inside or outside the workplace, if severe enough to disrupt the working relationship.
Engaging in violent or dishonest acts against a coworker that disrupt workplace order.
Engaging in immoral acts at the workplace.
Revealing industrial secrets or confidential company information.
Workplace Damage and Safety Violations
Intentionally causing damage to company property, machinery, or materials.
Causing serious damage through gross negligence.
Endangering the safety of the workplace or others through recklessness.
Arriving at work intoxicated or under the influence of drugs without a doctor’s prescription.
Disciplinary and Contractual Violations
Having more than three unexcused absences in a 30-day period.
Refusing to follow employer instructions without a valid reason.
Failing to follow safety and preventative health measures.
Being sentenced to prison in a way that prevents the employee from fulfilling their contract.
These grounds, along with other similar, serious violations, provide a clear legal basis for termination.
Understanding Work Shifts Under Mexican Labor Law
Mexican labor law defines three types of work shifts, each with specific hours and limitations based on a six-day workweek.
1. Day Shift
Hours: 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Limit: A maximum of 8 hours per day, totaling 48 hours per week.
2. Night Shift
Hours: 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
Limit: A maximum of 7 hours per day, totaling 42 hours per week.
3. Mixed Shift
Definition: A schedule that includes hours from both the day and night shifts.
Limit: A maximum of 7.5 hours per day, totaling 45 hours per week.
Important Note: If a mixed shift extends more than 3.5 hours into the night shift (8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.), it is legally reclassified as a full night shift.
Note: Work shifts are assessed daily for payroll purposes.
Flexible Work Arrangements
We offer flexible scheduling options to accommodate various employee needs.
Compressed Workweek: Employees can sign an agreement to work their total weekly hours in fewer than six days, provided the overall number of hours remains the same.
Part-Time Employment: A full-time employee can transition to a part-time schedule by formally resigning from their full-time contract and signing a new part-time one.
Sunday Pay
If an employee’s work schedule includes Sunday, they are entitled to a 25% bonus on their regular daily salary for each Sunday worked.
Breaks and Meal Periods
For Non-Exempt Employees:
Mexican labor law requires employers to provide and pay for a 30-minute lunch break. Employees are free to take this break either in the company cafeteria or at home. Additionally, employees are entitled to at least two other breaks during the workday. While the length of these breaks is not legally specified, our clients typically provide 15-minute breaks.
For Exempt Employees:
Exempt employees typically work 10-hour shifts, which include a one-hour lunch break. However, only 36 minutes of this break are paid. The employee makes up the remaining 24 minutes by working a longer shift.
time for the remaining 24 minutes.
Flexible Scheduling Agreements
Our HR department can draft customized schedule agreements to align with your specific operating hours.
A common agreement we use is the “9.6-hour shift” for day-shift employees. Under this arrangement, employees work 9.6 hours per day for five days a week. The extra 1.6 hours worked each day are not considered overtime. Instead, they are accumulated to provide the employee with an extra day off, effectively condensing a six-day workweek into five.
By signing this agreement, the employee acknowledges that the extra hours worked daily are in exchange for the benefit of an additional day of rest.
Federal Labor Law requires us to give a minimum of 24 hours’ notice for any schedule changes. Intugo strongly recommends giving at least a week notice for schedule changes required by either party.
Our client has the option of requiring its employees to take off the holidays that best fit the company’s needs.
- January 1st
- First Monday in February
- Third Monday in March
- May 1st
- September 16th
- Third Monday in November
- December 25th
In addition: Festive days appointed by Federal Labor Law, December 1st every 6 years and those established by Federal and Local Electoral Authority for the celebration of ordinary election.
Employee Holiday Rights and Benefits.
For instance, if the employees need to take the American holidays in place of the Mexican holidays, our HR department will proceed in signing off an agreement with every employee as part of their hiring process. This agreement states that they will be taking off other days instead of those listed as Mexican Holidays.
The employee must have at least the same number of holidays as Mexican holidays in the corresponding year, typically 7. The employee may be required to work on a holiday, which will be considered a “worked holiday” for payroll purposes. Worked holidays receive double pay.
Intugo has a pair of clocks at each entrance for employees to clock in upon arrival and out when they leave the building. Employees do not clock in and out for lunch or breaks.
We provide the employee with an ID which is the device they’ll use to clock in and out.
Depending on the nature of the operation, client might request to provide attendance information to Intugo instead of using time clocks.
The following list includes possible absenteeism events that could occur in daily operations. The client will indicate how they typically define and limit no-shows, tardies, and permissions based on their operational standards. Ideally, the client will create an attendance agreement for their Intugo employees to sign, which will become part of Intugo’s operational policies.
- Unjustified no show /absenteeism. By law, 4 events of this class are considered grounds for employee contract rescission, but we have to hold proof of the absenteeism.
