NOM-037: Mexico’s new telework/home office regulation
Prof Sergio Guerrero Rosas & Ana Livia Ruiz Velasco
by Prof Sergio Guerrero Rosas and Ana Livia Ruiz Velasco
The Covid-19 pandemic posed a number of challenges in all areas of daily life, and the way we went about our work was no exception. The quarantine forced workers to continue their work from the safety of their homes. In response, Mexican authorities found it necessary to regulate and establish the minimum conditions for workers to be able to optimally perform their activities under the Home Office modality.
On 08 June 2023, the new Official Mexican Standard NOM-037-STPS-2023 Telework-Safety and Health Conditions at Work (NOM-037) was published, and will become effective in December 2023.
In NOM-037, the obligations established for employers are:
Have an updated list of workers under telework modality.
Inform workers under telework modality about the risks related to telework and possible exposure to risk factors or agents.
Have a checklist of telework health and safety conditions to verify that health and safety conditions in the remote workplace are met.
Support the Safety and Hygiene Commission in validating the health and safety conditions checklist.
Establish mechanisms for the reversibility of telework modality to on-site work should the employee working remotely inform the employer of any alteration of health and safety conditions at the telework location.
NOM-037 obligations of workers are:
Provide the Safety and Hygiene Commission, if the worker agrees, with written permission for a physical inspection of the health and safety conditions in the workplace.
Inform the employer and the Safety and Hygiene Commission of any alteration to workplace conditions that prevents the development or continuation of telework, including severe traumatic events they may have witnessed or suffered in connection with, or in the course of their work.
Safeguard and keep in good condition any equipment (including computer equipment), materials, tools, or ergonomic furniture that, if applicable, and in accordance with the needs of their position or activity, are provided by the employer to perform work remotely.
Inform the employer in writing, and in advance, of any permanent or temporary change of address, different from the previously agreed remote workplace.
Some other legal key considerations are:
According to NOM-037, home office workers must have a designated space to work at home, in order to comply with the new guidelines.
NOM-037 will become effective in December 2023.
Failure to comply with NOM-037 obligations could result in fines ranging from UMA 50 to UMA 5,000, based on non-compliance with the health and hygiene obligations set forth in the federal labour law.
NOM-037 brings with it new requirements and practical challenges for both employers and workers, as well as for the authorities in the exercise of their functions. Due to its very nature, correct compliance with the new regulations can be complex, which is why it will be of great interest to analyse the ways and mechanisms that both employers and the Mexican labour authorities use to properly implement the new regulations, particularly regarding review and compliance with the new regulatory provisions.
NOM-037 is a step forward in labour and social security matters for workers in Mexico. Let us hope that employers and the authorities are up to the task of complying with their new obligations.
Guerrero y Santana, S.C. provides its clients with a wide range of tax, legal, and consulting services. The firm helps clients, from individuals and small local businesses to major corporations and multinationals, to achieve their smallest aims and grandest ambitions. They are committed to providing specialised, personalised services to all those seeking reliable and up-to-date tax, legal, and business support.
GGI member firmGuerrero y Santana, S.C.Tijuana, Baja California, MexicoT: +52 333 120 05 38
Advisory, Auditing and Accounting, Corporate Finance, Law Firm Services, Tax
Prof Sergio Guerrero Rosas, Managing Director at Guerrero y Santana, has over 25 years’ experience advising companies from SMEs to multinationals, as well as individuals, on tax and estate planning. He is also Global Vice Chair of the GGI Trust & Estate Planning (TEP) Practice Group. Contact Sergio.
Ana Livia Ruiz Velasco started working at Guerrero y Santana in 2021, she is in charge of the legal area specifically in the corporate and labor area; she is a lawyer graduated from the Universidad Panamericana Campus Guadalajara and has international courses in Human Rights taught by the Université Jean Moulin Lyon lll in France. Contact Ana Livia.
