Child Care Leave Request Mexico (Solicitud de Permiso por Cuidado de Hijo)

A Child Care Leave Request Mexico (Solicitud de Permiso por Cuidado de Hijo) is a formal written application submitted by a worker to an employer in Mexico requesting authorized absence or reduced working arrangements to care for a child, governed by Article 132 fraction XXVII-bis of the Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT), which obliges employers to grant paternity leave and reinforces the constitutional right to family life under Article 4 of the Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. The document formalizes an employee's right to parental accommodation and creates an official record for IMSS, payroll, and human resources purposes.

Mexican labour law expanded parental rights significantly through the Decreto de reforma publicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación on 2 January 2016, which introduced Article 132 fraction XXVII-bis into the LFT. Under this provision, employers are obliged to grant fathers five working days of paid paternity leave upon the birth of a child or adoption of an infant. The Ley del Seguro Social (LSS) published in the DOF on 21 December 1995 further governs maternity benefits — Article 101 of the LSS grants the female insured worker a maternity subsidy (subsidio por maternidad) during the 84-day (42 pre-birth plus 42 post-birth) maternity leave period under Article 170 LFT, paid at 100% of the Salario Base de Cotización (SBC) registered with the IMSS.

Beyond the mandatory five-day paternity leave, workers may request additional unpaid leave under Articles 132 fraction XVII and 42 of the LFT for justified personal causes. Many employers operating under Contratos Colectivos de Trabajo (CCT — collective bargaining agreements) negotiated with recognized unions registered before the Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral (CFCRL) provide superior parental leave benefits exceeding the LFT minimums, including extended paternity leave, nursing break schedules (tiempo para lactancia under Article 170 fraction IV LFT), and gradual return-to-work programs. Where such superior benefits exist, they form part of the employment contract and may not be unilaterally reduced under Article 57 LFT.

The Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) administers the maternity subsidy through the Guarderías y Prestaciones Sociales branch, which also provides childcare facilities (guarderías) to insured female workers and, since 2019 reforms, to insured single fathers under IMSS Administrative Circular 09/2019. Eligible workers must have a minimum of thirty weeks of contributions registered with the IMSS in the twelve months preceding the leave date under Article 101 of the LSS. The employer must notify the IMSS of the leave period through the Sistema de Información de Administración de Recursos Humanos (SIARHE) or through the employer's IDSE portal.

For adoption cases, Article 170 fraction II of the LFT grants the adoptive mother a 84-day post-adoption maternity leave if the child is under three years of age, and a six-week leave if the child is between three and seven years old. Fathers who adopt as single parents or primary caregivers may request equivalent treatment under the principles of non-discrimination in Article 3 of the LFT as reformed in 2021. The Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CNDH) has issued recommendations recognizing co-parenting arrangements and the right of both parents to participate in childcare without employment discrimination under the principle of corresponsabilidad parental.

The NOM-035-STPS-2018 (Factores de Riesgo Psicosocial en el Trabajo) issued by the Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS) requires employers to identify and mitigate psychosocial risk factors that include excessive workloads preventing parental participation in family care. The STPS Inspección Federal del Trabajo may audit employer records to verify that parental leave rights under Article 132 fraction XXVII-bis LFT are being respected and that no discriminatory action was taken against workers for exercising those rights under the Ley Federal para Prevenir y Eliminar la Discriminación (LFPED).

A Child Care Leave Request Mexico is needed whenever a worker employed under an indefinite or fixed-term contract governed by the Ley Federal del Trabajo intends to take authorized leave for child care purposes and requires the employer to formally acknowledge the absence, preserve the employment relationship, and coordinate benefit administration with the IMSS.

The document is required when a male worker invokes Article 132 fraction XXVII-bis of the LFT to request the mandatory five working days of paid paternity leave following the birth or adoption of a child. Employers who deny or reduce this entitlement face sanctions from the STPS Inspección Federal del Trabajo under Article 994 LFT, including fines ranging from 50 to 5,000 Unidades de Medida y Actualización (UMA) per violation.

A Solicitud de Permiso is also needed when a female worker notifies the employer of her intention to begin pre-birth maternity leave under Article 170 LFT, allowing the employer to file the corresponding Alta de Incapacidad with the IMSS to activate the maternity subsidy payments. Without a formal request document, the IMSS subsidy cannot be processed in a timely manner and the employer may be exposed to claims that salary continued to be payable during the IMSS-covered period.