- Justified no show/absenteeism (unpaid)
- Tardy (unpaid )
- Permission with pay ( full day or partial)
- Permission without pay (full day or partial)
- Job abandonment
- Holiday ( holiday hours allocated in the hourly labor cost rate)
- Vacation ( vacation hours allocated in the hourly labor cost rate)
- Medical/Pregnancy leave. Issued by IMSS.
Employees will receive medical leaves exclusively through IMSS. These leaves are classified into two main categories:
1. Unpaid Medical Leave
- This type of leave is limited to a maximum of 3 days.
- The duration of the leave is determined at the discretion of IMSS medical staff.
- Although the document issued by IMSS justifies the employee’s absence, neither the company nor IMSS will compensate the employee for these days.
2. Paid Medical Leave
- For leaves extending beyond 3 days, IMSS will provide financial support.
- General Illness: IMSS pays 60% of the employee’s salary starting from the fourth day of leave. No payment is provided for the first 3 days.
- Workplace Risk: For workplace-related illnesses or injuries, IMSS pays 100% of the employee’s salary starting from the first day of leave.
- It is important to note that workplace-related leaves may lead to an increase in the company’s IMSS fees.
Types of Medical Leave
General Illness
- Covers illnesses unrelated to the workplace.
- IMSS compensates 60% of the employee’s salary if the leave exceeds 3 days. The initial 3 days are unpaid.
Workplace Risk
- Applies to diseases or accidents directly related to the employee’s job.
- IMSS pays 100% of the employee’s salary from the first day of leave.
- Workplace risk leaves may result in increased IMSS fees for the company.
Pregnancy Leave
- Employees are entitled to a 3-month leave with 100% of their integrated salary paid by IMSS.
- This benefit is provided if the employee meets IMSS requirements.
A.- Title 5 art 170, Federal Labor law.
Employees are entitled to a mandatory pregnancy leave consisting of 6 weeks before the expected delivery date and 6 weeks after delivery.
Extensions: These periods may be extended based on the specific circumstances of the pregnancy, as determined by IMSS medical staff.
Salary: During the leave, the employee will receive 100% of her integrated salary, covered by IMSS if requirements are met.
Breastfeeding Breaks: After returning to work, the mother is entitled to two additional 30-minute breaks per day to feed her newborn. This benefit is available for up to 6 months after the baby’s birth.
Tenure: The pregnancy leave does not impact the employee’s tenure or seniority within the company.
B.- art 101, IMSS (social security) Law.
Mothers are entitled to receive 100% of their integrated salary for the 42 days before and 42 days after their due date.
Extended Leave: If additional leave is required, it will be treated as general sick leave, with IMSS covering 60% of the employee’s salary.
Flexible Leave Option: Since July 2016, employees can opt to receive their maternity leave as a single 84-day period without needing to complete separate paperwork for the pre- and post-birth phases.
C.- art 102, IMSS (social security) Law.
To qualify for pregnancy leave benefits covered by IMSS, employees must meet the following criteria:
IMSS Subscription: The employee must have been subscribed to IMSS for at least 30 weeks within the 12 months prior to the start of the pregnancy leave.
Certification: IMSS must certify both the pregnancy and the expected due date.
Non-Employment: The employee must refrain from any paid work during the leave period, both before and after the due date.
D.- art 103, IMSS (social security) Law.
Employer Responsibility: If an employee does not meet the eligibility requirements for pregnancy leave paid by IMSS, the employer is responsible for covering the cost of the leave.
Newborn or Adoption Leave (Male Employees):
Male employees are entitled to a 5-day paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child.
This leave is fully covered by the company.
Adoption Leave (Female Employees):
Female employees are entitled to a 6-week paid leave in the case of adoption.
The company will bear the full cost of this leave.
Suspension of Work:
Unpaid suspension may apply under specific circumstances, as outlined in company policies.
By law, salaries must be defined on a daily basis. Therefore, contracts will state the daily salary. However, if an employee is absent for a portion of a workday, the client may deduct pay for those hours.
To break up a monthly salary into a daily salary we will consider 30.4 days in a month (average number of days per month in a year).
Our work week considers 6 workdays and a full paid rest day. We will not charge the client for hours allocated to the rest day, as these are considered labor costs already accounted for in your hourly labor cost rate. (Please refer to the cost model calculator).
Salaries in Mexico may be increased at any time but cannot be decreased.
Our Federal Minimum Wage is 80.04 pesos per day. Employees will expect a customary cost of living adjustment every year circling around the inflation average. (3% – 4% average in the past 10 years).
We pay overtime only when the client has previously authorized it. In addition, we calculate overtime on a weekly basis.
