Brazil HR Information

Updated on: 2025/08/04 14:03 (UTC)

Overview

The employment relationship in Brazil is governed by provisions of the 1988 federal constitution and the major 1943 Consolidation of Labor Laws and its amendments, which cover a wide variety of employment-related subjects from the various forms of leave to occupational safety and health and rules against discrimination, as well as by other statutes and by collective bargaining agreements.

Hiring

Employment Contracts

Under Brazilian law, employment contracts are required to be in writing only for professional athletes, professional artists and apprentices. Otherwise, an employment relationship may be created by written contract, oral promise or tacit agreement. A tacit employment agreement may be implied based on the parties’ behavior in the absence of a formal employment agreement.

In the absence of a specific termination date, an employment agreement is presumed to be for an indefinite period.

A probationary period may be established for a period of up to 90 days and may be renewed once if the limit of 90 days is observed.

Employees may be hired under temporary employment contracts for up to 180 days, renewable for up to an additional 90 days, to meet demand that has arisen as a result of:

• unforeseeable factors,
• periodic or seasonal work, and
• an illegal or abusive strike.

Employers must register employees with the Ministry of Labor and the Registry of Employment. All immigrants and temporary residents who come to work in Brazil must register themselves with the Federal Police within 30 days of their arrival.

When a new employee is hired, applicable identification and payment data regarding the employee must be immediately entered into the eSocial system and any subsequent changes in status must be reported within a specified time period. With eSocial, information on workplace accidents and employee terminations must be sent by the next working day and on-the-job deaths must be reported immediately.

Effective Sept. 22, 2022, employers must give priority to women with children up to the age of six when allocating vacancies for positions that can be performed through remote work. Under Brazil’s labor law, telework or remote work is defined as “the provision of services outside the employer’s premises, predominantly or not, with the use of information and communication technologies, which, by their nature, do not constitute external work.”

Restrictions on Hiring

Youths under 16 years of age may not be hired for regular work, although those age 14 to 16 may be hired as apprentices. Youths under 18 are prohibited from working at night or in hazardous professions.

Brazilian citizens. At least two-thirds of the employees of any industrial or commercial business that has more than three employees must be Brazilian citizens; no more than one-third may be foreigners. Rural businesses, businesses in agricultural areas engaged in the processing of local produce and businesses engaged in quarry or excavation activities other than mining are exempted from this rule.

Persons with physical disabilities. Companies with more than 100 employees must meet quotas for the hiring of workers who have disabilities or have gone through rehabilitation training after suffering a disability, as follows:

• 100 to 200 employees: 2 percent of workforce
• 201 to 500 employees: 3 percent of workforce
• 501 to 1,000 employees: 4 percent of workforce
• 1,001 or more employees: 5 percent of workforce

Employers that fail to meet the quota can be subject to large fines.

Apprentices. Employers must fill 5 percent to 15 percent of their positions that require professional education with apprentices who are enrolled in training programs offered by the National Services for Industrial Trade, Transportation, and Rural Training.

Recordkeeping

Although employment agreements generally need not be in writing, an employee is required to present his or her work and social security card to the employer to document employment. The employer must sign a receipt for the card and notate on the card the date of employment, the pay rate and any special conditions of employment. The card also must be annotated when the employee receives a salary increase or takes annual leave, when employment is terminated and on any other occasion when requested by the employee. If it fails to annotate the card when required, the employer is subject to a fine.

Employment-related documents must be stored by the employer and made available for inspection by the Ministry of Labor.

Employers must use eSocial, Brazil’s digital reporting tool, to report all employer and employee data to the government.

Background Checks

Brazil does not have specific legislation governing background checks. New hires can be required to take medical examinations, but the employer may not discriminate against the employee based on the results. Because Brazilian law provides protection against self-incrimination, employees cannot be required to submit to drug testing, but may agree voluntarily to such testing.

