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Christmas Bonus (Aguinaldo) - 1st time...


Cincy

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Having recently moved to Mexico, I'm trying to work out the Christmas bonus for the maid and gardener.  Could someone confirm this is the correct formula, please.

No. Weeks Worked  x  No. Days Worked per Week  x  Rate per Day (Pesos)  x  15 Days (Aguinaldo)  / 365 Days

example:  For 6 months (26 weeks) a gardener worked 5 days a work @ $350 MXN per day

26  x  5  x  $350  x  15  /  365  =  $1,8710 MXN

This would be rounded up $2,000 MXN

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I dunno about your calcs, but using that calculator, my lady works 4 hours a week. At 52 weeks, that's 26 days. At $250/day, that means her daily salary is $33.33, when calculated in terms of a full year. I get a result of $35 pesos as aguinaldo. Am I doing something wrong? No. These rates are from a caclulator based on permanent staff, not day employees.

So I give her $1,500p every Christmas, regardless. $1,000 on a WalMart card so her family won't fleece it off her at home, and the rest in cash. She used the card last year to get her large family a whole bunch of warm sweaters at a WalMart sale, and pyjamas.

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11 hours ago, mudgirl said:

For the OP's numbers:

# days worked:  260 (5 days per week for 52 weeks) /365 = .7123288 x 15 =10.684932 x 350 pesos (pay per day) =3739.73

Mudgirl, you are correct except the OP says the gardener only worked 6 months (130 days) so the aguinaldo is half of what you stated - 1869.86

 

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10 hours ago, dave0415 said:

Mudgirl, you are correct except the OP says the gardener only worked 6 months (130 days) so the aguinaldo is half of what you stated - 1869.86

 

Yes, you are correct- I missed the 6 months part. The Aguinaldo works out to close to what one would pay their worker for 2 weeks (no matter how many days they work a week or how many hrs per day), so if the sum is not close to that, you know you've done something wrong.

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9 hours ago, mudgirl said:

Yes, you are correct- I missed the 6 months part. The Aguinaldo works out to close to what one would pay their worker for 2 weeks (no matter how many days they work a week or how many hrs per day), so if the sum is not close to that, you know you've done something wrong.

Actually I have always paid 2 weeks plus a little more instead to going through the calculation

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11 hours ago, dave0415 said:

Actually I have always paid 2 weeks plus a little more instead to going through the calculation

According to my labor lawyer friend the aguinaldo should be two weeks pay as "quince dias" in Mexico means two weeks.  Of course you can give anything beyond that you want but two weeks pay is the minimum required by law.

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An easy way is 2.14 x weekly pay prorated if employed less that a year. The intent is half a month's pay. I have worked in HR for 15 years for several employers and we always based it on half a month, not two weeks. Not sure why so many have an issue with "quince" which means 15 no matter what some "lawyer" told someone. You may want to seek a new lawyer.

http://www.soniadiaz.mx/-employees.html

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According to an article on page 2 of the latest Guadalajara Reporter "The law states simply that all employees have the right to a bonus, which must not be less than the equivalent of two weeks' wages."  That certainly corresponds to what I previously posted that my lawyer friend told me--2 weeks salary.  I'm not sure where this 2.14 formula came from unless it is based on a misinterpretation of what "quince dias" means in Mexican Spanish.  Of course you can pay more if you wish.  

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Geesh 15 = quince;  days = dias        It does not equal 14; it does not equal 2 weeks. It = 15. 

I am sure no one is trying to save a few pesos but every year same issue re 14 vs 15. 

 

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13 hours ago, bdlngton said:

According to an article on page 2 of the latest Guadalajara Reporter "The law states simply that all employees have the right to a bonus, which must not be less than the equivalent of two weeks' wages."  That certainly corresponds to what I previously posted that my lawyer friend told me--2 weeks salary.  I'm not sure where this 2.14 formula came from unless it is based on a misinterpretation of what "quince dias" means in Mexican Spanish.  Of course you can pay more if you wish.  

Listen to the advice that Sonia and Spencer give for free. You are wrong. You are in MEXICO, not Kansas !

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Sadly,  too many Americans, British & Canadians think it is no big deal to cheat their Mexican workers out of 7% .

Why intentionally short-pay needy workers,  by only paying 93% of what's owed ?   Why short-change poor people ?

Really,   why not pay 100% of what is legally owed?       Why not give them their  legally-owed  paid-Vacation time  off work ?

