The Mexican government has announced the provisions for the provision of the bonus, a work benefit that will arrive with updated guidelines in 2025. According to a decree recently published in the Official Journal of the Federation, workers in the service of the State will receive a bonus equivalent to 40 days of their salary.
The bonus must be paid by 20 December 2025, both for public and private sector employees. Furthermore, sanctions and reporting mechanisms have been established for employers who do not comply with this obligation.
Who will receive the 40 day bonus in 2025
According to the decree published on November 4, the beneficiaries of the 40-day bonus will be workers whose employment relationship is regulated by the Federal Law on Workers in the Service of the State. This includes:
- To the trusted operational staff of Federal Public Administration agencies and bodies
- Liaison and command staff of public institutions
- Members of the Mexican Foreign Service in office, both domestically and abroad
- active military personnel
- Persons hired under a fee-based system to provide professional services to the government
- Pensioners and debtors who receive old-age benefits, civil, military or pardon pensions, paid from the federal treasury
If the general minimum wage authorized for 2025 of 278.80 pesos per day is taken as a basis, the minimum bonus that the aforementioned workers will receive for working all year round will be 11,152 pesos. The amount will be paid proportionally to the days worked in the case of public employees who have not completed the working year. Payment for this group of workers will begin on Monday, November 10.
The bonus in private companies
Although the new presidential decree guarantees 40 days of bonuses for public sector employees, private sector workers continue to comply with the current regulation requiring a minimum of 15 days of bonuses, despite a 2024 initiative to increase the bonus payment to 30 days that is still awaiting approval by Congress.
In private companies, the benefit applies to rank-and-file, trusted, unionized, contract or temporary workers. Also included are commercial agents, commission agents, sellers and anyone who provides services subordinate to the employer.
For self-employed workers or freelancerthe law recognizes the right to the bonus as long as there is a demonstrable employment relationship. If the person has worked for less than a year, the pro rata portion must be paid.
How the bonus should be paid according to the law
The Federal Labor Law establishes that the bonus is a mandatory benefit for all employed workers. It is prohibited to pay it in kind, whether by goods, vouchers, tokens or any other means of substituting legal tender.
Payment must be made in cash and Mexican pesos, although with the worker’s consent it may be deposited into his bank account or via electronic transfer. By law, if these operations generate additional costs, these must be covered by the employer.
Fines and complaints for failure to pay the bonus
Failure to pay the bonus constitutes a violation of federal labor law. Employers who do not make the payment, deliver it incomplete or after the deadline, can receive fines ranging from 50 to 5,000 Measurement and Update Units (UMA), which in 2025 correspond to fines of 5,657 to 565,700 pesos.
Affected workers can submit their complaints to the Federal Office for Labor Defense (Profedet) through its various channels:
- On the website www.gob.mx/profedet
- At the telephone numbers 01 80 07 17 29 42; 01 80 09 11 78 77 and 59 98 20 00
- By email, at orientationcionprofedet@stps.gob.mx
- Or in person at any of the Profedet offices throughout the country
The deadline for filing a lawsuit is one year starting from December 20, 2025, the deadline for receiving the bonus.
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