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[null,"Prepared By:","Contributors:"]
[null,"Demarest Advogados","Renato Canizares"]
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["Global Employment Law Guide"]
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["Report Generated: 6/17/2026"]
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["Question","Brazil"]
["Lex Mundi Global Employment Law Guide"]
["What are the different categories of employment status (for example, employee, worker, self-employed individuals, etc)?","Brazilian law recognizes several categories of employment status. The core category is the employee (empregado), defined by the \nConsolidated Labor Laws (\nConsolidação das Leis do Trabalho — \"CLT\") as a natural person who provides non-occasional services to an employer, under the employer's direction and control (known as \"subordination\"), in exchange for payment. If a relationship is legally characterized as employment, the worker gains access to the full range of \nCLT and constitutional labor protections, including wage protections, paid vacation, deposits to the Severance Indemnity Fund (\nFundo de Garantia do Tempo de Serviço — \"\nFGTS\"), severance-related payments, and other statutory benefits.\nThe \nintermittent worker is also an employee under the \nCLT, but the work is not continuous; it alternates between periods of active service and inactivity, with subordination applying during work calls. Intermittent work must be formalized in writing and is subject to detailed \nCLT rules governing calls, acceptance procedures, and payment obligations.\nThe Federal Constitution guarantees equal rights between a worker with a permanent employment bond and a \ndockworker and similar categories (\ntrabalhador avulso) — a category typically associated with port and cargo-related arrangements in which the worker provides services to multiple companies without a standard employment bond.\nIn addition, Brazilian law recognizes the\n independent contractor (\ntrabalhador autônomo). The \nCLT expressly provides that engaging an independent contractor — provided legal formalities are observed — does not, by itself, create an employment relationship, even if the services rendered are continuous or exclusive. The distinction carries significant practical importance, as it is often central to misclassification disputes: the label used in the contract is not decisive; the factual reality of the arrangement — particularly the presence or absence of subordination — drives the classification analysis.\nBrazil also has a dedicated statutory regime for \ntemporary work under \nLaw No. 6,019/1974 (\nLei do Trabalho Temporário). Temporary work is defined as the work of a natural person hired by a temporary work agency and placed at the disposal of a client company to cover a temporary substitution need or a complementary demand for services.\nDomestic work is governed by its own statutory framework: \nSupplementary Law No. 150/2015 (\nLei Complementar 150/2015). This law defines domestic employee status by reference to several cumulative criteria: services must be continuous, paid, subordinate, and personal; they must serve a non-profit purpose within the employer's family residence; and they must be performed on more than two days per week.\nInternships are governed by \nLaw No. 11,788/2008 (\nLei do Estágio). Where statutory requirements are met, the internship does not create an employment bond. Among other conditions, the law requires the execution of a term of commitment (termo de compromisso) and effective supervision by the educational institution and the granting party. If an internship is maintained in violation of these statutory requirements, the arrangement may be reclassified as an employment relationship for labor and social security purposes.\nApprenticeship in Brazil is governed by the \nCLT and by the \nApprenticeship Law (\nLaw No. 10,097/2000), which together establish a framework for the professional and technical training of young workers. An apprentice must be between 14 and 24 years of age, except in the case of persons with disabilities, for whom no maximum age limit applies. The apprenticeship must be formalized through a written apprenticeship agreement (\ncontrato de aprendizagem), which is a special type of fixed-term employment contract limited to a maximum of two years. As a condition of the arrangement, the apprentice must be enrolled in a program of technical-professional training (\nformação técnico-profissional metódica) delivered by a qualified training institution. Medium and large employers are required by law to hire apprentices in a number corresponding to at least five percent and no more than fifteen percent of their workforce in positions that demand professional qualification; certain exceptions and adjustments may apply depending on the sector and applicable regulations. The apprentice is entitled to at least the hourly minimum wage and to the labor protections applicable to the category, including FGTS deposits — albeit at a reduced rate — and registration in the Work and Social Security Card (\nCarteira de Trabalho e Previdência Social — \"\nCTPS\").\n"]
