With the deepening of globalization, when enterprises expand their business in multiple countries, cross-border labor compliance has become one of the most complex and severe challenges. To help enterprises systematically address this issue, we have collaborated with top labor lawyers from over 50 major jurisdictions worldwide (all recommended by Chambers, Legal 500, or equivalent institutions) to jointly compile a Chinese-English labor & employment compliance guide exceeding 1 million words, and we will continuously update relevant key points.

This article publishes the key points of labor & employment compliance in Brazil.

01 Overview of the Labor Law System

1.Legal System

Brazil operates under a civil law system.

2.Resources and Agencies

The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil of 1988 (“Constitution”) serves as the supreme law, with specific provisions in Articles 7 through 11 dedicated to workers' rights and collective labor relations.

The Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), enacted in 1943, serves as Brazil's primary labor law source and undergoes periodic amendments, notably through Law No. 13,467 of 2017, which significantly impacted Brazilian labor relations.

Despite Brazil's civil law tradition, judicial precedents are gaining substantial importance in labor matters, with Labor Courts increasingly relying on jurisprudential precedents to resolve workplace disputes, reflecting a growing trend toward precedent-based decision-making in labor law.

02 Employment Qualifications and Classification

1. Employment Age

Brazil has no mandatory retirement age, allowing workers to continue employment indefinitely, though retirement benefits under the General Social Security System require a minimum age of 65 for men and 62 for women, with at least 15-20 years of contributions. The minimum working age is 16 years, or 14 for apprenticeships, with restrictions on dangerous work for minors under 18.

2.Qualifications for Employment

To legally hire employees, foreign businesses must complete essential registrations including Commercial Registry, CNPJ registration, municipal and state licenses, and various tax registrations. Labor compliance requires registration with MTE, INSS, FGTS, and adherence to formal employment contracts under CLT.

3.Classification of Employment

Traditional employment relationships under the CLT are characterized by five elements: personal service provision, non-eventuality, subordination, remuneration, and dependency on the employer's business structure.

Brazilian Labor Courts consistently apply the "primacy of reality" principle, examining actual working conditions rather than contractual labels. Courts scrutinize arrangements designed to circumvent employment protections.

4.Foreign Workers

The CLT establishes the “two-thirds rule,” requiring companies to hire two Brazilian employees for each foreign employee. This requirement applies both to the total number of employees and to payroll allocation (two-thirds of total payroll must be directed to Brazilian employees).

Companies hiring foreign workers must apply for temporary visas on their behalf, which may be granted to foreigners seeking to work in Brazil, with or without an employment relationship, provided they demonstrate a formalized job offer from an active Brazilian legal entity.

03 Recruitment and Employment Contracts

1.Background Examination

Permissible Background Checks:

• Professional reference verification;

• Educational credential confirmation;

• Public criminal record consultation (limited scope);

• Credit history for financial positions; and

• Professional license verification.

Prohibited Practices:

• Pregnancy tests;

• HIV/AIDS testing without medical justification;

• Genetic testing;

• Ideological or political belief investigation; and

• Sexual orientation inquiry.

2.Contract Types

Employment contracts may be tacit or express, verbal or written. Written contracts are mandatory for intermittent workers, teleworking employees, apprentices, fixed-term contracts, temporary workers, and foreign workers.

There are different types of employment contracts permitted by the law:

• Part-Time Employment Contracts;

• Fixed-Term Contracts;

• Apprenticeship Contracts.

3.Probationary Period

Probationary contracts are fixed-term contracts not exceeding 90 days total, divisible into two periods and extendable once. Full labor rights apply during probation.

04 Working Standards

1.Remuneration and Statutory Benefits

The main labor rights prescribed by Brazilian law include:

• National minimum wage, with annual adjustments;

• Monthly salary, with electronic transfer permitted;

• Variable compensation based on productivity metrics and profit sharing programs;

• Standard working hours of eight hours per day and 44 hours per week, or six hours per day for uninterrupted shifts；

• Christmas bonus (13th salary) ;

• Thirty days of annual vacation with a one-third vacation bonus;

• Justified absences from work;

• Additional compensation for hazardous or unhealthy working conditions；

• A severance fund (FGTS) deposited in an individual bank account at the National Savings Bank;

• Notice period;

• Unemployment insurance;

• Family allowance;

• Transportation allowance.

