REGULATORY · COMPETITIVE · MEXICO
Mexico labor law: bill passed to cut standard workweek to 40 hours by 2030
Change
Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies passed a bill to phase down the legal standard workweek from 48 to 40 hours by 2030, with the reform set to start next year and allowing higher weekly overtime limits while leaving rest-day rules unchanged.
Why it matters
The bill’s passage in the Chamber of Deputies formalizes a phased reduction in the statutory standard workweek from 48 to 40 hours, beginning next year and completing by 2030. Even as standard hours fall, the bill permits employers to increase weekly overtime, changing the effective ceiling on total hours and potentially reallocating labor costs toward overtime. The reform does not alter the current rest-day requirement (one rest day per six days worked), preserving existing constraints on scheduling patterns. The combination of lower standard hours and higher overtime allowances changes staffing, shift coverage, and wage-bill dynamics for operations that currently rely on 48-hour weeks.
Implications
- • Standard weekly hours become a declining legal baseline starting next year through 2030.
- • Weekly overtime limits increase, raising potential overtime exposure despite lower standard hours.
- • Rest-day rule stays at 1 day per 6 worked, limiting flexibility in schedule redesign.
- • Labor-cost and staffing models tied to 48-hour weeks face recalibration over the phase-in.
Who is affected
- • Mexico-based employers with hourly/shift workforces (manufacturing, retail, services)
- • HR, payroll, and labor compliance teams managing hours, overtime, and scheduling
- • Workers currently contracted/scheduled around a 48-hour standard week
- • Labor unions and employer associations involved in collective bargaining over hours/overtime
Source
Topics
World & Politics Policy & Regulation Law & Public Safety Compliance Business & Markets Management