Initial Training Contract Mexico (Contrato de Capacitación Inicial)

An Initial Training Contract Mexico (Contrato de Capacitación Inicial) is a formal written employment agreement between a patrón (employer) and a trabajador (worker) in Mexico under which the worker is hired for a defined training period during which the employer imparts the specific knowledge and skills required for the job, governed by Article 39-B of the Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT) published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 1 April 1970 and added by the Decreto of reform published on 28 November 2012. The Contrato de Capacitación Inicial is one of two transitional contract types introduced by the 2012 reforma laboral — the other being the Contrato de Período de Prueba under Article 39-A LFT — designed to give employers a lawful mechanism to assess a worker's aptitude and the quality of the training before committing to an indefinite employment relationship.

The defining characteristic of the Contrato de Capacitación Inicial is its purpose: the employer's obligation to impart specific job skills and knowledge to the worker during the agreed period. This distinguishes it from the Contrato de Período de Prueba (Article 39-A LFT), which tests the worker's existing competencies, and from the regular indefinite contract (Article 35 LFT), which presumes the worker is already capable of performing the position. Under Article 39-B LFT, the training must be real and verifiable — not a pretext for cheap temporary labour. The STPS Inspección del Trabajo has authority under Article 541 LFT to verify that employers using Contratos de Capacitación Inicial are genuinely providing training as required.

Duration limits are strictly set by Article 39-B LFT: the initial training period may not exceed three months for general positions, and may not exceed six months for positions classified as management (dirección), managerial (gerencia), administrative management (administración general), or positions requiring high-level technical or specialized knowledge. These maximum durations are absolute — Article 39-B LFT expressly prohibits extending the training period beyond the applicable maximum, and any attempt to do so converts the relationship into an indefinite contract by operation of law. A single worker may be subject to a Contrato de Capacitación Inicial for the same position only once — the employer cannot use successive training contracts to avoid permanent employment obligations.

The constitutional basis for employment in Mexico rests in Article 123 of the Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos of 5 February 1917. Article 123, Apartado A, Fracción XIII requires employers to provide training and professional development (capacitación y adiestramiento) to all workers — the Contrato de Capacitación Inicial is the formal mechanism for fulfilling this obligation at the point of entry into employment. Workers under a Contrato de Capacitación Inicial are entitled to all minimum benefits under the LFT from the first day: aguinaldo of at least 15 days' salary per year under Article 87 LFT (proportional at contract end), annual vacation of at least 12 working days under Article 76 LFT (reformed December 2022, proportional), a 25% prima vacacional under Article 80 LFT, and PTU participation under Articles 117 through 131 LFT.

Employers must register workers under Contratos de Capacitación Inicial with the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) before the first day of work under Article 15 of the Ley del Seguro Social (LSS). All five IMSS coverage branches apply from day one. Employer and worker IMSS contributions are calculated on the Salario Diario Integrado (SDI) under Article 84 LFT. The employer must also contribute 5% of the SDI to the worker's INFONAVIT housing fund under Article 29 of the Ley del INFONAVIT and withhold Impuesto sobre la Renta (ISR) under Articles 94 and 96 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LISR) published in the DOF on 11 December 2013.

At the conclusion of the training period, the employer must decide whether to retain the worker in an indefinite employment relationship (contrato por tiempo indeterminado under Article 35 LFT) or to end the relationship. If the employer does not formally notify the worker of non-retention before the training period expires and the worker continues providing services, the relationship automatically converts to indefinite employment. The notification of non-retention must be given in writing before the end of the training period — a verbal notification is insufficient to trigger the lawful end of the relationship under the LFT's written-instrument requirement.

Capacitación and adiestramiento obligations under Articles 153-A through 153-X LFT require employers to establish formal training plans (planes de capacitación) registered with the STPS and implemented through Comisiones Mixtas de Capacitación y Adiestramiento (joint employer-worker training committees). Workers trained under Contratos de Capacitación Inicial must have access to these formal training programs, and the employer must issue a constancia de habilidades laborales (skills certificate) recognizing the training completed.

An Initial Training Contract Mexico under Article 39-B of the Ley Federal del Trabajo is needed when a Mexican employer wishes to hire a worker for a position that requires learning job-specific skills and knowledge that the worker does not yet possess, and the employer wants a legally structured period to impart that training before committing to an indefinite employment relationship.

The contract is appropriate when hiring recent graduates (egresados universitarios or técnicos) for positions that require applying theoretical knowledge in a specific operational context — for example, a law graduate hired to practice in a specific legal department, an engineering graduate hired for a particular production process, or an accounting graduate hired to manage a specific system. The employer's obligation to genuinely train the worker is essential — if the worker is already fully capable of performing the position without training, the Trial Period Contract (Contrato de Período de Prueba under Article 39-A LFT) is the appropriate instrument.

The Contrato de Capacitación Inicial is also appropriate when introducing workers to proprietary systems, processes, or methodologies that are specific to the employer's business and that cannot reasonably be expected of even an experienced candidate. A manufacturing company with a proprietary production process, a financial institution implementing a new trading system, or a healthcare provider introducing workers to a specific medical records platform may use this contract type to structure the onboarding and skills acquisition period.

