Nearshore Americas
Microsoft Mexico

Most Mexican SMEs Cannot Meet Remote Work Regulations

Two-thirds of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Mexico have continued working remotely despite being unable to meet the country’s stringent law on teleworking.

According to a survey conducted by US computing giant Microsoft, 10% of SMEs said they cannot afford to comply with legal requirements.

The Mexican federal government enacted a law to regulate remote-working earlier this year, as more and more businesses moved their workforce to home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the new law, companies must provide and maintain their employees’ computing devices during the work-from-home period. They must also pay the cost of internet and electricity used during work on behalf of their staff.

In the survey, 44% of SMEs said that all of their staff had been working from home, while 37% said their employees worked at the office a few days a month.

A growing rate of cyberattacks is also causing worries for SMEs in Mexico, the study found. Most companies cannot afford to provide tech training to their employees, nor can they move their data onto the cloud, the report noted.

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Despite the hurdles, thousands of other SMEs are planning to adopt the remote-working model in the months to come.

Narayan Ammachchi

News Editor for Nearshore Americas, Narayan Ammachchi is a career journalist with a decade of experience in politics and international business. He works out of his base in the Indian Silicon City of Bangalore.

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