["Are there different types of employment contracts (for example, fixed-term, indefinite)?","Yes. The \nCLT recognizes that the individual employment contract may be formed tacitly or expressly, verbally or in writing, and may be for an indefinite term or a fixed term, including under the intermittent work modality.\nThe \nindefinite-term contract is the default structure for standard employment in Brazil. Termination is possible, but it triggers statutory procedures and mandatory payments.\nA \nfixed-term contract is valid only in specific circumstances — for example, where the nature of the service is transitory, the business activity itself is temporary, or the parties enter into an experience contract (contrato de experiência). The fixed term cannot exceed two years, and the experience contract cannot exceed 90 days.\nIntermittent contracts must be in writing and must specify the hourly rate, which may not be lower than the applicable minimum salary hourly rate. The \nCLT sets out detailed rules on call notice, acceptance, and end-of-period payments, including proportional vacation plus the constitutional one-third bonus and proportional thirteenth salary (\n13º salário).\nPart-time contracts are defined by weekly hour limits. A part-time employee is defined as an employee hired to work up to 30 hours per week, without the possibility of overtime, or up to 26 hours per week, with up to 6 weekly overtime hours. The statutory rights applicable to a part-time employee are the same as those of a full-time employee.\nThe\n CLT also contains a specific chapter addressing \ntelework and remote work, covering applicable concepts and contract mechanics. Subsequent legislative reforms have further refined the relevant definitions and requirements.\n"]
["What requirements need to be met in order for an employment contract to be valid?","Brazilian law allows significant freedom in employment contracting, but only within the protective boundaries established by statute. The \nCLT provides that contractual stipulations may not contravene worker-protection provisions, applicable collective instruments, or decisions of competent authorities. Even where both parties agree to a given term, changes that are harmful to the employee are restricted.\nRegarding form, the \nCLT recognizes that employment contracts may be verbal or written. However, certain employment regimes depend heavily on written terms — for example, intermittent work and telework must be formalized in writing.\nIn Brazil, an employment relationship may be valid even if not properly documented, but employers are subject to strict registration obligations. These include compliance with the requirements applicable to the Work and Social Security Card (\nCarteira de Trabalho e Previdência Social — \"\nCTPS\"), which is mandatory for the exercise of any employment and also for certain self-employed remunerated activities; maintaining a formal register of workers, whether in physical books, files, or electronic systems; and, upon termination, annotating the \nCTPS, communicating the termination to the competent authorities, and paying all termination amounts within the statutory deadlines.\nEmployers are also required to report employment-related information through the eSocial system (\nSistema de Escrituração Digital das Obrigações Fiscais, Previdenciárias e Trabalhistas), which is a digital platform maintained by the Federal Government that unifies the submission of labor, social security, and tax obligations. Through eSocial, employers transmit data related to hiring, termination, payroll, occupational health and safety events, and other workforce information. Notably, the registration of employees in the \nCTPS and the maintenance of employee records are now preferably carried out digitally through this system, with the digital \nCTPS (\"\nCTPS Digital\") being automatically fed by the information reported via eSocial.\n"]
["Are part-time employees afforded the same rights as full-time employees?","Part-time employment is expressly regulated by the \nCLT. Under the current framework, part-time work is defined as up to 30 hours per week, without the possibility of weekly overtime, or up to 26 hours per week, with up to 6 weekly overtime hours.\nThe \nCLT provides that part-time salary must be proportional to the reduced schedule, as compared with full-time employees performing the same function. As a practical matter, most statutory rights still apply to part-time employees — including vacation, thirteenth salary, and \nFGTS — but the corresponding monetary amounts are scaled in proportion to salary and time worked. The Constitution anchors key worker rights broadly, regardless of the type of working arrangement.\n"]
["Can employment contracts be assigned?","In Brazil, employment is a personal relationship, and \"assignment\" is not typically treated as a straightforward contractual transfer of a worker. In practice, changes in the identity of the employer usually occur through business transfer or succession (\nsucessão trabalhista), or through lawful staffing structures, such as temporary work under \nLaw No. 6,019/1974. Separately, a change in the employee's work location (transfer) is subject to its own statutory limits.\nThat said, Brazilian law does authorize the transfer of an employment contract between companies belonging to the same economic group, and such transfers may also occur between unrelated companies. In either case, however, the employee's consent is required. The employment relationship remains personal from the worker's perspective, and any change in the employing entity must be agreed upon by the employee, preserving all previously acquired rights and contractual conditions.\n"]