Noncompetition Agreements

Brazilian labor courts have held that employment agreements may include noncompetition provisions under special circumstances—such as for high-level employees who have access to confidential information and trade secrets—if the agreement contains reasonable limitations on duration, geographical scope and core business and provides reasonable compensation to the employee in exchange for the agreement not to compete.

Reference Citations

Employment Contracts: Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, arts. 442 - 445 (Portuguese); Law No. 13,429 of March 31, 2017

Restrictions on Hiring: Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, arts. 354, 402 - 403, 429-431 (Portuguese); Law No. 8,213, 1991, Art. 93

Immigration and Work Permits

In General

Foreign nationals outside Brazil seeking to reside and/or work in the country must obtain a temporary visa and then apply for residence within 90 days of entry. Residence visas generally are valid for up to two years and are renewable.

Visas and Work Permits

On Nov. 21, 2017, Brazil reorganized its visa program into five categories: visit, temporary, diplomat, official, and courtesy. Visit visas allow foreign workers who do not intend to reside in Brazil to travel to the country for short-term activities such as business meetings and sales calls. Visit visas are valid for up to 90 days and can be extended for an additional 90-day period, with a maximum of 180 days in any 12-month period.

The temporary visa covers most categories of foreign workers. Foreign nationals outside Brazil seeking to reside and/or work in the country must obtain a temporary visa and then apply for residence with the Federal Police within 90 days of entry. Residence visas generally are valid for up to two years and are renewable.

Upon arrival in Brazil, expatriate employees must apply for a personal identity card, which must be carried at all times. Information from the identity card will be entered in the National Register of Foreigners.

Employees must also obtain a taxpayer number from the Federal Tax Authorities and a workbook from the Ministry of Labor.

Foreign employees working for Brazilian employers (including U.S. subsidiaries) are covered by Brazilian employment laws and entitled to all benefits and protections they confer. Foreign employees may not be paid less than local Brazilian employees in the same occupation or position.

Digital Nomad Visa. Effective Jan. 24. 2022, people seeking to work remotely in Brazil for a company that does not have a presence in the country can apply for a digital nomad visa. The applicant must meet specified income requirements. The visa is valid for one year and can be extended for the same period.

Penalties

If the employer breaches the immigration rules, the Labor Ministry can impose a number of sanctions including but not limited to:

• preventing the employer from sponsoring new employees for a specified period of time,
• cancelling the business sponsorship agreement,
• cancelling the visas of any employees and their accompanying family members and
• imposing a financial penalty.

Fines for individuals range from 100 reals to 10,000 reals. Fines for employers range from 1,000 reals to 1 million reals.

Forms

Visa application form

Reference Citations

Visas and Work Permits: Law No. 13,445 of May 24, 2017, arts. 12-14, 30 (Portuguese)

Nondiscrimination

In General

The federal constitution prohibits discrimination in hiring, pay, or working conditions on the basis of sex, age, color, or marital status and in hiring or pay on the basis of disability.

In addition, an employer may not:

• advertise a job with any reference to sex, age, color or family situation, except if the nature of the employment requires it;
• refuse to hire or promote an employee or dismiss an employee because of the employee’s sex, age, color, marital status or pregnancy, except if the nature of the employment is incompatible with any of these characteristics;
• make decisions about pay, training or promotions based on sex, age, color or family situation;
• require proof that a woman is not pregnant as a condition of hiring or of continuing employment;
• deny registration for job competition in private companies based on sex, age, color, marital status or pregnancy or
• require female employees to submit to intimate inspections.

Discriminating on the basis of race or demanding proof of nonpregnancy is a crime that can be prosecuted by a district attorney. If subjected to any other kind of discrimination, employees can seek remedies in the labor courts.

An amendment to the country’s Statute of Racial Equality requires employers to update certain workplace forms by adding a section for ethnic and racial identification. For example, forms related to employment admission, dismissal, work accidents, and insurance enrollment must be modified to allow workers to identify their race and ethnicity on the forms.