... Maybe even consider giving the poor workers    a little additional Christmas bonus ?

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I'm not at all convinced that bdlington is trying to "short change" anyone; he is simply carrying on the logical part of the conversation. He doesn't say anywhere that he is going to follow the calculation as stated.

And snowyco, why do you think " too many Americans, British & Canadians think it is no big deal to cheat their Mexican workers out of 7%"? I've never seen any instance of that kind of thinking. Even if I knew a couple of people specifically, I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. We have too many blanket statements like that, ones that continue to cast a negative light on everyone who lives here.

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ComputerGuy.
We have read these excuses on web-boards across Mexico, for over 10 years .  Too many people make the excuse of making only a 14 day payment because they 'read it somewhere',  and too many people continue to argue  that what they have done is OK.

Good honorable talented labor lawyers keep replying that Mexican law says   'quince dias' .  
That works out to Sonia's 2.14 factor.  (not just 2)

Actions speak.   When over 10 years of self-identifying Americans, Brits & Canadians keep publicly writing on web-boards that they intentionally only pay 14 days,  they are choosing to intentionally pay 7% less than the legally required amount.

Unfortunately, when these same Americans, Brits & Canadians are told the law,  explicitly,  they instead choose to continue to defend & justify their faulty choice,  rather than agreeing to pay the short-paid missing 7%.

A very few report that they regret their past mistakes,   and that very few report that  they then paid their workers for the years of missing 7% .   That very few often also repays the years of missing vacation-paid-days-off.

We all make choices in life.
Find out what the rules & fact are,  not just rumors or coctail-party talk.  Consult talented qualified experts.  Then,  follow the law.

Too many foreigners live with an attitude of cutting corners here in Mexico.

Unfortunately,  it's often Mexico's working-poor    who pay the price   for American's, Brit's, & Canadian's personal choices.

Then,   after paying what's legally required for both  vacation pay   and   aguinaldo pay ...  
Consider being generous,   by paying an additional  holiday bonus~propina   year-end  'Thank you' .
;)

 

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The original poster essentially wanted to know what the law says the minimum aguinaldo should be.   I did consult with a labor lawyer who describes his position as:  "Yo trabajo en el Poder Judicial de la Federación. Soy Abogado y la rama así en la que estoy es Laboral."

I originally asked this labor lawyer what the aguinaldo should be for my gardener who earns 250 pesos per week.  I did not want to involve a discussion of what "quince días" means as I figured his response would explain whether I should pay 250 pesos x 2 or 250 pesos x 2 + 1 more day.  Here is his answer to that question:  "El aguinaldo correcto que debes pagarle a tu jardinero son 500 ya que corresponden a 2 semanas de trabajo.  Son 15 días aunque hay patrones que pagan mas de 15 dias pero eso es dependiendo de cada quien.  La ley exige 15 dias de salario."

Later I explained to him that many seemed to think that the law required two weeks + 1 extra day, he replied:  "En cuanto al salario son 15 días como minimo, No 2 semanas mas un dia.  Es decir si la señora que hace el aseo si su sueldo es 360 la semana, suma dos semanas y dan 720 que seria su aguinaldo."

If intent of the law is that the Aguinaldo should be half a month's pay, wouldn't it make more sense to pay 15 1/2 days as there are more months with 31 days than with 30 days? 

Once again I will say that I think that the 2.14 formula is a misinterpretation of how the expressions "ocho días" and "quince días" are used in Mexican Spanish.  For further discussion of this quirk of Mexican Spanish please see:  http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/ocho-dias-quince-dias.660299/

Some here are assuming that I only pay my employees the minimum.  Once again, I am only stating what I have been told by a lawyer who should know what the labor law says as well as the story in the Guadalajara Reporter, not what I actually pay my employees.  As I stated previously, you can pay your employees any amount as long as the minimum is two weeks salary.

 

 
 
 
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If I use this calculation for Aguinaldo only, please confirm if I'm correct. I'm doing this for friends who hired their gardener on June 10, 2016. 

Gardener worked 59 times. They pay gardener 500 pesos per week (works twice a week at 250 pesos per time).

He worked 30 weeks (actually 29.5 since the first week he only worked 1 time instead of twice).

No. Weeks Worked  x  No. Days Worked per Week  x  Rate per Day (Pesos)  x  15 Days (Aguinaldo)  / 365 Days

example:  29.5 weeks -  gardener worked 2 days a week @ $250 MXN per day

29.5  x  2  x  $250   15  /  365   $606 MXN

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