: : The core of the labor law

The Brazilian government has formulated strict and meticulous labor laws and regulations to protect workers' rights and interests. If an enterprise makes any mistake, it will fall into labor disputes or be subject to administrative penalties, thus incurring unnecessary losses. The Uniform Labour Law, enacted in 1943, is the first systematic Labour law in Brazil. Although it has been amended continuously since then, it still forms the basis of Brazilian Labour policy.



I. Labor rights and interests



(1) Labour registration: Labour registration is required for any remunerated employable Labour. There are two forms of Labour registration:



1. Carteira DE Trabalho e Previdencia Social (hereinafter referred to as the "Labour Permit"); 2. Livro DE Registro DE Empregos. Both the "Labour Permit" and the "Registration of Employees" are issued and administered by the Brazilian Ministry of Labour or its authorizing agency. When employing workers, enterprises shall indicate wages, working conditions, etc., in the "Labour Certificate" and the "Employee Registration Form".



(2) Labour contract: A Labour contract shall be signed between the enterprise and the workers, clearly stipulating wages, types of work, working hours, etc. There are two forms of labor contracts: individual labor contracts and collective labor contracts. "Individual Labour contracts" are signed directly by the enterprise and the workers, and "collective Labour contracts" are signed by the trade union on behalf of the workers and the enterprise.



Termination of individual Labour contract: in the case of illness, the terms of the worker's performance of services are suspended, but the INSS and THE Seniority Guarantee Fund (FGTS) are retained, and the worker shall be considered for reinsertion within 5 years. If the labor contract is suspended due to military service or other civil obligations, the enterprise shall reserve jobs for them. Termination of individual labor Contract: Both the employer and the employee may terminate the contract, provided that a termination document is signed and 30 days' notice is given to the other party. Within 30 days of notice of dismissal, workers may work only half a day or go out to look for work for another half day. Union leadership members and enterprise Safety committee members may not be dismissed during their term of office and within one year after the end of their term of office, nor may they be dismissed within one year after the occurrence of an industrial accident or during the treatment of an industrial injury. In the event of justifiable dismissal, the employer shall pay the balance of his/her wages, and the INSS and Seniority Guarantee Fund (FGTS) originally paid shall remain in place. In the event of dismissal for no good reason (i.e. for any reason not related to the employee), the employer is required to pay 40% more of the above amount. Workers were absent from work for more than a month in a row,



Only an enterprise can be fired. When an employee resigns voluntarily, the employer must pay the balance of the salary and part of the vacation salary and all kinds of allowances due. Change of collective labor contract: discussion between labor union and enterprise on behalf of labor.



3. Working hours: According to the labor law, "normal working hours" are 8 hours per day, 44 hours per week, and 6 hours per shift. Overtime in addition to "normal working hours" shall be paid at 150% of the "normal working hours" wages; Night work (22:00~ 5:00 the next day) according to day work 120% remuneration; Holiday work is paid 200% of normal work. In addition, Brazilian labor law also provides strict working rest time, such as in 4 to 6 hours of continuous work, workers should have 15 minutes of rest; If a worker is engaged in work for more than 6 consecutive hours, he or she should have one or two hours of rest or meal time, etc.



An enterprise may adjust the working hours of its employees according to the needs of production and business, and this arrangement is applicable to all types of labor contracts. For example, the enterprise can shorten the normal working hours in the off-season but not reduce the wage, the remaining working hours of the enterprise can be arranged in the busy season staff overtime. The adjustment period shall not exceed 120 days, except as otherwise provided in the collective bargaining agreement. If the system starts in the peak season, the company can extend the working hours of its employees (no more than two hours a day). During this period, the company does not pay overtime, and the overtime hours are offset by later vacations. The working hours may be adjusted according to the arrangement of the collective bargaining agreement, but the working hours per day shall not exceed 10 hours, and the total working hours per week shall not exceed the maximum limit set by law within 120 days. And overtime compensation must be happened during the contract period, that is to say, if at the termination of the contract (no matter what the form of the contract), overtime is not fully compensated, the labor time worker shall have the right to require the enterprise to pay wages and work overtime expenses stipulated in labor agreement, in any case work overtime charges shall not be less than 50% of the normal hourly wage.



