Justified Rescission Notice Mexico (Aviso de Rescisión con Causa Justificada — Art. 47 LFT)

A Justified Rescission Notice Mexico (Aviso de Rescisión con Causa Justificada) is a formal written notice from an employer (patrón) to a worker (trabajador) communicating that the employment relationship is being terminated immediately for one or more specific causes expressly enumerated in Article 47 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT). When a valid Aviso de Rescisión is properly served and the specified cause is proven in subsequent proceedings, the employer is exempt from paying the three-month constitutional indemnity (indemnización constitucional) and the 20-days-per-year indemnity for unjustified dismissal under Article 50 LFT — the employer owes only the finiquito (accrued statutory benefits) and, where applicable, the prima de antigüedad under Article 162 LFT.

Article 47 LFT enumerates fifteen specific causes that justify employer-initiated rescission without liability for the constitutional indemnity. These causes include: (I) fraud or falsehood committed by the worker when applying for employment concerning academic credentials, experience, or skills (engaño al contratar); (II) violent or abusive conduct by the worker against the employer, members of the employer's family, supervisors, or coworkers during working hours or in the workplace (violencia, injurias o malos tratamientos); (III) intentional property damage by the worker against company premises, equipment, or products (daños materiales intencionales); (IV) negligent property damage of serious nature resulting from the worker's conduct (daños materiales graves por negligencia); (V) revelation of manufacturing secrets or confidential business information (revelación de secretos de fabricación); (VI) theft or dishonest conduct by the worker against the employer (robo y actos deshonestos); (VII) repeated failure to follow safety and hygiene rules after written warning (desobediencia reiterada a reglas de seguridad e higiene); (VIII) unjustified absence from work for more than three consecutive days or more than six non-consecutive days within a 30-day period (faltas injustificadas); (IX) reporting to work in a state of intoxication or under the influence of illegal substances (presentarse en estado de embriaguez); (X) undermining workplace discipline in a manner that seriously disrupts order; (XI) sexual harassment in the workplace (hostigamiento o acoso sexual); and additional grounds specified in fractions XII through XV.

Article 47 LFT imposes a strict procedural requirement that the employer serve the Aviso de Rescisión in writing directly to the worker (entrega personal) on the date of rescission, and — if personal service is not possible because the worker is absent from the workplace — file the notice within five business days with the Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral (CFCRL) for service by the conciliation centre. Failure to comply with this written notice requirement renders the rescission unjustified by operation of law (se presumirá que el despido fue injustificado) — even if a genuine justified cause exists — and exposes the employer to full liquidación liability under Article 50 LFT.

The 2019 reforma laboral reinforced the procedural requirements for justified rescission by assigning the CFCRL the function of receiving and formally notifying Avisos de Rescisión that cannot be personally served. Before the 2019 reforma, this function was performed by the Juntas de Conciliación y Arbitraje. Employers must now file unserved Avisos de Rescisión with the CFCRL within five business days of the rescission date, and the CFCRL serves the notice on the worker within ten further business days. The CFCRL maintains a record of all filed Avisos de Rescisión in the national labour registry, contributing to the transparency objectives of the reforma.

The burden of proof in any subsequent Tribunal Laboral proceedings arising from a justified rescission rests entirely on the employer under Article 784 LFT. The employer must produce, at minimum, the signed and dated Aviso de Rescisión (or CFCRL filing receipt), documentary evidence of the specific misconduct alleged (written warnings, investigation records, incident reports, witness statements, video footage where available), and evidence that the cause specified in Article 47 LFT was the actual reason for the rescission and not a pretext for an unjustified dismissal (despido injustificado encubierto). Mexican Tribunales Laborales scrutinize the specificity of the cause stated in the Aviso — vague or inconsistent descriptions of the alleged misconduct will not sustain a justified rescission defense.

A Justified Rescission Notice under Article 47 LFT is needed whenever a Mexican employer determines that a worker has committed one of the specific grounds for rescission enumerated in Article 47 and wishes to terminate the employment relationship without incurring the constitutional indemnity and 20-days-per-year seniority indemnity that would apply to an unjustified dismissal under Article 50 LFT.

The notice is required immediately upon the employer's decision to rescind the employment relationship for just cause. Article 47 LFT does not specify a time limit between the discovery of the misconduct and the issuance of the notice, but Mexican labour courts consistently apply a doctrine of timeliness (principio de inmediatez) under which an employer who fails to act promptly upon discovering justified cause is deemed to have condoned the misconduct (condonación tácita) — effectively forfeiting the right to rely on that cause as justification for rescission. In practice, the Aviso de Rescisión should be issued within one to three business days of the employer's final determination that the cause has been established and documented.