Gender Discrimination

Under Brazilian law, sexual harassment is a crime punishable by up to two years in prison. The law defines sexual harassment as “to impose upon someone with the purpose of obtaining favors of a sexual nature, abusing the relationship of authority or superiority inherent in the discharge of one’s position or function.”

Pay Discrimination

Equal Pay Law: Enacted on July 4, 2023, an amendment to the Labor Code strengthens the country’s equal pay law, which requires equal pay for employees who perform the same work for the same employer in the same location. Employers are now obligated to ensure that women and men receive equal pay and benefits for comparable work performed. In determining whether employees perform the same work, the employer may consider the employees’ productivity, technical skills, and length of service. Employers are also prohibited from pay discrimination based on “sex, race, ethnicity, origin or age.”

Gender Pay Reporting: Companies with more than 100 employees must disclose every two years in salary transparency and remuneration reports comparable wages and benefits of male and female employees. The reports must also include anonymized salary data and information on the representation of different demographics in management and leadership positions. Employers violating the law may be subject to administrative fines.

Note: Brazilian courts are reviewing a preliminary injunction filed by employers to determine whether disclosing the reports on websites and social media platforms violates the country’s data privacy and competition laws.

Subject to statutory exceptions, a Brazilian employer may not pay Brazilian citizens less than it pays foreigners for performing the same work.

Other Forms of Discrimination

Although moral harassment—i.e., repeatedly subjecting an employee to humiliating situations in the workplace—is not expressly forbidden by federal law, it has been recognized by the labor courts as a basis for a claim for damages by an aggrieved employee. Examples of moral harassment include excessive and unjustified demands on the employee, repeated threats against the employee, repeated and unjustifiable questioning of an employee’s competence, humiliating termination procedures and acts taken to force an employee to resign from a tenured job.

Reference Citations

Nondiscrimination: Federal Constitution, 1988, art. 7, part XXX

Gender Discrimination: Criminal Code, Art. 216 (Portuguese)

Pay Discrimination: Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, art. 7 (Portuguese)

Employee Privacy

Employee Data

Employers doing business in Brazil must comply with the country’s General Data Protection Law.

Under the statute, employers must ensure that personal data is:

• processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner;
• collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes;
• adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purpose(s);
• accurate and where necessary kept up to date;
• kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purpose(s) for which the data are processed; and
• processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, using appropriate technical and organizational measures.

Employee Monitoring and Surveillance

Employers may use audiovisual devices to monitor employees throughout the workplace with the exception of private areas such as bathrooms.

Employers also may monitor employee phone and email communication systems as part of an express policy stating that such systems are for business use only. Employers seeking to tape an employee’s phone calls must receive the employee’s written consent.

Reference Citations

Employee Data: Federal Constitution, 1988, art. 5; General Data Protection Law, 2018 (Portuguese)

Employee Monitoring and Surveillance: Criminal Code, Art. 151 (Portuguese)

Compensation

Hours of Work

The federal constitution sets forth “normal working hours” of eight per day and 44 per week, unless provided otherwise in a collective bargaining agreement. The daily work period also may be extended to 12 hours, followed by 36 hours of uninterrupted rest, by way of an individual written agreement or a collective labor agreement.

Employees may be required to work a maximum of two overtime hours per day. In an emergency, additional overtime may be required if a special agreement is registered with the Ministry of Labor and Employment.

Workers are entitled to 11 hours off between two working days. For every continuous work period of six hours during the workday, employers must provide a one-hour break for rest or a meal. Employers that fail to grant this rest break must pay workers a 50 percent wage premium for the hour that was supposed to be a break. Rest and meal breaks can be reduced to 30 minutes by way of a collective bargaining agreement.

Employees are entitled to one day off each week with pay, usually Sunday unless the Ministry of Labor and Employment has specifically approved an employer’s request for Sunday work.

