First-thing sales appointments: when the workday starts counting

Why it matters

An 8:00 a.m. appointment at the client's office and an arrival at the branch at 10:30 a.m. are not tardiness: they are two and a half hours of work that a wall-mounted time clock does not see.

How to record it

• The salesperson records their clock-in on arriving at the appointment, with the location confirmed at that moment.
• In the system, that record is marked as work outside the location.
• On arriving at the office they do not record again: their workday is already running.

What needs to be agreed

Whether the starting point is the first appointment or the office, and what happens with the commute. Put it in writing.

Example

Appointment at 8:00 a.m., office at 10:30 a.m., clock-out at 5:00 p.m. with a one-hour lunch: 8 hours of work. Without the 8:00 a.m. record, it would look like 5 and a half hours.

The reform in one minute

The reform has two parts. On March 3, 2026, article 123 of the Constitution was amended to set the 40-hour workweek. On May 1, 2026, the Federal Labor Law was amended, which is where the detail is.

• The maximum working week drops from 48 to 40 hours, two hours per year, between 2027 and 2030.
• Overtime has a weekly cap: it is paid at double time up to the cap and at triple time for up to 4 more hours.
• Each company must electronically record the start and end time of each person's workday.
• Not keeping that record is fined 250 to 5,000 UMA.
• Salary and benefits cannot go down because of the reduction in hours.

What remains pending are the STPS general rules, which will define who the record applies to and what exceptions there will be. They take effect on January 1, 2027.

Decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on May 1, 2026, second and fourth transitory provisions, and article 68 of the LFT. Each change applies from January 1.

Common mistakes

• Assuming that someone who is not in the office has no workday.
• Requiring people to come by the office just to record.
• Recording the shift time and not the real time.
• Confusing being reachable with working.
• Over-monitoring instead of recording properly.

What to do now

1. List who works outside the office and under which arrangement.
2. Define for each arrangement where the workday begins and where it ends.
3. Put it in writing and explain it to the team.
4. Have each person record from their phone, wherever they are.
5. Review late clock-outs and long days every week.

Related terms

Mandatory rest days in Mexico. These are the holidays set by article 74 of the Federal Labor Law.

INFONAVIT contributions: what they are. The INFONAVIT contribution is 5% of each person's contribution base salary, paid by the company.

What the UMA is and how much it is worth. The UMA is the Unit of Measure and Update (Unidad de Medida y Actualización): the peso reference for calculating fines, contributions and procedures.

Frequently asked questions

Legal basis and sources