["What rights do employees have (to object, to severance), if any, when the company they work for is transferred as a going concern?","The \nCLTprovides that a change in the company's legal structure does not affect the acquired rights of its employees. Likewise, a change in ownership or corporate form does not affect existing employment contracts. Where business succession is characterized under the \nCLT, labor obligations — including those incurred during the period in which employees worked for the predecessor — are assumed by the successor. The predecessor may remain jointly liable if fraud in the transfer is established.\nBrazilian statutes focus on continuity and protection of rights rather than granting employees an automatic right to object to a transfer as such. It is important to clarify that severance payments (\nverbas rescisórias) are applicable only in the event of a termination of the employment contract; a business transfer or succession, in and of itself, is not a termination event and therefore does not trigger the payment of severance amounts. The employment contract continues in force with the successor employer under the same terms and conditions.\nAs a rule, however, the employee must consent to the transfer to another employer (not applicable in a simple change of control). If the transfer results in a material change to the conditions of work that is detrimental to the employee, or if the employer commits a serious breach of its obligations, the employee may seek judicial recognition of indirect termination (rescisão indireta), which would then give rise to the payment of full severance entitlements.\n"]
["Do you have statutory rights for employees on change of control of an employer? If so, please give the statute.","Brazil does not provide a special change-of-control termination regime for ordinary private employment relationships. A share transaction or corporate control change often does not alter the employer's legal identity and therefore does not, by itself, affect the employment relationship.\nImportantly, regardless of the nature of the corporate transaction, the employee's rights remain the same after the change of control. The employee retains all vested rights and all contractual conditions that were in effect at the date of the transaction, such as salary levels, benefits, length of service, and any other terms of employment. The successor employer is bound by these pre-existing conditions and may not unilaterally reduce or eliminate them.\n"]
["In what circumstances can employers unilaterally change the terms of employment, and what remedies (if any) are afforded to an employee?","Article 468 of the\n CLT is the central provision governing this matter. It provides that changes to the conditions of an individual employment contract are lawful only where they are made by mutual consent and do not cause direct or indirect harm to the employee. Any clause that fails to meet these requirements is null.\nCommon statutory remedies include seeking judicial nullification of the harmful change and payment of any resulting differences owed, and/or claiming indirect termination (\nrescisão indireta), whereby the employee treats the contract as rescinded and seeks the applicable indemnities on the basis that the employer has breached its obligations or committed serious misconduct. Brazilian labor law also provides a framework for non-material damages (moral and existential damages) arising from the employment relationship.\nA particularly important application of this principle is the rule of salary irreducibility (\nirredutibilidade salarial). \nThe Federal Constitution, in its \nArticle 7,\n item VI, enshrines salary irreducibility as a fundamental right of workers, meaning that the employer cannot unilaterally reduce the employee's salary. The sole exception recognized by the Constitution is a reduction effected through a collective bargaining agreement (\nconvenção coletiva de trabalho or acordo coletivo de trabalho). In practice, the \nCLT further provides, in its \nArticle 611-A, that collective agreements prevail over statutory provisions on matters such as salary and working hours, but even in such cases, collective negotiations that result in salary reductions are subject to scrutiny and are typically conditioned upon the granting of corresponding advantages or protections to the affected employees, such as employment stability during the period of reduced compensation.\n"]
["Is your jurisdiction an employment-at-will jurisdiction? What are the employer’s termination rights?","Brazilian employers may terminate employment without cause, but they must comply with statutory procedures and pay the required termination amounts, including notice-related payments and \nFGTS-related penalties where applicable.\nThe \nCLT enumerates the grounds for dismissal for cause, including dishonesty, repeated poor performance, breach of company secrets, indiscipline or insubordination, and abandonment of employment, among others.\nWhere there is no fixed term, the terminating party must provide advance notice, except in the case of dismissal for just cause. The \nCLT sets baseline notice rules, and \nLaw No. 12,506/2011 establishes a system of proportional notice: 30 days for the first year of service, plus 3 additional days for each subsequent year, up to a maximum of 90 days. Upon termination, the employer must document the termination and pay all amounts owed within the statutory timelines. The \nCLT establishes a 10-day deadline, counted from the end of the contract, for the delivery of documents and payment of termination amounts, with statutory penalties for non-compliance.