sensei
18/03/2016
VACATIONS IN REAL LIFE: AN UNFINISHED RIGHT
Vacations are part of the employees benefits in compliance with the Mexican Federal Labor Law (LFT as per its acronym in Spanish), having its origin on a rest, an employee´s essential right. As well as a legal provision of six working days per one rest day exist, a minimum period of at least one working year with a paid leave and with an additional compensation to have the right to enjoy vacations, on the basis of the employee recovering and having a rest.
The Mexican legislator pretends to agree on this right, emphasizing the employee shall enjoy a yearly period of vacations that cannot be less than six working days, plus a 25% bonus payment to use it on vacation´s enjoyment. The legislator considers that six days is the minimum amount of days to enjoy per worked year and these days need to be paid to the employee and also rested. The legislator considers the salary payment for these days, to cover regular expenses and the 25% vacation bonus shall be for the expenses incurred during vacation (LFT´s article 76 and 80).
Likewise, the legislator arranges that the vacation period will increase two days per every service year, up to twelve days, and after the fourth year it will increase two days per five service year. The legislator considers that the vacation period needs to be increased per employee´s tiredness and seniority; thus, the legislator´s logic would be more days to enjoy vacations (LFT´s article 76 final paragraph).
Lastly, the legislator grants the employer the right to manage the vacations, who within the six months following the service´s year completion, shall grant the period and date to enjoy (LFT´s article 81). After that period, the employee can entail the vacation´s enjoyment, never before, and enjoy them, having a year from that day on. If these are not enjoyed, they shall expire according to LFT´s 516 article; these are not accumulative.
In real life, under the legal framework, the vacation´s enjoyment has been corrupted, no vacations´ culture exist for all employees as an essential right, and it is only a benefit for some people. Commonly when employees ask for an absent permission, this missing day is counted towards vacations; although this is illegal and it is accepted by the employee in the need of being absent. Likewise, it is frequent that employees being unable to enjoy vacations ask the employee for those to be paid, which is also illegal (LFT´s article 79). Vacations cannot be compensated with a remuneration unless the exception of a severance (finiquito) or when vacations right is not practiced, pretending to accumulate it to prior periods, pending its enjoyment. Besides of not enjoying those days, the employees think these can be enjoyed in the future and be paid; however, those days have expired and the employer can deny its enjoyment or compensation in the severance (finiquito)
All of the above, complies with the unfortunate legal framework to grant vacations, which are not granted by the employer because of “production” options, the employee prefers not to enjoy them and opts for previously said options because of economic needs; as a consequence no vacation is granted, no break to recover, even generating sicknesses and labor accidents, and a deficient productivity.
We consider that the legislator does not encourage the right to vacation as the regulations states for its enjoyment. It is not understood that a human being, an employee, when vacationing spends one fourth of his salary, as it is established with the 25% vacation bonus payment by the legislator, when in rest days our consumption capacity increases, it shall be proportional to the income obtained, but never to one fourth´s of it.
On the other hand, it is not justified that an employee, who has more anniversary years working for the employer has more paid leave days; not because the employee has more years working, he gets more tired than one who has less service years. Tiredness if for the service year, which is equal for everyone and not for all years worked. Likewise, the right of vacation is not favored when it is managed by the employer, since he grants those when the employee cannot enjoy them. An example of the previously said, is if vacations are granted to the employee in February, he will hardly be able to enjoy those days, since his wife is working and the kids are in school, etc.
Therefore, we require a vacations culture, but as I have exposed under the legal framework, it is an unfinished right, only enjoyed by some employees, who with some exception are able to make the valid in school vacation periods, end of the year, or if by the income level, they could do it in any time of the year.
To achieve vacation´s right for every employee, being a real rest and recreational period, as an essential right to recover strength and also get the spirit and energy to continue with the work´s activities, it is necessary that vacations are compensated with a vacation bonus equal to the amount perceived. The days to enjoy shall be equal for all employees who have worked the entire year, suggesting it to be at least one working week; it is important to mention that occupational medicine specialists suggest and agree that one week period generates rest. A period shorter than that doesn´t help the human being to reach the emotional and mental detachments to reach the desired rest. Lastly and essential is the rest period needs to be according to school vacation periods.
