Remote, field and sales · 3 min read
Remote workers: how to record their working time step by step
Short answer
A remote worker records the start and end of their day from their phone, just like someone who goes to an office. The law does not exclude them: it requires the start and end time of each person, regardless of where they work.
What counts as working time when there is no office
Working time is the time the person is at the company's disposal. When working remotely, that starts when they connect to work and ends when they disconnect, not when they open or close the computer for another reason.
A remote worker's day, recorded
- Start: record when you sit down to work.
- Lunch: record the rest period if it is half an hour or more.
- Long pauses: a doctor's appointment or picking up the kids is recorded as a pause.
- End: record when you finish, even if it is later than planned.
What the company must define
- A reference schedule, even if it is flexible.
- Which channels are handled outside that schedule and which are not.
- Who reviews the records and how often.
What is not needed
Tracking location, taking screenshots or measuring keystrokes. The law requires none of that, and it does create distrust.
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.
| Year | Maximum working hours | Double-time overtime | Triple-time overtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 48 h | 9 h | 4 h |
| 2027 | 46 h | 9 h | 4 h |
| 2028 | 44 h | 10 h | 4 h |
| 2029 | 42 h | 11 h | 4 h |
| 2030 | 40 h | 12 h | 4 h |
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
- List who works outside the office and under which arrangement.
- Define for each arrangement where the workday begins and where it ends.
- Put it in writing and explain it to the team.
- Have each person record from their phone, wherever they are.
- Review late clock-outs and long days every week.
Related terms
Day shift: schedule and maximum length. The day shift is the one worked between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
What is NOM-035. NOM-035 is the STPS standard that requires identifying and preventing psychosocial risk factors at work, such as excessive workloads and long workdays.
What is the contribution base salary (SBC). The contribution base salary is the salary used to calculate IMSS contributions and INFONAVIT contributions.
Frequently asked questions
Do they always have to record from home?
No. They can record from wherever they work that day.
What happens if they forget to record the clock-out?
It is corrected with a note giving the reason. The original time and the correction are both saved.
Is the maximum workday per day or per week?
There are two limits: a daily one, which did not change, and a weekly one, which drops from 48 to 40 hours between 2027 and 2030.
Is overtime counted by week?
Yes. The cap on double-time overtime is weekly and per person.
Can someone work more than 12 hours in a day?
No. The sum of ordinary and overtime hours cannot exceed 12 hours per day.
Legal basis and sources
- Working hours: articles 58 to 64 of the LFT and second transitory provision of the decree.
- Workday as time at the company's disposal: article 58 of the LFT.
- Telework and the right to disconnect: articles 330-A to 330-K of the LFT.
- Telework: articles 330-A to 330-K of the LFT and NOM-037-STPS-2023.
- Decree amending the Federal Labor Law on the reduction of the working week. Official Gazette of the Federation, May 1, 2026.
- Federal Labor Law, current text. Chamber of Deputies.
How we write this content. The Sicheca team writes it from the official text of the law. When something is not yet defined by the authority, we say so. It is general information and does not replace the advice of a lawyer or an accountant.