\nThe specific severance amounts due to the employee vary depending on the modality of termination:\nIn a \ndismissal without cause, the employer must pay the balance of unpaid salary, prior notice (worked or indemnified), proportional thirteenth salary, accrued and proportional vacation plus the constitutional one-third bonus, and the 40% penalty on \nFGTS deposits. The employee is also entitled to withdraw \nFGTS balances and, if eligible, to receive unemployment insurance (seguro-desemprego).\nIn a v\noluntary resignation (\npedido de demissão), the employee is entitled to the balance of unpaid salary, proportional thirteenth salary, and accrued and proportional vacation plus the one-third bonus. The employee must provide prior notice to the employer (or have the corresponding amount deducted). In this modality, there is no entitlement to the 40% \nFGTS penalty, no right to withdraw \nFGTS balances, and no access to unemployment insurance.\nIn a \ntermination by mutual agreement, introduced by the \n2017 Labor Reform, the employee receives the balance of unpaid salary, proportional thirteenth salary, accrued and proportional vacation plus the one-third bonus, half of the prior notice period (if indemnified), and a penalty of 20% (rather than 40%) on\n FGTS deposits. The employee may withdraw up to 80% of the\n FGTS balance but is not entitled to unemployment insurance.\nIn a \ndismissal for cause, the employee is entitled only to the balance of unpaid salary and any accrued vacation (from completed accrual periods) plus the one-third bonus. There is no right to prior notice, proportional thirteenth salary, proportional vacation, the\n FGTS penalty, \nFGTS withdrawal, or unemployment insurance.\n"]
["Are there remedies for dismissal without cause or wrongful termination?","Brazilian law does not frame termination entitlements as \"remedies\" in the common-law sense, but rather as \nstatutory termination payments that are mandated by law upon the occurrence of specific termination events. Under the \nFGTS legislation, when an employee is dismissed without cause, the employer must deposit into the employee's \nFGTS account an additional amount equal to 40% of the total deposits made during the contract term, adjusted for monetary correction and interest.\nWhile the exact composition of the termination package depends on the type of termination and any applicable collective bargaining agreement (convenção coletiva or acordo coletivo de trabalho), the statutory entitlements for a dismissal without cause typically include notice pay (or worked notice), pro-rata thirteenth salary, accrued and proportional vacation pay, the 40% \nFGTS penalty, and the issuance of properly completed termination documents.\nThe\n CLT contains mechanisms that penalize non-payment or late payment of termination amounts. It also requires, under certain circumstances, the payment of undisputed termination amounts when a dispute reaches the Labor Court.\nAdditionally, if a dismissed employee holds any form of \nemployment protection at the time of dismissal — such as protections afforded to pregnant employees, employees who have suffered occupational accidents, union representatives, members of the Internal Commission for Accident Prevention and Harassment (\"\nCIPA\"), or other categories recognized by law or collective bargaining agreements — the termination may be deemed null. In such cases, the employee may seek \njudicial reinstatement to the position, with payment of all wages and benefits corresponding to the period of unlawful removal. Where reintegration is not feasible or advisable, courts may convert the remedy into an indemnity corresponding to the period of stability.\n"]
["Are there protections for whistleblowers?","Brazil does not have a single, general private-sector whistleblower employment statute comparable to those found in some other jurisdictions. In practice, however, retaliation risks may still be challenged through labor litigation theories — including claims of unlawful dismissal, discrimination, and moral damages — depending on the facts and evidence. The \nCLT also provides a specific framework for non-material damages arising from the employment relationship.\nIt is common that \nLaw No. 13,608/2018, applicable to reporting and identity protection in the public administration context, is applied by analogy to private relations. In this sense, such law includes protections against retaliation, listing examples such as arbitrary dismissal, unjustified role changes, disciplinary sanctions, pay reductions, benefit removal, and negative references. \nFrom an employment law perspective, it is worth noting that \nArticle 23 of \nLaw No. 14,457/2022 requires companies with an Internal Commission for Accident Prevention and Harassment (\"\nCIPA\") to adopt rules of conduct regarding sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the workplace, as well as to establish a complaint channel to receive and follow up on reports. This channel must guarantee the anonymity of the complainant, and the company must carry out periodic awareness and training actions on the subject.\n"]
