Plan, record, validate and prove every employee's working hours, whether in the office, in the field, remote or on shifts, with auditable evidence from day one.
With no cut to pay or benefits, and with control over rest periods, overtime and a reliable electronic record of every workday.
Standard daily limit.
Standard daily limit.
Standard daily limit.
Source: DOF, March 3, 2026 (constitutional reform) and DOF, May 1, 2026 (Federal Labor Law reform). DOF is Mexico's Official Gazette; sources in Spanish.
The 40-hour maximum workweek and electronic time records apply to every subordinate employment relationship governed by Mexico's Federal Labor Law (LFT), regardless of industry, company size or job title.
Manufacturing, retail, services, banks, fintech, insurers, telecom, logistics, healthcare, corporates and SMEs. In the office, in the field, remote, hybrid or on shifts.
A worker is an individual who provides personal, subordinate work to another (Art. 8 LFT): operational, administrative, sales and field staff, supervisors and managers.
"Trusted employee" (trabajador de confianza) status depends on functions (Art. 9 LFT), not the job title, and it is not an exemption from the maximum workweek or time records. In litigation, senior executives who set their own schedules may be treated differently on evidence; that does not exclude them from the law.
Relationships without subordination, such as genuinely independent contractors or professionals paid by fee, are not governed by LFT working-hours rules. Note: if subordination exists in practice, the relationship is employment regardless of the contract. Exceptions to electronic time records will be defined by the STPS (Labor Ministry) in general provisions taking effect on January 1, 2027; so far they do not broadly exclude trusted staff.
Art. 8 LFT"A worker is an individual who provides personal, subordinate work to another individual or legal entity."
Art. 9 LFT"The category of trusted employee depends on the nature of the functions performed and not on the title given to the position. Trusted functions are those of management, inspection, oversight and auditing, when general in nature, and those related to the employer's personal work within the company or establishment."
Art. 59 LFT (DOF May 1, 2026)"The maximum duration of the ordinary working day shall be forty hours per week."
Art. 132, sec. XXXIV LFT (DOF May 1, 2026)Employer obligation: "To electronically record the working hours of each worker, including start and end times, and to provide them to the authority when required." The same section provides that the STPS will issue general provisions on its scope and exceptions, and that the electronic record will have full evidentiary value when agreed between worker and employer.
Informational content; not legal advice. Each organization should validate its case with its legal team or labor counsel. Translations are unofficial; the Spanish text prevails. Sources: DOF March 3, 2026 (constitutional reform), DOF May 1, 2026 (LFT reform) and current LFT text.
These are criteria the solution should address. Availability, scope and terms require technical and contractual validation; they are not confirmed existing features.
The solution should provide for a five-year working-time history, with records organized by employee and period. Retention must reflect the record type, purpose and applicable obligation: Mexico's Federal Labor Law does not require five years for every attendance record. Labor, tax, social security and, where applicable, commercial rules may have different or longer periods. A claim or review may require relevant evidence to be preserved for longer.
What the system should address: retention rules by category, identified starting dates, restricted access and suspension of deletion where appropriate; restricted-use blocking and controlled deletion once applicable obligations and purposes have ended.
LFT Art. 804: labor documents and retention periods by category (contracts, payroll, attendance, receipts).
CFF Arts. 28 and 30: accounting and tax documentation, five years from filing or due date of related returns; extensions for prolonged tax effects, appeals or litigation.
LSS Art. 15 II: records such as payroll and crew lists, five years following their date.
Commercial Code Arts. 38, 46 and 49: merchants keep receipts, books, records and documents for a minimum of ten years within their scope.
LFPDPPP Arts. 10–12 and 24–25: necessary retention for documented purposes and periods; blocking when processing ends and deletion once obligations are met.
Keeping information also means being able to recover it after loss or an incident. The solution should include encrypted backups separated from the primary environment, access controls and restores validated through periodic testing. Backup frequency and recovery objectives should be agreed according to risk and operational needs: the general provisions cited here do not prescribe a single RPO or RTO for all working-time systems.