Underage employees cannot work night shifts. For night shift work, defined as work done between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., employers are required to pay 20 percent above the rate for daytime work. For purposes of calculating night work, each completed hour corresponds to 52 minutes and 30 seconds, which means a seven-hour period of work at night is equal to eight hours of work in day hours.

Businesses with more than 20 employees must track employees’ work time in their work registration document.

Minimum Wage

Effective Jan. 1, 2024, the monthly minimum wage is 1,412 reals per month. Effective May 1, 2023, Brazil’s monthly minimum wage was 1,320 reals per month.

A company that has hired an employee with a salary based on the minimum wage is not required to increase that employee’s pay if the minimum wage is later increased. Similarly, collective bargaining agreements may not include automatic cost-of-living increases in pay.

For night shift work, defined as work done between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., employers are required to pay 20 percent above the rate for daytime work. Minors may not be employed for night work.

Under the principle of habituation, all benefits habitually granted by the employer are considered to be part of the employee’s compensation and may not be abolished.

Employees working under dangerous conditions—such as those requiring contact with explosives, flammable materials or electricity—are eligible for a 30 percent increase in their base salaries.

Brazil’s states are permitted to establish and enforce minimum wages that are higher than the national minimum wage and may do so for some industry sectors but not others.

Overtime

Any hours worked over eight per day and 44 per week are considered overtime, unless provided otherwise in a collective bargaining agreement. Compensation for overtime must be at least 50 percent higher than compensation for normal working hours. Employees are entitled to double pay for work on holidays and Sundays.

Part-time employees whose maximum hour limit is 26 hours per week are entitled to up to six overtime hours per week. Overtime is not allowed for overtime contracts between 27 and 30 hours.

Employees can only be required to work a maximum of two overtime hours per day because the legal limit to the workday is ten hours. However, the law provides for a few exceptional circumstances in which additional overtime may be required.

If employees remain at the workplace to avoid inclement weather or unsafe conditions, such time will not be considered overtime.

Wage Payment

Payment must be distributed at the workplace during working hours, except in the case of bank deposits. When payment is made on a monthly basis, it should be paid by the fifth business day of the month following the month in which the labor was performed.

Employers must provide workers with a copy of the salary statement. Remuneration must be paid in local currency. A portion of remuneration may be paid in kind, provided these benefits are not necessary for the development of the job itself, in which case they will be regarded as work instruments and not as salary.

Mandatory Bonuses

Employees are entitled to a yearend bonus, sometimes referred to as a “13th month salary” or “Christmas bonus,” in an amount equal to one month’s salary. The Christmas bonus is divided into two installments, the first payable between Feb. 1 and Nov. 30, the second before Dec. 20. Typically, half the bonus is paid in November, the other half in December.

Workers are also entitled to transportation vouchers to cover the cost of commuting to work on public transportation. Such vouchers are not considered part of the employee’s compensation.

Although not legally required, many employers offer profit sharing plans to their employees. Payments made under profit sharing plans are not considered part of an employee’s wages for tax purposes as long as:

• the plan is offered to all employees of the company; and
• the employer negotiates the plan with the employees and their labor union.

The amounts to be paid to employees may be freely negotiated between the employer and the employees. The employer can only make up to two payments under the plan in the same calendar year.

Reference Citations

Hours of Work: Federal Constitution, 1998, art. 7, part XIII; Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, arts. 66 - 71 (Portuguese); Legislative Decree No. 9,666 of Aug. 28, 1946, art. 73 (Portuguese)

Minimum Wage: Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, arts. 73, 193 (Portuguese)

Overtime: Federal Constitution, 1998, art. 7, parts XIII, XVI; Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, art. 59 (Portuguese); Law No. 13,467 of July 13, 2017, arts. 4, 58-A (Portuguese)

Wage Payment: Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, arts. 459, 463 (Portuguese)

Mandatory Bonuses: Law No. 4,090, 1962, art. 1 (Portuguese); Federal Constitution, 1998, art. 7, part XI; Law No. 10,101 of December 2000 (Portuguese)

Benefits

Vacation

Employees are entitled to up to 30 days of paid vacation annually, the exact number of days depending on how many unexcused absences the worker had during the year, as follows:

• five or fewer unexcused absences: 30 days of paid vacation
• six to 14 absences: 24 days
• 15 to 23 absences: 18 days
• 24 to 32 absences: 12 days
• more than 32 absences: no entitlement to vacation.