2.Social Security and Employment Taxes

The Brazilian social security system operates on pay-as-you-go basis funded through mandatory contributions from employers, employees, and government.

3.Working Hours

The Constitution establishes ordinary working hours cannot exceed eight hours daily and 44 hours weekly. CLT permits up to two additional overtime hours daily, resulting in maximum ten hours daily.

4.Rest and Leave

CLT requires specific rest intervals: 15 minutes for 4-6 hour shifts, minimum one hour for shifts exceeding six hours, plus 11 consecutive hours between shifts and 24hours weekly rest.

Vacation entitlement vests after each 12-month work period and must be granted during the subsequent twelve-month concession period. Employers who fail to grant vacation during the concession period must pay double compensation.

05 Occupational Health and Special Protection

1.Occupational Health and Security

The Ministry of Labor and Employment issues Regulatory Standards (NRs) providing detailed guidelines to prevent occupational diseases and work-related accidents.

2.Special Protection

Employees enjoy job protections based on discriminatory factors or constitutional rights violations, and during contract suspension. Specific protections include:

• Pregnant Employees；

• Union Delegates；

• Employees with Work-Related Accidents or Illnesses；

• Members of CIPA；

• Employees with Serious Stigmatized Illnesses；

• Members of Employee Cooperatives.

06 Personal Information and Privacy

1.General Rules

Personal data processed in Brazil or relating to Brazilian data subjects is subject to Internet Law and General Data Protection Law (LGPD) principles. LGPD became fully effective in August 2020.

Employees may file claims seeking compensation for moral or material damages resulting from personal data breaches causing harm.

2.Transnational Transfer

LGPD requires international personal data transfers ensure proper protection. Transfer occurs only to countries guaranteeing adequate protection or through approved standard contractual clauses.

07 Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment

1.General Rules

Discriminatory practices are prohibited under any circumstances. Brazilian employers face extensive obligations under anti-discrimination and anti-harassment frameworks.

Employers face civil and criminal liability for discrimination and harassment, including administrative fines and moral damages, which can be sought by individuals or by the Labor Public Office on behalf of a group of employees, in which case awards can reach expressive amounts of money.

2.Protective Characters

Federal legislation establishes comprehensive provisions preventing and suppressing workplace discrimination and social coexistence discrimination.

08 Internal Policies

1.Applicability

Brazilian labor law permits employers to establish internal policies managing workers, provided compliance with constitutional principles, labor legislation, and collective bargaining agreements.

2.Validity

Internal policies generally do not require formal approval from workers or authorities, but must comply with constitutional principles, labor legislation, and applicable collective bargaining agreements. Policies affecting fundamental rights may require union negotiation.

3.Whistleblowing

Law No. 14,457/2022 mandates whistleblowing channels with the Internal Commission for Accident Prevention and Harassment (CIPAA) to combat corruption and harassment. Law No. 14,611/2023, which addresses gender pay equality, expands scope to include wage discrimination.

09 Transactions

1.Employment Relationship

Under Brazilian labor law, ownership or legal structure modifications shall not affect employment agreements or vested employee rights (labor succession principle). Employment contracts continue performing after M&A, equity, or asset transfers.

2.Compensation

Employees are not entitled to special compensation solely due to M&A or equity/asset transfers.

If transactions result in employment termination, employees receive standard legal termination compensation.

10 Termination of Employment

1.Termination Grounds

Brazilian labor legislation recognizes five distinct employment termination types:

• Termination without cause;

• Voluntary resignation by the employee;

• Constructive dismissal occurs when the employer commits serious misconduct against the employee, effectively forcing resignation;

• Termination by mutual agreement;

• Termination for cause must be based on specific statutory grounds.

2.Termination Procedure

Before terminating employees, employers must verify job protection entitlements that may prevent dismissal.

If no job protection exists, mandatory requirements are limited to severance pay within ten days and employee medical examination.

Additionally, the following administrative procedures must be observed:

• execution of a termination notice to be signed by the employee;

• notation of termination information in the employee’s electronic human resources file;

• delivery to the employee of the necessary documents to enable withdrawal of the unemployment fund balance and applicable fine and to receive unemployment insurance (if applicable); and

• submission, in the month following termination, of termination information to the labor authorities through the appropriate forms (no prior authorization is required; however, in collective dismissals, negotiation with the applicable union may be required). Termination for cause must occur immediately upon misconduct knowledge, or courts construe tacit forgiveness of the employer.