What the system should address: an inventory of data and copies, backup logs, a restore procedure, integrity validation and backup retention rules. A backup does not replace documents, formalities or preservation attestations required in a particular case.
LFPDPPP Arts. 18–20: administrative, technical and physical security measures to protect data against damage, loss, alteration and unauthorized access; confidentiality even after the relationship ends.
LFT Art. 784, final paragraph: losing documents through force majeure or natural events does not remove the burden of proving the position through other means.
CFF Regulations Arts. 34–35: option to back up accounting records on authorized media and reconstruction of entries under their tax provisions. The technical controls described are design requirements, not a certification.
A correction should be explainable without losing the original record. The solution should provide a history showing who changed information, when, why, what changed and who authorized it, along with the version of the rules used to calculate working time and overtime.
What the system should address: original clock records linked to corrections, calculation versions, integrity and permission controls, and contextual exports for reviews, employee requests or official requirements. Traceability supports evidence; it does not by itself guarantee a legal outcome.
LFT Arts. 804–805: retention and production of documents; rebuttable presumption regarding facts related to those documents if the obligation is breached.
LFT Art. 836-C/D: locating and integrity of electronic evidence; data to place information in time and space between sender and recipient.
LFPDPPP Arts. 10, 18, 20 and 23: accuracy and currency of data; security, confidentiality and rectification. The detailed audit-log structure is a design choice supporting those objectives.
From the legal framework to digital compliance: what HR, Operations, Legal and IT need on their radar.
Article 123 of the Constitution and Articles 58 to 61 of the Federal Labor Law (LFT). Define schedules, work modes, duration and distribution of working hours.
Apply Articles 66 to 68 of the LFT and the transitional provisions in force. Record actual time, reason, review, authorization and payment.
Manage breaks during the workday, weekly rest, Sundays and public holidays.
Reliable mechanisms to record start and end times, consult history, document changes and export evidence.
Assess applicability, working conditions, health and safety, training, tools and the right to disconnect.
Data minimization, controlled access, transparency and retention in line with the applicable framework.
Select a scenario to see its specific procedures and controls.
Six steps repeated every day for every employee, with full traceability.
Hours, calendar, work mode and rest.
Start, end and exceptions.
Limits, deviations and overtime.
Adjustments with approval and justification.
Records and exceptions against payroll.
Auditable file and reports.
The mobile app captures; FLOW applies rules, orchestrates clarifications and approvals, and keeps the evidence.
Clock-in, clock-out and breaks with a timestamp.
Offline records linked to the work order.
After-hours alerts and respect for the right to disconnect.
One identity, several channels, no duplicates.
Rotations, handovers and shifts that cross midnight.
Clock-in per service, without continuous tracking.
Web · PWA · Mobile · Kiosk · Offline
Schedules · Limits · Shifts · Rest
Clarifications · Approvals · Escalations
Events · Versions · Identity · Audit log
Workdays · Overtime · Exceptions · Audit
HR · Payroll · ERP · Directory
Reference architecture; scope is validated with each organization during the assessment.
An up-to-date operational dashboard with missing records, extended workdays and exceptions.
| Obligation | Control in FLOW | Evidence | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum hours | Calendars and limits | Schedules and daily records | HR / Operations |
| Overtime | Detection and approval | Time, reason and payment | Supervisor / Payroll |
| Rest periods | Scheduling and alerts | Calendar and events | Operations |
| Electronic record | Capture and history | Exportable audit log | Employer / IT |
| Remote work | NOM-037 policies | Single employee file | HR / Health & Safety |
| Privacy | Access and minimization | Policies and audit | Privacy / IT |
A structured engagement, from the initial inventory to supported operation.
Workforce, sites, work modes, contracts, schedules and systems.
Rules, processes, privacy and architecture in FLOW.
Office, field and remote work; adjustments to usage and rules.
Training, payroll integration, support and ongoing audit.
Check the controls your organization already has in place.
Check the controls to see your readiness level.
Answers on overtime, time records, legal limits and evidence, based on Mexico's Federal Labor Law as reformed in 2026.
