New legislation effective January 2023 will require private-sector companies with 100 or more employees to provide daycare services for the children of employees by mid-2024. The Growing Together Law approved on June 22, 2022, provides a legal framework for daycare centers (Centros de Atención a Primera Infancia – CAPIs), sets employers’ requirements on daycare services, and clarifies and enhances the role of the state in children’s and teenagers’ healthcare and education. The new law repeals and replaces an employer daycare mandate that was approved in 2018 but never implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notable aspects of the Growing Together Law include:
The government has been looking to implement mandatory daycare services for almost four years, so the new requirement does not come as a surprise. That said, as companies currently, in general, don’t provide daycare or childcare benefits, the mandate will add to labor costs for affected employers. Employers should start considering how they will comply with the new requirements as well as reviewing their benefit budget planning for 2023/2024.