["Do employees have a right to privacy? If so, what are the remedies for a breach?","Yes.\n The Constitution protects intimacy, private life, honor, and personal image. It also safeguards the secrecy of communications and data, subject to limited exceptions established by law.\nThe \nGeneral Data Protection Law (\nLei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais — \"\nLGPD\",\n Law No. 13,709/2018) governs the processing of personal data by both public and private entities. Its aim is to protect the fundamental rights of freedom and privacy and the free development of personality. In the employment context, the \nLGPD affects areas such as background checks, human resources records, monitoring tools, CCTV, access controls, internal investigations, cross-border data transfers, and vendor management. Remedies include administrative and judicial measures, as well as damages claims, depending on the circumstances and the forum.\n"]
["Are employees afforded any anti-discrimination protection?","Yes. Brazil has layered protections against discrimination in employment, drawing on both constitutional and statutory sources. The Constitution prohibits wage differences and discriminatory admission criteria based on sex, age, color, or civil status, and further prohibits discrimination in pay and hiring criteria against workers with disabilities. The \nCLT includes specific prohibitions tied to discriminatory admission and employment practices, including those related to pregnancy.\nLaw No. 9,029/1995 prohibits discriminatory and restrictive practices affecting access to work or the maintenance of the employment relationship. It lists protected grounds using an open-ended \"among others\" formulation, signaling that the enumeration is illustrative rather than exhaustive.\nBrazil strengthened its equal-pay mechanisms through \nLaw No. 14,611/2023 and its implementing regulation (\nDecree No. 11,795/2023), which address salary equality between women and men and establish mechanisms such as wage transparency reporting and corrective action plans. The specific details of these obligations depend on the applicable regulatory provisions. \n"]
["Are there statutory rights to vacation, medical leave and parental leave? Have there been any changes to leave benefits in the past 12 months? Is there any proposed legislation that employers should be aware of that will impact leave benefits?","Paid annual vacation. Under the \nCLT, every employee is entitled annually to a period of paid vacation without loss of remuneration. Vacation accrues after each 12-month period of contract effectiveness, and the duration of leave is linked to the employee's absence levels during the accrual period.\n The Constitution also guarantees paid annual vacation with at least an additional one-third of the employee's normal salary.\nSick leave and medical leave. Brazil combines labor and social security rules in this area. Under \nLaw No. 8,213/1991, the benefit of auxílio por incapacidade temporária (temporary incapacity benefit, formerly known as \nauxílio-doença) for an employee becomes payable starting from the 16th day of absence, with the employer responsible for the first 15 days. Different rules apply to other categories of insured persons.\nMaternity leave.The Constitution guarantees pregnancy leave of 120 days without loss of job or salary. In a recent change, \nLaw No. 15,222/2025 (dated 29 September 2025) amended the \nCLT to allow the extension of maternity leave by up to 120 days following the hospital discharge of the newborn and the mother in specific circumstances. This law also amended \nLaw No. 8,213/1991 to expand the period of maternity pay (salário-maternidade) receipt.\nPaternity leave. The Constitution recognizes paternity leave \"as fixed by law.\" Prior to the enactment of \nLaw No. 15,371/2026, paternity leave was set at 5 days under the \nTemporary Constitutional Provisions Act (\"\nADCT\"), with the possibility of an additional 15 days (totaling 20 days) for employers enrolled in the Citizen Company Program (\nPrograma Empresa Cidadã), as provided by \nLaw No. 11,770/2008.Law No. 15,371/2026 (dated 31 March 2026) created paternity pay (\nsalário-paternidade) within the social security framework and provides for the gradual expansion of paternity leave: 10 days from 1 January 2027, 15 days from 1 January 2028, and 20 days from 1 January 2029, with the final step subject to fiscal-condition rules. Given the recent approval of this law, the topic is not expected to be materially revisited in the near term.\nShort absences without salary loss. \nArticle 473 of the \nCLT lists circumstances in which an employee may be absent from work without loss of salary, such as in connection with certain family events. The provision has been updated over time. In a very recent change, \nLaw No. 15,377/2026 (dated 2 April 2026) added a duty for employers to inform employees about the possibility of taking time off for preventive HPV and cancer examinations, linked to the absences permitted under \nCLT art. 473.\nProposed legislation employers should monitor. Although the recent enactment of \nLaw No. 15,371/2026 makes it unlikely that the core paternity leave framework will be substantially revisited in the short term, there are related proposals currently moving through the legislative process, but not a specific bill that is drawing attention.\n"]