The form is required when a worker requests additional unpaid childcare leave beyond the statutory minimums — for example, to care for a newborn with a disability, a child undergoing medical treatment, or a child placed through the Sistema Nacional DIF (Desarrollo Integral de la Familia) under adoption procedures. Such additional leave requires written agreement between the employer and worker under Article 42 of the LFT.

Employers who operate IMSS-affiliated guarderías (childcare facilities) under the programa de guarderías must maintain records of all child care accommodation requests for audits by the IMSS Delegación Regional. Human resources departments use the formal request to compute the impact on the Salario Diario Integrado (SDI), PTU participation days, and vacation accrual for the leave period.

A complete Child Care Leave Request Mexico under the Ley Federal del Trabajo must include the following components to be valid for IMSS, STPS, and payroll processing purposes.

Identification of Requesting Worker: Full legal name, Número de Seguridad Social (NSS) assigned by IMSS, RFC (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes issued by the SAT), CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población issued by RENAPO), current job title (puesto), and department or work area (área o departamento). The NSS is essential for IMSS to verify contribution weeks and process the maternity subsidy under Article 101 of the Ley del Seguro Social.

Employer Identification: Legal name (razón social) of the employing entity, Registro Patronal IMSS number, RFC of the employer, and the name and title of the human resources officer or legal representative acknowledging the request. The Registro Patronal IMSS identifies the employer account against which the worker's contribution weeks are registered.

Type and Legal Basis of Leave: Explicit identification of the type of leave requested — paternity leave (licencia de paternidad under Article 132 fraction XXVII-bis LFT), pre-birth maternity leave (Article 170 fraction II LFT), post-birth maternity leave (Article 170 fraction IV LFT), adoption leave (Article 170 fraction II LFT), or unpaid childcare leave (Article 42 LFT). Each type has different statutory duration, pay entitlements, and IMSS procedures. Misclassifying the leave type can affect IMSS subsidy eligibility and payroll processing.

Leave Period: Start date and return-to-work date expressed in DD/MM/YYYY format as required for Mexican labour and IMSS documentation. The total calendar days and working days of absence must be specified. For maternity leave, the 84-day period under Article 170 LFT must be split into pre-birth and post-birth segments, and any medical transfer of days (traspaso de días) under Article 170 fraction III LFT must be documented.

Supporting Documentation: Reference to attached supporting documents — IMSS medical certificate (certificado médico del IMSS) stating the expected birth date, adoption decree (resolución de adopción) issued by the Sistema Nacional DIF or competent court, or hospital discharge certificate (alta hospitalaria). IMSS requires the Certificado de Incapacidad por Maternidad (Form ST-3) to process the maternity subsidy under LSS Article 101.

Salary and Benefit Treatment During Leave: Statement of whether the leave is paid or unpaid, reference to the IMSS subsidy where applicable, and confirmation that IMSS, INFONAVIT, and SAT contributions will continue at the rate of the SBC registered before the leave began. Article 84 LFT and IMSS regulations require contributions to continue during maternity leave at the full SBC level.

Return-to-Work Conditions: Confirmation that the employment relationship is preserved during the leave period under Article 170 LFT, that the worker will return to the same position (puesto) with the same salary and benefits, and that vacation accrual and seniority (antigüedad) continue to accumulate during statutory leave periods. This protects against later disputes before the Tribunales Laborales or CFCRL conciliation process.

Employer Acknowledgment and Signature: Written acknowledgment signed by an authorized representative of the employer — typically the Gerente de Recursos Humanos or Representante Legal — with the company stamp (sello de la empresa) and date. The employer acknowledgment creates the official record required by STPS Inspección Federal del Trabajo under Article 804 LFT, which requires retention of employment records for at least one year after the employment relationship ends.

Forms-legal.com provides this Child Care Leave Request Mexico template as a practical tool for workers and employers. Each parental accommodation should be reviewed against the applicable Contrato Colectivo de Trabajo, if any, and verified with a licensed Licenciado en Derecho or abogado laboralista to confirm compliance with IMSS processing deadlines, STPS inspection requirements, and any superior benefits negotiated through the CFCRL union registration process.