To be eligible for annual leave employees must have completed 12 months of employment for the employer. Vacation pay must be at least one-third higher than the employee’s regular salary.

Employees must be allowed to take their vacation within 12 months of earning it or they are entitled to double their regular pay when they do take it. An employee may elect to receive a cash payment in lieu of up to one-third of vacation days due. Unused annual leave cannot be carried over to the following year.

Employers are entitled to mandate when vacation is taken, but the most common practice is to set the vacation period together with the employee. The vacation allotment may be split into three periods subject to the agreement of the employee. One of these periods must be for at least 14 consecutive days and the remaining two periods can be no less than five consecutive days.

A record of the vacation period must be kept in the employee’s personnel file.

Holidays

Employees are entitled to eight national holidays:

• Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
• April 21: Tiradentes
• May 1: Labor Day
• Sept. 7: Independence Day
• Oct. 12: Our Lady of Aparecida Day
• Nov. 2: All Souls Day
• Nov. 15: Proclamation of the Republic Day
• Dec. 25: Christmas

Brazil also recognizes the following optional holidays and optional partial holidays:

• Carnival (the two days before Ash Wednesday)
• Ash Wednesday (44 days before Good Friday)
• Good Friday (two days before Easter)
• Corpus Christi (on a Thursday about two months after Easter)
• Oct. 28: Public Service Day (date may vary according to Ministry of Planning ordinance)
• Dec. 24 after 2 p.m.: Christmas Eve
• Dec. 31 after 2 p.m.: New Year’s Eve

Depending on where employees work, they also may be entitled to local holidays. General and state elections are also considered public holidays and are held on the first and last Sundays in October.

If a national holiday falls on a Sunday, employees are allowed to observe the holiday on the following Monday.

Employees who are required to work on a public holiday are entitled to double pay.

Maternity Leave

Female employees are entitled to four months (120 days) of paid maternity leave, including up to a month before the due date. The leave can be extended by two weeks before or after the birth depending on the medical situation of the mother or child.

Employers pay the maternity leave—which is equal to the employee’s last full salary (or in case of variable pay to the average of the last six months of salary)—but are later reimbursed by the social security system.

Upon notifying her employer about the pregnancy, the employee cannot be dismissed without cause until five months after delivery.

New mothers are entitled to two half-hour breaks a day to breast-feed until the child has reached 6 months of age.

Paternity Leave

Fathers are entitled to five days of paid paternity leave, and cannot be discriminated against or have their salaries reduced by their employer in retaliation for taking the leave.

Sick Leave

Employees who must miss work because of a non work-related injury or illness are entitled to be paid their regular salary by their employer for the first 15 days they miss. If they are absent longer than that, the sick leave is paid by Social Security.

Workers receiving sick leave social security benefits may be required to undergo periodic medical examinations and, if they can no longer perform their jobs, may have to participate in vocational rehabilitation to be trained for a new job. Workers that received sick leave social security benefits cannot be fired for up to 1 year after their return to regular work.

Other Leave

Employees are entitled to three days of paid leave to get married and two days of paid bereavement leave if a spouse, parent, child, sibling or other dependent dies.

Pensions and Social Security

Workers who meet the requirements for specific programs are entitled to receive social security retirement benefits and unemployment benefits. Social security also provides benefits in the following areas: survivor pensions, aid for dependents of people who are incarcerated, savings funds, benefits for the elderly and those with disabilities, professional rehabilitation assistance, work accident payments, maternity leave payments, family salary support, accident insurance and sick leave benefits. Employees make contributions to the social security program based on their salary. Employers also contribute to the program.