The document is needed in conjunction with a prior investigation process (proceso de investigación) that documents the alleged misconduct — particularly for causes involving dishonesty, theft, property damage, or sexual harassment, which require specific factual evidence. Under the principle established by numerous Tribunales Laborales decisions, an employer cannot successfully defend a justified rescission claim without a contemporaneous investigation record that was created before the rescission, not after the worker filed a complaint.

The Aviso de Rescisión is required before the employer can file a justified rescission defense (excepción de rescisión justificada) in any CFCRL conciliation proceeding or Tribunal Laboral lawsuit initiated by the worker. Without the written Aviso — either personally served or CFCRL-filed within five days — the employer's defense is procedurally barred and the rescission is treated as unjustified by operation of law under the second paragraph of Article 47 LFT.

For workers who are absent from the workplace at the time of the rescission decision — on medical leave (incapacidad IMSS), on authorized vacation, or simply absent without authorization — the employer cannot delay the rescission decision indefinitely. In these cases, the Aviso must be filed with the CFCRL within five business days so the conciliation centre can serve it on the worker — this preserves the employer's procedural position while ensuring the worker receives proper notice of the termination.

A valid Justified Rescission Notice Mexico under Ley Federal del Trabajo art. 47 must include the following elements to withstand Tribunal Laboral scrutiny and preserve the employer's defense against an unjustified dismissal claim.

Date of Issuance: The exact date (día, mes, año) on which the Aviso de Rescisión is issued and served — or filed with the CFCRL if personal service is not possible. The date is critical for calculating the five-business-day CFCRL filing deadline and for the Tribunal Laboral's timeliness analysis under the principio de inmediatez.

Identification of Parties: Full legal name of the employer (razón social), RFC, IMSS registro patronal, address, and name and title of the signing representative (representante del patrón) with power of attorney. Full name, RFC, CURP, NSS, job title, and department of the worker (trabajador) being rescinded.

Employment Relationship Reference: The start date of the employment relationship (fecha de inicio de la relación laboral) and the job title — establishing the duration of the employment for purposes of any prima de antigüedad calculation under Article 162 LFT.

Specification of Justified Cause: An explicit reference to the specific fraction(s) of Article 47 LFT that constitute the legal basis for the rescission (e.g., Article 47 Fraction VIII — unjustified absences), together with a detailed, specific, and factual description of the conduct or omission that triggered each fraction cited. The factual description must be precise — naming dates, locations, and the specific actions or omissions of the worker — because the Tribunal Laboral will require the employer to prove each specific factual allegation listed in the Aviso. Allegations not included in the Aviso cannot be added later during Tribunal proceedings.

Date of the Misconduct: The date(s) on which the alleged misconduct occurred. For continuing violations (such as repeated absences or persistent insubordination), all relevant dates should be listed. The timeliness of the rescission decision relative to the last occurrence of the misconduct is scrutinized by the Tribunal Laboral.

List of Supporting Evidence: A reference to the documentary evidence supporting the cause — written warnings (amonestaciones por escrito), attendance records (registros de asistencia), investigation report (informe de investigación), incident reports (reportes de incidente), security camera footage references, witness statements (declaraciones de testigos), or any other contemporaneous documentation. The Aviso need not attach all evidence, but the employer must have this evidence available and ready to produce at the Tribunal Laboral hearing.

Finiquito Payment Notice: Confirmation that the worker's finiquito (proportional aguinaldo, accrued vacation, prima vacacional, proportional PTU, and prima de antigüedad if applicable under Article 162 LFT) will be calculated and paid — even in a justified rescission, the finiquito is owed. The Aviso should state the agreed date and method for finiquito payment to avoid a separate wage claim.

Service and CFCRL Filing Information: A section for the worker to acknowledge personal receipt with signature and date — or, if personal service is refused or not possible, instructions for CFCRL filing within five business days. The CFCRL filing reference number should be added once available.

Forms-legal.com provides this Justified Rescission Notice Mexico template as a practical starting document for HR departments. Every justified rescission involves significant legal risk — the burden of proof rests entirely on the employer under Article 784 LFT, and a failed justified rescission defense results in the employer owing full liquidación. Every Aviso de Rescisión should be prepared and reviewed by a Licenciado en Derecho specializing in derecho laboral before issuance, to ensure that the cause is properly stated, the evidence is sufficient, and the procedural requirements of Article 47 LFT are strictly met.