When the applicable ordinary schedule is extended with time actually worked or spent at the employer's disposal to perform the job. Review the agreed schedule within legal limits, shift type, agreed distribution, breaks and recording issues. A clock record is evidence: it does not by itself determine overtime or justify truncating it. A statutory maximum should not be used to disregard a shorter agreed ordinary schedule.
Working time is the time the employee is at the employer's disposal to perform work (Art. 58). Presence without work or availability may be disputed; work that was ordered, tolerated, or known by the employer usually triggers pay even without a formal "overtime authorization."
A continuous shift must include at least a half-hour break. If the employee cannot leave the workplace during rest or meal time, that time counts as working time. Being allowed to leave does not automatically justify deducting the minimum half-hour break: the schedule, actual break conditions and applicable agreements must be assessed.
In 2026, the first nine overtime hours of the week are paid at the ordinary hourly rate plus 100% (double); excess overtime is paid at the ordinary rate plus 200% (triple). The Art. 66 phased limit is nine hours in 2026–2027, ten in 2028, eleven in 2029 and twelve in 2030. Art. 66 provides for up to four overtime hours a day on a maximum of four days; Art. 68 limits the additional extension to four hours a week and combined ordinary/overtime work to twelve hours a day. These are work limits, not limits on the right to payment: exceeding them neither authorizes the schedule nor cancels pay for time already worked. Assess the specific case; do not treat triple pay as routine operating permission.
Art. 59 states forty hours, with statutory phasing: an ordinary weekly maximum of 48 in 2026, 46 in 2027, 44 in 2028, 42 in 2029 and 40 in 2030. May 1–December 31, 2026 is the adjustment period. This does not require shorter agreed schedules to be increased or allow daily limits to be exceeded.
Not to wipe out the right. Waivers of rights and of earned wages are void (Arts. 5 XIII and 33). Overtime actually worked must be paid even if the contract says otherwise.
Internal authorization is an operating control, not a waiver of wages. Its absence does not by itself decide whether overtime was worked: instructions, required availability and evidence must be assessed. Nor does mere presence automatically generate overtime. A policy or contract cannot remove payment for overtime actually earned.
The category depends on functions, not the job title (Art. 9). Arts. 58–68 do not create a general "confianza = no overtime" exception.
In a dispute, Art. 784 VIII assigns the employer the burden of proving its position on ordinary working time and overtime when the latter does not exceed nine hours per week. Art. 804 III requires retention and production of attendance records when kept at the workplace; Art. 805 provides a rebuttable presumption regarding facts related to those documents if the obligation is breached. This does not make a clock record an automatic payroll calculation or prescribe a single way to prove every claim exceeding nine hours. The burden concerning excess hours requires analysis of the litigation and evidence. Loss through force majeure does not remove the duty to prove the position through other means (Art. 784, final paragraph).
Resolve the recording issue and document the outcome without silently deleting the original clock record. As a design requirement, link the correction to the original with a reason, responsible actor, date and authorization. Art. 132 XXXIV, added with effect from May 1, 2026, provides for electronic start/end records and production to the authority; its full-proof rule requires proof that the content was agreed between employee and employer. STPS general provisions on scope and exceptions are to take effect from January 1, 2027 (Fifth Transitory). This is not automatic system certification or a waiver of rights.
Yes: Art. 58 (para. 2, DOF 1 May 2026) allows distribution by mutual agreement within daily/weekly maxima and weekly rest (Art. 69). It does not authorize skipping overtime pay or exceeding 12 hours/day.
Paying overtime does not authorize exceeding legal limits. Exceeding them does not remove the right to payment for overtime actually worked. The employer should review the incident, correct operating practices and address wage differences using evidence. Clock records must not be truncated to fit an internal policy.
No. The document, applicable rules and starting date determine how long it must be kept. Some obligations have different periods or require extensions. Security, access, integrity and deletion under personal data rules also matter. Configuration and service terms require case-specific validation.
All sources are in Spanish; DOF is Mexico's Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación).
Tell us how your workforce operates and we'll show you FieldWy FLOW and its mobile app with your scenarios.
Prefer to email us? contacto@fieldwy.com