The legal retirement age is 65 for men and 60 for women. To qualify for benefits, male employees must have made contributions for at least 35 years, women for at least 30 years.

To obtain unemployment insurance benefits, an employee must have been in an employment relationship for at least six of the previous 36 months.

The Guaranteed Fund for Length of Service is an account funded by employers that provides workers with an annuity on retirement or termination without cause. If a worker dies, survivors receive the funds from the account. Withdrawals can also be made for the purchase of real estate, to pay for health care costs in severe medical cases or if a worker has a personal need because of a natural disaster. All employees hired since May 10, 1988, as well as any employees who had not achieved 10 years of service with their employers by 1988, have a Guaranteed Fund account, into which an employer must make monthly deposits.

Workers’ Compensation

All employers are required to contribute to a labor accident insurance fund, which is administered by the Ministry of Social Security. Employees and/or their beneficiaries receive compensation from the fund for job-related injuries, disability or death.

Reference Citations

Vacation: Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, arts. 130 - 137 (Portuguese); Law No. 13,467 of July 13, 2017, art. 134(Portuguese)

Holidays: Federal Law No. 605/1949, art. 9 (Portuguese)

Maternity Leave: Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, arts. 373, 389, 392 - 396 (Portuguese)

Paternity Leave: Temporary Constitutional Provisions Act, art. 10

Sick Leave: Law No. 8,213, 1991, art. 59 (Portuguese)

Other Leave: Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, art. 473 (Portuguese)

Pensions and Social Security: Federal Constitution, 1988, art. 201

Labor Relations

In General

Workers have a constitutional right to unionize or to decline membership in a union and to strike, although most collective bargaining disputes are resolved in the labor courts. Only union members who pay monthly dues are entitled to representation or other benefits from the union.

Right to Organize

Agreements negotiated between companies and employees may override statutory requirements relating to labor rights, such as vacation usage, work shift, flextime arrangements, reduced meal breaks, and remote work. However, some labor protections, such as FGTS deposits, minimum wage, 13th salary, and vacation pay cannot be subject to negotiation.

The government will recognize a single union as representing all workers in a particular profession in a specific geographical area if the union has obtained membership of at least one-third of the workers in that profession in that area. Unless it has been recognized by the government, a union may not collect dues from its members, represent them in proceedings before the labor courts, or negotiate collective bargaining agreements with employers. Where a state-recognized union exists, the federal constitution requires the employer to collectively bargain with the union.

Each company is linked to a union according to the business activity it performs. An automaker, for example, is linked to the steelworkers’ union, even though many of its employees will not be metallurgical workers, because automobile manufacture is its principal activity.

Employers must receive express approval from employees prior to deducting union fees from their wages. If employees want to pay a union fee, they must ask their local union to send them a bill and they need to pay the fee through a bank. They also need to sign a document indicating that they have agreed to pay the fee.

Works Councils

Employees working for companies with more than 200 employees are entitled to the right to elect a committee to represent them, formed of up to three members (in companies with more than 200 up to 3,000 employees), five members (companies with more than 3,000 and up to 5,000 employees) or seven members (companies with more than 5,000 employees).

Dispute Resolution

Although arbitration of disputes over collective bargaining agreements is constitutionally permitted, most disputes are resolved in the labor courts. To encourage settlement negotiations, the law allows a collective dispute over economic issues to be filed in labor court only with the consent of both parties.

In order to resolve a dispute through arbitration, the employee must earn a monthly salary that is at least twice the maximum monthly pension limit.

Employees must pay court costs for cases that are deemed groundless.

Strikes and Lockouts

All workers have a constitutional right to strike. If, however, a strike affects essential services—such as water treatment and distribution, electrical power, fuel production and distribution or public transportation—and may harm the public, the attorney general for labor may ask the labor courts to resolve the dispute.