3.Termination Protection

Employees enjoy protections against dismissals based on discriminatory factors, constitutional rights violations, and during contract suspension.

4.Severance and Compensation

Upon termination without cause, employees are entitled to:

• Salary Balance;

• Pro Rata Christmas Bonus;

• Accrued Vacation Plus One-Third Bonus;

• Pro Rata Vacation Plus One-Third Bonus;

• FGTS Fine;

• Unemployment Insurance benefits (“seguro-desemprego”);

• Prior Notice.

5.Wrongful Termination

Termination for cause in Brazil is extremely difficult to sustain, requiring serious misconduct fundamentally breaching employment relationship trust.

If termination for cause is deemed improper, companies may be required to pay severance as if without cause, plus potential moral damages for unlawful termination, which labor courts often support, interpreting dismissal for cause without legal justification as an act of bad faith by the employer.

6.Mass Termination and Layoffs

The Supreme Court ruled collective dismissal validity requires prior labor union negotiation, acknowledging social impact and necessitating union involvement for employee protection. Employers typically negotiate with labor unions to offer additional rights to dismissed employees to avoid disputes. The specific benefits offered vary by industry, location, and the economic capacity of the employer.

11 Confidentiality, Non-Compete, and Non-Solicitation

1.Confidentiality

Confidentiality agreements are common practice, particularly for high-level employees, those in trust positions, handling sensitive data, and workers with privileged business information access.

2.Non-Compete 

These covenants must be negotiated in exceptional cases, primarily with high-level employees, to be legally justifiable. Such covenants should be entered into exclusively with employees, not with outsourced workers, clients, or suppliers.

12 Work Representation and Trade Unions

1.Work Representation

The Constitution requires companies with over 200 employees to ensure employee representative elections for promoting direct employer-employee understanding.

CLT provides employee representation provisions, allowing representative council elections of three to seven members depending on workforce size.

Brazilian legislation also requires companies to establish Internal Commissions for Accident Prevention and Harassment (CIPAA) with employee and employer representatives, preventing work-related accidents and occupational diseases.

2.Trade Unions

Brazilian trade unions operate under unity principles whereby only one union may represent each professional category within specific territorial bases, organized by professional categories at municipal or regional levels, with potential federation at state and confederation at national levels.

13 Dispute Resolution

1.Procedures & Enforcement

Brazilian labor disputes are resolved through specialized three-tier courts: Labor Courts (first instance), Regional Labor Courts (appellate), and Superior Labor Court (highest).

Labor claims must be filed within two years of employment termination, covering rights accrued during the five years preceding termination. These constitutionally protected limitation periods cannot be reduced by agreement.

2.Waiver & Enforcement

Under Brazilian labor law, employees cannot validly waive statutory and contractual rights due to irrenunciability principles in the Constitution and CLT.

14 Others

1.Latest Development & Trends

Legislative discussions on changes to the working week – Brazilian legislation currently allows employees to work six days per week with one day of rest, and the Constitution establishes that the working week should be up to eight hours per day and 44 hours per week.

Toward 2024 end, public debate emerged about ending six-day working weeks and reducing weekly hours from 44 to 36. Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 8/2025 is currently under Chamber of Deputies Labor Committee debate.

2.Cultural and Religious Considerations

International investors should consider Brazil's diverse cultural and religious landscape.

* To avoid ambiguity, this article should not be regarded as legal advice.

Authors

Dario Abrahão Rabay is a partner at Cescon Barrieu, with over 30 years of experience in labor law. He represents companies from various industries in labor disputes and provides counsel on executive compensation and benefits, arbitration, corporate investigations, and crisis management.

Viviane de Azevedo Rodrigues is a partner at Cescon Barrieu, specializing in labor and employment, social security, executive compensation, and transaction readiness. 

Aline Fonseca Franco da Silva is an associate at Cescon Barrieu, specializing in labor and employment law. 

Translator

Zhou Hao, Master of Laws, Associate at Anli Partners. Areas of expertise: Labor Law, Dispute Resolution, ESG Compliance.