Previous suggestions seem absurd in a country where productivity is a serious survival worker´s problem; we need to remember the Labor Market Reform´s analogy referring the holidays, where February 5th, March 21st and November 20th are not celebrated on the exact date, but on the first Monday of February, third Monday in March and third Monday in November respectively; at first glance it seems that productivity will be affected, when it is absolutely the opposite. Break ups during the week are avoided and absenteeism and tourism is promoted. In other words, the reform´s resolution considers that when a holiday is on a Tuesday or Thursday, it will cause employees absenteeism either Friday or Monday; it is better for the employer to have a continuous production labor and stop labors in a continuous way, and not a day during the week, as for example, Wednesday. That Reform has been a productivity and rest success, promoting tourism or vacation to what we now call “long weekend”.
Therefore, in this work culture of privileging the vacation´s enjoyment, the employers grant vacations in period where most of the population rest; periods clearly marked in our calendars exist, such as Holy Week, the second half of July, the second half of December, when a large portion of the Executive Power (specially the Secretariat of Public Education), State and Federal Judicial Branch, vast majority rest in those periods. Private and public schools and a great part of the Government when resting, we can and shall agree with those periods to reach the scope and benefit for all employees, reaffirming it is a worker ‘essential right.
With all these, we not only achieve the workers ‘right of vacations enjoyment for their recreation and rest, but also as with long weekends, to promote the great industry we have not known to exploit which is tourism. When granting vacation periods in periods clearly defined, the tourism sector shall be eager and willing to generate an offer for the working class, achieving productivity in workplaces when having rested workers, sicknesses and accidents will be avoided and lastly the tourism sector will be promoted, which needs an impulse of a real demand. If we really consider the human resource as the essential factor to obtain greater productivity, neither it will achieved with basic oratory motivational courses nor economic stimuli; healthy workers with a balance in their work activities and their time to rest and recreate are needed.
VACATIONS IN REAL LIFE: AN UNFINISHED RIGHT
sensei
18/03/2016
Vacations are part of the employees benefits in compliance with the Mexican Federal Labor Law (LFT as per its acronym in Spanish), having its origin on a rest, an employee´s essential right. As well as a legal provision of six working days per one rest day exist, a minimum period of at least one working year with a paid leave and with an additional compensation to have the right to enjoy vacations, on the basis of the employee recovering and having a rest.
The Mexican legislator pretends to agree on this right, emphasizing the employee shall enjoy a yearly period of vacations that cannot be less than six working days, plus a 25% bonus payment to use it on vacation´s enjoyment. The legislator considers that six days is the minimum amount of days to enjoy per worked year and these days need to be paid to the employee and also rested. The legislator considers the salary payment for these days, to cover regular expenses and the 25% vacation bonus shall be for the expenses incurred during vacation (LFT´s article 76 and 80).
Likewise, the legislator arranges that the vacation period will increase two days per every service year, up to twelve days, and after the fourth year it will increase two days per five service year. The legislator considers that the vacation period needs to be increased per employee´s tiredness and seniority; thus, the legislator´s logic would be more days to enjoy vacations (LFT´s article 76 final paragraph).
Lastly, the legislator grants the employer the right to manage the vacations, who within the six months following the service´s year completion, shall grant the period and date to enjoy (LFT´s article 81). After that period, the employee can entail the vacation´s enjoyment, never before, and enjoy them, having a year from that day on. If these are not enjoyed, they shall expire according to LFT´s 516 article; these are not accumulative.