Successorship Clauses

Employee labor conditions must not be reduced or negatively impacted from a transfer of undertaking.

Reference Citations

Right to Organize: Federal Constitution, 1988, art. 5, part XVII

Works Councils: Law No. 13,467 of July 13, 2017, art. 510A (Portuguese)

Strikes and Lockouts: Federal Constitution, 1988, art. 5, part VII

Safety, Health and Security

In General

Companies are required to create an occupational health and medical control program, an environmental risk prevention program, and an internal commission for accident prevention.

Workplace Safety and Health

Companies are required to create the following programs:

• Occupational health and medical control program, which requires employees to submit to medical examinations upon hiring; periodically during employment; upon return to work after an extended period of illness, accident or childbirth; upon a planned change of duties and upon dismissal. The purpose of the initial medical examination and the exam upon a planned change of duties is to determine whether prospective employees suffer from any medical conditions that would prevent them from performing their duties. The periodic medical examinations are intended to uncover any work-related illnesses or any general deterioration of health. The purpose of the medical examination upon dismissal is to determine whether employees suffer from any condition that would preclude their termination.
• Environmental risk prevention program, under which employers must anticipate, recognize, evaluate and control the existence of environmental risks in the workplace.
• Internal commission for accident prevention, composed of both employer and employee representatives, which evaluates working conditions with the goal of reducing workplace dangers.

Drug and Alcohol Use

Smoking is prohibited in all enclosed public places and in enclosed workplaces with more than one worker.

Reference Citations

Workplace Safety and Health: Federal Constitution, 1988, art. 7, part XXII; Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, arts. 162 - 164 (Portuguese)

Drug and Alcohol Use: Law No. 12,546, 2011, art. 49 (Portuguese)

Termination

Termination by Employer

Just cause for dismissal exists if an employee:

• engages in dishonesty or other misconduct;
• engages in outside work, without the employer’s permission, that interferes with his or her work for the employer or adversely affects his or her duty of loyalty to the employer;
• is convicted of criminal conduct resulting in imprisonment;
• negligently, carelessly or indifferently performs work;
• is habitually intoxicated at work;
• violates any rules of confidentiality imposed by the employer;
• commits acts of insubordination;
• is absent from work without permission, generally for at least 30 days;
• habitually engages in gambling in the workplace;
• harms the reputation of another worker, supervisor or the employer or physically harms them, except in cases of self-defense or the defense of others;
• commits acts detrimental to national security, as determined by an administrative inquiry;
• commits abusive acts during a strike;
• refuses without justification to follow the employer’s occupational safety and health policies or
• in the case of a banking employee, repeatedly fails to pay lawful debts when due.

Discharge for just cause requires no advance notice. An employee who disputes an employer’s finding of just cause for dismissal may bring suit against the employer in Brazil’s labor courts.

Termination without just cause: The employer also may terminate the employment relationship without just cause. An employee discharged without just cause must be given advance notice of termination. If the employee is paid weekly or at shorter intervals, eight days’ notice is required. If the employee is paid less frequently than weekly or has worked for the employer for one year or longer, a minimum of 30 days’ advance notice is required, with three more days added for each additional year of service at the company up to a 90-day prior notice period.

During the period of notice, employees may take leave for up to two hours a day with pay. Alternatively, employees paid weekly or at shorter intervals may take off one full day with pay, and those paid less frequently or who have at least one year of seniority may take off seven full days with pay.

If the employer fails to give the required notice, the employee is entitled to be paid his or her regular salary for the period of required notice.

The federal constitution forbids an employer from terminating a union representative, a candidate for a union representative position or a former representative whose term expired within the past year, unless the person has committed a serious crime.

A representative on the employer’s internal commission for accident prevention, a candidate to be a representative or a former representative whose term expired within the past year may not be terminated except for just cause.

