On December 27, 2022, the amendment to Articles 76 and 78 of the Federal Labor Law was published in the Official Federal Gazette. This amendment modifies the vacation days to which employees are entitled, increasing from 6 to 12 days for the first year of service. The vacation period will then increase by two days per year of service until year five, when the employee accrues 20 days of vacation. From the sixth year on, the vacation entitlement will increase by two days every five years. For better visibility we have added a table that includes the vacation days to which employees are entitled:

Article 78 establishes that the employee must enjoy at least 12 continuous days of vacation, however, employees may take vacation as they deem necessary.

Although the intention of Congress in amending Article 78 was to give employees the freedom to request and enjoy vacations in smaller increments than 12 continuous days, the wording is unclear and may be considered contradictory to the provisions of Article 81, which establishes that the employer will determine the date on which the employee must take their vacations.

This amendment will become effective on January 1, 2023, and there are already different interpretations of the 2022 vacation accrual.

Companies must update their individual employment agreements and internal policies to establish a clear procedure for requesting and authorizing vacations, as well as how vacations will accrue for time worked in 2022.