Ministry of Labor publishes Inspection Protocol on Subcontracting

I. Background and Regulatory Context
​Labor subcontracting in Mexico has undergone significant evolution over the past decade. From its incorporation into the Federal Labor Law as a regulated hiring regime, to the 2021 reform that prohibited personnel subcontracting and limited the figure to the rendering of specialized services or the execution of specialized works (REPSE), it is clear that the goal has been to eradicate schemes that conceal employment relationships, undermine workers’ rights, and create unfair competition.
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​In this context, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS) published the “Inspection Protocol on Subcontracting,” dated September 2025. The purpose of this publication is to standardize the actions of labor inspections when reviewing subcontracting schemes and, at the same time, provide workplaces with clear criteria on what will be verified during these visits.
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​II. Objectives and Scope of the Protocol
​The overall objective of the Protocol is to describe the procedure and indicators that labor inspectors must apply to monitor compliance with labor regulations on subcontracting, based on documents, interviews, physical evidence, and other elements obtained in the workplaces of contractors and beneficiary companies. The text specifies that its guidelines apply particularly to:

• REPSE verification visits carried out at the workplaces of individuals or legal entities registered as providers of specialized services or works.
• Subcontracting-related inspections conducted on both contractors and beneficiary companies.
• Ordinary or extraordinary inspections carried out in coordination with other STPS departments, such as the General Directorate for Decent Work and the Directorate for Occupational Safety and Health.

This Protocol seeks to provide labor inspectors with tools to make oversight actions more effective and consistent, incorporate a risk-based approach for inspection scheduling, and strengthen information-sharing with other authorities to detect potential non-compliance in subcontracting practices.
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​III. Inspection Methodology and Risk-Based Scheduling
​The Protocol incorporates a prior risk-analysis approach. The General Directorate of Federal Labor Inspection may use information submitted by companies when registering with REPSE, as well as data from the SAT, IMSS, and INFONAVIT, to identify inconsistencies between:

• Declared activities and the activities actually performed.
• Reported payroll, social-security contributions, and number of workers assigned to specific services.
• The beneficiary company’s corporate purpose and the contractor’s activities.

Based on this analysis, the authority determines which companies will be subject to REPSE verification visits or subcontracting inspections. The Protocol also includes templates for commission and inspection orders, as well as a flowchart outlining how the visit unfolds—from the inspector’s arrival, identification, and delivery of the order, through the documentation review, interviews, and preparation of the final inspection record.
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​In practice, this means that employers must assume that the authority will arrive with a preliminary understanding of what it intends to confirm or dismiss, and that any clear discrepancy between official information and operational reality may trigger adverse findings.
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​IV. Compliance Recommendations
​We consider it essential to adopt specific preventive measures to reduce regulatory risk and strengthen the employer’s defensive position in the event of an inspection. We specifically recommend:

• Conducting a comprehensive review of all providers operating as specialized service or specialized-work contractors, verifying REPSE validity and scope, corporate purpose, primary economic activity, and consistency with the services actually rendered.
• Revising and restructuring specialized-services agreements, incorporating clear service descriptions, delimitation of activities that do not overlap with the beneficiary’s personnel functions, labor- and social-security-compliance clauses, and mechanisms to request periodic evidence (payroll receipts, IMSS/INFONAVIT payments, etc.).
• Systematic organization and preservation of documents so that agreements, REPSE registrations, corporate records, and compliance evidence are readily available and organized for inspection, avoiding improvised searches that may create friction with the inspector.
• Designing and implementing an internal protocol for handling subcontracting inspections, defining who will receive the authority, what guidelines must be followed during the visit, how access to information will be managed, and who will serve as liaison with the inspector and with the firm's legal team.

V. Final Comments and Firm Support
​The Protocol confirms that subcontracting will only be tolerated under very specific and verifiable conditions. For employers, the question is no longer whether the authority will review these schemes, but when—and with what prior information.
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​At Zubieta & Landa Elizondo, we recommend treating this matter as a strategic compliance and risk-management priority. Our team is available to:

• Conduct subcontracting and specialized-services audits within corporate groups.
• Redesign agreements, internal policies, and inspection protocols from an employer-protection perspective.
• Accompany the company during STPS visits and, when necessary, handle the appropriate defense actions against adverse resolutions.

We remain at your service for advice and assistance in implementing the aforementioned. If you require additional information, please contact us.

Regards,
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​ZUBIETA & LANDA, ELIZONDO ABOGADOS

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