Pregnant employees are protected from termination from the date pregnancy is confirmed until five months after giving birth except for just cause.

Employees who are absent from work due to a work-related accident are protected from termination until one year after being released to return to work.

Employees required to report for military service continue to receive their regular pay during the first 90 days of service.

Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs

No provisions are included in Brazil’s labor code covering plant closings and mass layoffs. Companies are not legally required to inform the Ministry of Labor or the relevant labor union of a plant closing unless a collective bargaining agreement requires it.

Payment on Termination

If an employee is terminated without just cause, the employer must add to the employee’s Guaranteed Fund for Length of Service account a fine equal to 40 percent of the total funds accumulated during the period of employment with that employer.

In addition, all employees terminated without just cause are entitled to receive:

• all back pay due,
• payment for accrued vacation time and
• a pro rata payment of the yearend bonus based on the number of months the employee worked during the year.

An employee terminated for just cause is not entitled to a pro rata payment for vacation time or the yearend bonus.

Unemployment Insurance

Under the Guarantee Fund for Time of Service, employers are required to make monthly deposits into an account managed by the Federal Savings Bank on behalf of their employees. Deposits are adjusted for inflation.

The employee is entitled to withdraw the balance of the account in several situations, including the following:

• dismissal without cause,
• expiration of a fixed-term contract,
• closure of the business,
• termination due to force majeure,
• termination by mutual agreement,
• death of the employer,
• retirement,
• in order to purchase a house or
• to settle or amortize the debt or payment of part of housing loan installments.

Reference Citations

Termination by Employer: Federal Constitution, 1988, art. 7, part XXI; Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, arts. 477 - 483 (Portuguese); Law No. 12.506, 2011

Payment on Termination: Consolidated Labor Code, 1943, No. 5,452, arts. 146 - 147 (Portuguese); Guaranteed Fund for Length of Service Law, art. 18, 1990

Personal Taxes

Residency Requirements

An individual is considered a resident of Brazil for tax purposes:

• when the foreigner holds a temporary visa but comes to Brazil to work for a Brazilian company;
• after the foreign national holding any type of temporary visa (except a temporary visa that permits working for a Brazilian company as an employee) stays in the country for 183 days, consecutive or not, within a period of 12 months and
• when the foreigner with a temporary visa in Brazil obtains a permanent visa or a job.

Taxable Income

Any income earned by a Brazilian tax resident will be subject to income tax in Brazil, whether the source is within Brazil or abroad. Nonresident individuals are only subject to tax on Brazilian-sourced income.

Taxable income includes salaries, bonuses, commissions, the cost of employer-provided housing, leave allowances and any tax equalization or reimbursement payments.

Tax and immigration authorities have stepped up their enforcement activities in recent years and now require certification that employee and employer have met their employment tax obligations before a work visa will be renewed. Failure to meet employment tax obligations can also make it more difficult for an employer to get work permits and visas for other employees.

Tax Rates

Nonresidents are subject to a flat income tax rate of 25 percent for employment income paid to them for work in Brazil. Tax rates for residents range from 0 to 27.5 percent.

Social security contribution rates assessed on employees range from 8 percent to 11 percent of salary. Employers generally are assessed a social security primary contribution rate of 20 percent on the total payroll, although the applicable social security primary contribution rate for employers that are financial institutions or insurance institutions is 22.5 percent of payroll.

Reference Citations

Residency Requirements: National Tax Code, 1966, No. 5,172 (Portuguese)

Taxable Income: National Tax Code, 1966, No. 5,172 (Portuguese)

Web References

Law and Regulation

In Portuguese unless otherwise noted.

Christmas Bonus Law

Constitution of Brazil (English)

Guaranteed Fund for Length of Service Law

Minimum Wage Law

Transportation Vouchers Law

Government Websites and Publications

In Portuguese.

Guaranteed Fund for Length of Service

Ministry of Social Security

Portal Brazil