["Are restrictive covenants recognized and, if so, what are reasonable restrictions as to geography, duration and scope of activity?","Brazil does not have a single \nCLT provision specifically governing non-compete agreements in the way some jurisdictions do, but restrictive covenants appear regularly in practice, particularly for senior employees or roles involving access to sensitive information. Courts typically evaluate enforceability through reasonableness and proportionality analysis, requiring a genuine legitimate interest on the part of the employer. Brazilian labor jurisprudence expects that post-termination restrictions be accompanied by adequate compensation, particularly where the restriction effectively limits the worker's ability to earn a livelihood.\nIn assessing whether a non-compete clause is reasonable, courts and legal doctrine tend to analyze the proportionality of the restrictions along several key dimensions: the geographic scope of the restriction, which should be limited to the areas where the employer has a legitimate competitive interest; the duration of the restriction, which in practice is commonly set between 12 and 24 months; the scope of restricted activities, which should be narrowly tailored to protect specific interests rather than broadly precluding any professional activity; and the adequacy of the compensation offered to the employee in exchange for the restrictive obligation, which must be sufficient to offset the limitation on the worker's ability to earn a livelihood during the restricted period.\n"]
["Can employees be terminated for refusing to sign a restrictive covenant? What serves as consideration for a restrictive covenant?","Regarding consideration and compensation, while not codified in a single \nCLT article, Brazilian labor courts routinely treat compensation as a key factor in determining whether a post-termination non-compete clause is enforceable in practice. A commonly adopted parameter in labor jurisprudence is the payment of one monthly salary for each month of restriction, although the adequacy of compensation is ultimately assessed on a case-by-case basis.\nWhether an employee can be terminated for refusing to sign a restrictive covenant is highly fact-specific. An employer cannot impose a harmful unilateral change to the terms of employment, as contractual changes must be made by mutual consent and must not be detrimental to the employee. Thus, refusing to commit to a restrictive covenant is not grounds for a motivated termination.\nIn principle, the employment contract may be terminated without cause by the employer; however, terminating an employee right after the refusal to accept a restrictive covenant may be considered an abuse of the right to terminate the employment agreement and give rise to discussions.\n"]
["Does your jurisdiction require contributions to a pension or retirement scheme?","Yes. Brazil's general social security system for most private-sector workers is the \nGeneral Social Security Regime (\nRegime Geral de Previdência Social — \"\nRGPS\"). The social security financing statute (\nLaw No. 8,212/1991) provides for both employee and employer contributions.\nEmployee contributions are deducted directly from the employee's salary by the employer, who acts as the withholding agent. The applicable rates are progressive, currently ranging from 7.5% to 14%, depending on the employee's contribution salary bracket, up to the social security ceiling.\nEmployer contributions are paid directly by the employer and are not deducted from the employee's compensation. The base employer contribution rate is 20% on total remuneration paid to employees. However, this is not the only charge borne by the employer: additional contributions are levied for work-accident insurance (\"\nRAT\"), third-party entities (\nterceiros / Sistema S), and other statutory surcharges. When all applicable contributions are considered, the total employer-side social security burden typically falls within a range of approximately 28.8% to 31.8% of total payroll, depending on the employer's sector and risk classification.\nA key point regarding continued work after retirement: a retiree who works or returns to work in a \nRGPS-covered activity is treated as a mandatory insured person for that activity and remains subject to social security contributions.\nIn addition to the mandatory \nRGPS, employers may offer private pension plans as a corporate benefit. It is important to note that private pension arrangements are voluntary and supplementary in nature; they do not replace or exempt either the employer or the employee from the mandatory contributions to the \nRGPS.\n\nThe \nFGTS (\nFundo de Garantia do Tempo de Serviço) is a statutory fund to which employers make monthly deposits on behalf of their employees. Withdrawals are permitted only upon the occurrence of specific events defined by law. For termination purposes, the hallmark feature is the 40% \nFGTS termination penalty payable by the employer in the case of dismissals without cause.\n"]