In real life, under the legal framework, the vacation´s enjoyment has been corrupted, no vacations´ culture exist for all employees as an essential right, and it is only a benefit for some people. Commonly when employees ask for an absent permission, this missing day is counted towards vacations; although this is illegal and it is accepted by the employee in the need of being absent. Likewise, it is frequent that employees being unable to enjoy vacations ask the employee for those to be paid, which is also illegal (LFT´s article 79). Vacations cannot be compensated with a remuneration unless the exception of a severance (finiquito) or when vacations right is not practiced, pretending to accumulate it to prior periods, pending its enjoyment. Besides of not enjoying those days, the employees think these can be enjoyed in the future and be paid; however, those days have expired and the employer can deny its enjoyment or compensation in the severance (finiquito)
All of the above, complies with the unfortunate legal framework to grant vacations, which are not granted by the employer because of “production” options, the employee prefers not to enjoy them and opts for previously said options because of economic needs; as a consequence no vacation is granted, no break to recover, even generating sicknesses and labor accidents, and a deficient productivity.
We consider that the legislator does not encourage the right to vacation as the regulations states for its enjoyment. It is not understood that a human being, an employee, when vacationing spends one fourth of his salary, as it is established with the 25% vacation bonus payment by the legislator, when in rest days our consumption capacity increases, it shall be proportional to the income obtained, but never to one fourth´s of it.
On the other hand, it is not justified that an employee, who has more anniversary years working for the employer has more paid leave days; not because the employee has more years working, he gets more tired than one who has less service years. Tiredness if for the service year, which is equal for everyone and not for all years worked. Likewise, the right of vacation is not favored when it is managed by the employer, since he grants those when the employee cannot enjoy them. An example of the previously said, is if vacations are granted to the employee in February, he will hardly be able to enjoy those days, since his wife is working and the kids are in school, etc.
Therefore, we require a vacations culture, but as I have exposed under the legal framework, it is an unfinished right, only enjoyed by some employees, who with some exception are able to make the valid in school vacation periods, end of the year, or if by the income level, they could do it in any time of the year.
To achieve vacation´s right for every employee, being a real rest and recreational period, as an essential right to recover strength and also get the spirit and energy to continue with the work´s activities, it is necessary that vacations are compensated with a vacation bonus equal to the amount perceived. The days to enjoy shall be equal for all employees who have worked the entire year, suggesting it to be at least one working week; it is important to mention that occupational medicine specialists suggest and agree that one week period generates rest. A period shorter than that doesn´t help the human being to reach the emotional and mental detachments to reach the desired rest. Lastly and essential is the rest period needs to be according to school vacation periods.
Previous suggestions seem absurd in a country where productivity is a serious survival worker´s problem; we need to remember the Labor Market Reform´s analogy referring the holidays, where February 5th, March 21st and November 20th are not celebrated on the exact date, but on the first Monday of February, third Monday in March and third Monday in November respectively; at first glance it seems that productivity will be affected, when it is absolutely the opposite. Break ups during the week are avoided and absenteeism and tourism is promoted. In other words, the reform´s resolution considers that when a holiday is on a Tuesday or Thursday, it will cause employees absenteeism either Friday or Monday; it is better for the employer to have a continuous production labor and stop labors in a continuous way, and not a day during the week, as for example, Wednesday. That Reform has been a productivity and rest success, promoting tourism or vacation to what we now call “long weekend”.
Therefore, in this work culture of privileging the vacation´s enjoyment, the employers grant vacations in period where most of the population rest; periods clearly marked in our calendars exist, such as Holy Week, the second half of July, the second half of December, when a large portion of the Executive Power (specially the Secretariat of Public Education), State and Federal Judicial Branch, vast majority rest in those periods. Private and public schools and a great part of the Government when resting, we can and shall agree with those periods to reach the scope and benefit for all employees, reaffirming it is a worker ‘essential right.
With all these, we not only achieve the workers ‘right of vacations enjoyment for their recreation and rest, but also as with long weekends, to promote the great industry we have not known to exploit which is tourism. When granting vacation periods in periods clearly defined, the tourism sector shall be eager and willing to generate an offer for the working class, achieving productivity in workplaces when having rested workers, sicknesses and accidents will be avoided and lastly the tourism sector will be promoted, which needs an impulse of a real demand. If we really consider the human resource as the essential factor to obtain greater productivity, neither it will achieved with basic oratory motivational courses nor economic stimuli; healthy workers with a balance in their work activities and their time to rest and recreate are needed.