The first nine hours of overtime are paid at double the hourly rate. Lastly, for hours worked after the ninth overtime hour, we pay at triple the hourly rate. The shelter fee for overtime remains on a per-hour basis.
Maternity Leave and Pay
Employees are entitled to a three-month maternity leave. During this time, they will receive 100% of their integrated salary. This benefit is covered by the IMSS (Mexican Social Security Institute), provided the employee meets the necessary eligibility requirements.
Employees take a mandatory leave of 6 weeks before delivery and 6 weeks after delivery.
These periods may extend depending on the specific circumstances of the pregnancy.
During this leave, employees receive 100% of their integrated salary.
Mothers also receive two additional 30-minute breaks per day to feed their newborns, limited to the first 6 months after the baby’s birth.
This pregnancy leave does not impact the employee’s tenure.
Mothers receive 100% of their integrated salary for 42 days before and 42 days after the due date.
Markedly, IMSS pays extended leaves as general sickness leave, covering 60% of the salary.
Since July 2016, employees can opt to receive maternity leave as a single 84-day period without processing separate paperwork before and after the child’s birth.
Employees must meet the following requirements to qualify for pregnancy leave paid by IMSS:
a) Employees must complete at least 30 weeks of contributions to IMSS during the last 12 months before the start of the pregnancy leave.
b) IMSS must certify both the pregnancy and the expected due date.
c) Usually, employees must refrain from engaging in paid work during the period before and after the due date.
If employees fail to meet these requirements, the employer assumes responsibility for covering the cost of the leave.
For Newborn or Adoption Leave (Male Employees): Male employees receive a 5-day paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child. The company covers the full cost of this leave.
For Adoption Leave (Female Employees): Female employees receive a 6-week paid leave in the event of adoption. Moreover, the company also fully covers this cost.
Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS)
The IMSS (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social) is the cornerstone of Mexico’s public healthcare and social security system. By law, every employer must register their employees with this institution.
Intugo handles all registrations for new hires, including reporting their salaries, bonuses, and any subsequent changes. The IMSS is responsible for:
Issuing all medical leaves for our employees.
Managing public daycare facilities.
Providing social medicine services and other benefits to employees and their families.
INFONAVIT (Instituto del Fondo Nacional de la Vivienda para los Trabajadores) = National Housing Fund.
SAR (Sistema de Ahorra para el Retiro) = National Retirement Fund
Vacation Policy
Employees are entitled to a paid vacation that increases with their tenure.
Year 1: After completing their first year of employment, every employee receives 12 days of paid vacation.
Years 2-4: Starting in the second year, an additional 2 days are added annually until the vacation period reaches 20 days.
Beyond Year 4: After the fourth year, the vacation period increases by 2 days every five years thereafter.
At least 15 days of salary.
Profit Sharing (PTU)
Employees are entitled to a share of the company’s annual profits.
Eligibility: This payment is made to employees who were actively employed during the previous year.
Payment Amount: The payment is equivalent to seven days of salary for the first year of employment. For new hires who did not work the full year, the payment is proportional to the time they were employed.
Timeline: The profit-sharing payment is made annually in March.
The normal process for disciplinary actions will be as follows:
Initially, when an employee’s behavior merits a report, they will receive a verbal warning. In addition, a written copy of this warning will be kept in the employee’s file.
Next, for repeated faults in the employee’s behavior or performance, the escalating disciplinary action will be a written warning.
Moreover, the third escalation of the disciplinary action process is suspension. Specifically, the employee may be suspended without pay from their position for 1 to 8 days, depending on the implications of their actions. Importantly, the total number of suspension days will be continuous. They cannot be split between different weeks.
Based on a documented disciplinary action process, the escalating action may be termination.
Aside from the indications above, if the employee’s actions merit a suspension since the first time he receives a warning, the company may suspend him up to 8 days without pay.
The company may address any event with the corresponding authority in order to follow an appropriate legal process. Termination might be applicable since the employee’s first infringement depending on the severity of his actions.
4 unjustified absences in a month lead to employee termination.
We will account for unjustified absences that occur within periods of thirty natural days. If we penalize an unjustified absence, this absence will not count towards the four absences required for justified termination.
Managing Liability for Off-Site Incidents
To mitigate company liability for accidents that occur when an employee is off-site during their work shift, we have a clear policy for voluntary leave.
When an employee needs to leave the workplace during their shift, our HR team assists them in signing a formal voluntary time-off form. By signing this document, the employee acknowledges that they are leaving the premises voluntarily, which helps protect the company from potential liability.
Conversely, if an employee leaves in the middle of a shift without prior notification, it is considered job abandonment. This action creates a liability for the company and may result in disciplinary measures, including termination.
Formal Internal Communication
We manage all formal internal communication through memorandums.
This includes all matters related to contracts, salary changes, and permissions. For a memorandum to be official, it must be signed by all relevant parties.