Employers in regulated industries where certification or licensing is required for independent practice — such as healthcare (enfermería, laboratorio clínico), financial services (agentes de seguros, asesores de inversión under the Ley del Mercado de Valores), or construction (obra civil under CMIC standards) — may use the Contrato de Capacitación Inicial to cover the period during which the worker is being trained toward the required qualification, provided the training does not exceed the LFT Article 39-B maximums.

The contract must be in writing and must identify the specific skills and knowledge to be imparted, the training methodology, the evaluation criteria, and the maximum duration. Under Article 25 LFT, all employment contracts must be written and signed by both parties. The STPS Inspección del Trabajo will scrutinize Contratos de Capacitación Inicial to verify genuine training activity — contracts used as a pretext for cheap temporary staffing without real training face reclassification as indefinite employment with retroactive benefits.

At the end of the training period, two outcomes are possible under Article 39-B LFT: the employer retains the worker and executes a Contrato de Trabajo por Tiempo Indeterminado, or the employer formally notifies the worker in writing before the period expires that the worker will not be retained. In the latter case, no severance indemnification is owed — the expiration of the training period without retention is a lawful cause of termination. If the employer fails to give written notice before the period expires and the worker continues working, indefinite employment arises automatically.

The Contrato de Capacitación Inicial may be combined with the Contrato de Período de Prueba only in the specific order prescribed by Article 39-C LFT: the trial period must precede the training period, and the combined maximum duration for both cannot exceed the maximums set for each individually. Using both types for the same worker and same position sequentially in the reverse order is prohibited. A single worker may be subject to a Contrato de Capacitación Inicial only once per position and per employer — Article 39-B LFT explicitly prohibits restarting the training period.

A valid Initial Training Contract Mexico under the Ley Federal del Trabajo must satisfy the requirements of Articles 24, 25, and 39-B LFT. The training-specific elements distinguish this contract from other temporary employment instruments.

Identification of Parties: Full legal name, RFC (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes assigned by the SAT), CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población), NSS (Número de Seguridad Social), official identity document number, and domicile of both the patrón and the trabajador. For corporate employers, the company's RFC, Registro Público de Comercio inscription, and the identity and notarized power of attorney (poder notarial before a Notario Público under the Código Civil Federal) of the legal representative.

Express Contract Type Declaration: The contract must explicitly state that it is a Contrato de Capacitación Inicial under Article 39-B of the Ley Federal del Trabajo, not a trial period contract, an indefinite contract, or any other arrangement. This declaration is necessary for the lawful end of the relationship at training conclusion without severance liability.

Training Period Duration: The agreed duration of the training period, which must not exceed three months for general positions or six months for dirección, gerencia, administración general, or highly specialized technical or professional positions under Article 39-B LFT. The start and end dates must be stated with precision.

Training Plan (Plan de Capacitación): A description of the specific skills and knowledge to be imparted, the methodology (on-the-job training, classroom instruction, mentorship, use of simulators, etc.), and the evaluation criteria by which the employer will assess whether the training objectives have been met. This plan should align with the employer's formal capacitación y adiestramiento plan registered with the STPS under Articles 153-A through 153-X LFT and managed by the Comisión Mixta de Capacitación y Adiestramiento.

Job Position and Functions: The position (puesto) to which the training relates and the functions the worker will perform during and after the training period, per Article 25 Section IV LFT.

Work Location: The address(es) where training and services will be provided under Article 25 Section V LFT. Remote training under Articles 330-A through 330-K LFT (teletrabajo reform) requires a complementary telework agreement.

Salary and Integrated Daily Wage: The daily base salary and SDI under Article 84 LFT, meeting or exceeding the CONASAMI minimum wage ($278.80 MXN/day general zone; $419.88 MXN/day ZLFN in 2025). Under Article 33 LFT, any modification of established salary requires the worker's written consent.

Mandatory Benefits: All minimum benefits under Article 123 of the Constitución Política — aguinaldo (Article 87 LFT), vacaciones and prima vacacional (Articles 76–80 LFT, reformed 2022), PTU (Articles 117–131 LFT), IMSS coverage (Ley del Seguro Social Article 15), and INFONAVIT contributions (Ley del INFONAVIT Article 29). Benefits accrue from the first day of the training contract.

Non-Retention Notification Procedure: The contract should specify the procedure for notifying the worker of non-retention — written notice delivered before the last day of the training period. Article 39-B LFT requires written notification; absence of notification results in automatic conversion to indefinite employment.

Skills Certificate Commitment: The employer's commitment to issue a constancia de habilidades laborales upon completion of the training period, whether or not the worker is retained, recognizing the training received under Articles 153-A through 153-X LFT.

Data Protection Notice: An aviso de privacidad under Article 15 of the Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares (LFPDPPP) informing the worker of personal data processing and the worker's ARCO rights exercisable through the Instituto Nacional de Transparencia, Acceso a la Información y Protección de Datos Personales (INAI).

Governing Law and Dispute Resolution: Statement that the contract is governed by the Ley Federal del Trabajo and that all disputes must pass through mandatory conciliation at the Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral (CFCRL) or the corresponding state conciliation centre before proceeding to the competent Tribunal Laboral under the 2019 reforma laboral.

Forms-legal.com provides this Initial Training Contract Mexico template as a practical starting point for structuring initial employment relationships with a genuine training component. Employers should confirm the training plan meets STPS requirements with a Licenciado en Derecho before execution.