["Are certain benefits mandated by your jurisdiction?","Yes. Some employee benefits are constitutionally or statutorily guaranteed, while others are commonly provided as a matter of market practice or through collective bargaining. The main mandatory benefits are described below.\nThirteenth salary (13º salário): Also known as the \"Christmas bonus,\" this benefit was established by \nLaw No. 4,090/1962 and consists of an additional annual payment equivalent to one month's salary, paid in two installments during the year. The first installment must be paid between February and November, and the second by December 20.\nPaid vacation plus one-third bonus (férias + 1/3): Under the \nCLT, every employee is entitled to an annual period of paid vacation after completing a 12-month accrual period. \nThe Constitution guarantees that vacation pay must include an additional one-third of the employee's normal salary (\nterço constitucional).\n\nFGTS (Fundo de Garantia do Tempo de Serviço): The employer is required to deposit monthly an amount equivalent to 8% of the employee's gross remuneration into an individual \nFGTS account held in the employee's name at \nCaixa Econômica Federal. These deposits accumulate over time and function as a form of compulsory savings for the worker, accessible only upon the occurrence of specific events defined by law, such as dismissal without cause, retirement, or serious illness.\nTransportation voucher (vale-transporte):Established by Law No. 7,418/1985, this benefit requires the employer to advance the cost of the employee's daily commute on public collective transportation. The employee may be charged up to 6% of their base salary to partially offset the cost, with the employer bearing the remainder.\nIn addition to these statutory benefits, \ncollective bargaining agreements (\nconvenções coletivas de trabalho —\n CCT, or \nacordos coletivos de trabalho — \nACT) play a central role in defining employment benefits in Brazil. These instruments are negotiated between unions and employers or employer associations and establish mandatory rights and obligations for all employees within the relevant professional category. Collective agreements commonly provide for benefits such as meal vouchers (\nvale-refeição), food vouchers (\nvale-alimentação), supplementary health insurance, and dental plans, among others. Employers must comply with the applicable collective instrument for their sector and region.\nProfit sharing (Participação nos Lucros ou Resultados — PLR): is constitutionally recognized and regulated by\n Law No. 10,101/2000. \nPLR is typically established through negotiation between the employer and employees or their union, and its payment depends on the applicable plan design. It is expressly excluded from the employee's remuneration base for labor and social security purposes.\n"]
["Is it permitted to have a mandatory retirement age in your jurisdiction?","For most private-sector employment relationships governed by the \nCLT, Brazilian law does not impose a mandatory retirement age that automatically terminates the employment contract. Retirement under the \nGeneral Social Security Regime (\"\nRGPS\") does not, by itself, affect or terminate the existing employment relationship. An employee who acquires the right to retire may continue to work under the same terms and conditions, and the employer has no legal basis to terminate the contract solely on account of the employee's retirement.\nEstablishing an internal policy that requires the dismissal of employees upon reaching retirement age or upon obtaining retirement benefits may constitute a discriminatory practice (age-based discrimination) and is prohibited under Brazilian law. Such practices may be challenged under \nLaw No. 9,029/1995, which prohibits discriminatory practices affecting access to or maintenance of the employment relationship, and under constitutional anti-discrimination principles.\nBrazil does, however, provide for compulsory retirement for certain categories of public agents under the Constitution's public-service retirement framework. \nSupplementary Law No. 152/2015 implements this provision, setting compulsory retirement at 75 years of age for various public roles.\n"]
["Is it possible to cease pension or insured benefits (income continuance/disability insurance, healthcare, life assurance, etc.) when work continues beyond retirement age?","A retiree who continues working in an \nRGPS-covered activity remains a mandatory insured person for that activity and continues to be subject to social security contributions under the applicable financing rules.\nBrazil has detailed rules governing the maintenance of employer-linked health plan coverage after retirement or dismissal without cause. These rules are anchored in Law No. 9,656/1998 and regulated by the National Supplementary Health Agency (\nAgência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar — \nANS). They apply where the worker contributed to the plan during active employment and assumes full payment of the premium upon departure.\n"]
["Can an employer require that employees return to work in the office (absent government order to shut down)? If an employee refuses to return to the office, can the employer terminate the employee’s employment?","Brazilian law distinguishes between telework or remote work and in-person work and provides specific mechanisms for changing between these regimes. Under the \nCLT's telework provisions, the employer may determine a change from telework to in-person work, provided that a minimum 15-day transition period is guaranteed and the change is recorded in a contractual addendum.\nIf an employee refuses to comply with a lawful management instruction that falls within contractual and statutory limits, the employer may consider disciplinary measures. The \nCLT includes insubordination and indiscipline as potential grounds for dismissal with just cause, although the application of such measures depends on proportionality, proper documentation, and the specific facts of the case. At the same time, employers must respect the statutory limits on harmful unilateral changes and other protective rules.\n"]