(iv) Wages: The wages of the workers shall be paid monthly in real. The wages of workers shall not be lower than the statutory minimum wage. The minimum wage is adjusted once a year around the end of April according to the price level, and the minimum monthly wage was 465 reais announced in February 2009. Employers and workers in an industry may agree on a minimum wage for their own industry in addition to observing the government minimum wage. In commission, tips, pieces of work, contract and other forms of remuneration, the monthly income of the labor shall not be lower than the minimum wage. At least 30 per cent of the minimum wage should be paid in currency. The minimum wage for juvenile apprentices is half of the statutory minimum wage in the first half of the apprenticeship and two-thirds of the statutory minimum wage in the second half of the apprenticeship. Workers get a month's extra pay after 12 months of service. Without good reason to fire a worker, the employer must continue to pay one month's wages.



(5) Annual leave: in addition to statutory holidays, workers are entitled to 30 days of paid leave each year (but the number of days of leave is reduced according to the number of absence from work). If the worker does not take annual leave, the enterprise must give financial compensation.



(6) Occupational safety and health: The enterprise shall provide workers with a safe and healthy working environment and shall be subject to regular inspection by the local labor office.



(7) Localization of labor: the number and wage income of Brazilian domestic laborers shall not be less than 2/3 of the total labor force and total wages of the enterprise, respectively. Foreign workers must have special technical expertise and a work visa to work in A Brazilian enterprise.



(8) Protection of women and underage workers (14-18 years old) : In addition to enjoying the rights and interests of general workers, women and underage workers are given special protection, and the Labor Law has made special provisions on employment conditions, overtime hours, night work, working environment and other aspects. For example, 14 - to 16-year-olds can only work as apprentices, and 16 - to 18-year-olds must have their parents sign a Labour contract and must not work dangerous, hazardous or night shifts. The employer shall guarantee the steady employment of the pregnant woman during her pregnancy and up to five months after childbirth. Pregnant women are entitled to 28 days of leave before delivery and 92 days of maternity leave after delivery, without any reduction in wages by the employer.



(9) Probation period: both parties shall sign a probation agreement. Generally speaking, the probation period for labor is 45 days, which may be extended once (45 days). Before probation, workers should undergo a medical examination. During the probationary period, companies and workers are not required to pay such fees as the Age Protection Fund (FGTS).



(10) Other rights and interests of workers:



1. Family allowance (Salario Familiar);



Fgts-fundo DE Garantia do Tempo DE Servico (similar to seniority subsidy); 3.



3. Social security benefits (INSS or CINSS).



Ii. Types of labor contracts



(1) Temporary labor contracts



Temporary labor refers to the short-term labor service provided by nature for enterprises to replace the regular employees' work temporarily, or to meet the demands of increased workload in a short period of time. The term of employment shall be decided by the employer, and may be extended once upon expiration, but the extended term shall not exceed the term of employment agreed upon in the previous contract. Temporary employees have the following rights:



􀂾 can be obtained with the same type of work within the enterprise employees the same reward, calculated by the hour, ensure the local minimum wage;



􀂾 8 hour work week, less than 2 hours overtime, overtime wages calculated on normal salary plus 20% per hour;



􀂾 according to the certain proportion of the labor day vacation time;



􀂾 weekly paid vacation.



􀂾 night extra reward;



􀂾 without justified reason to terminate the contract or contract compensation, calculated according to the 1/12 has pay salary;



􀂾 social security act stipulates that enterprises must pay social security;



In labor welfare 􀂾 manual (CTPS) of items recorded in the temporary employment.



(2) fixed-term labor contracts



A fixed-term labor contract refers to a labor contract that specifies the starting and ending time in advance, and the longest term is generally two years. After the expiration of the term of a fixed-term labor contract, the enterprise shall wait for six months before signing a new fixed contract with the same employee; Otherwise, the contract will be regarded as an irregular labor contract.



Rights of permanent Staff:



􀂾 on March 28, 2002, a temporary measure, is valid for one year;



􀂾 employees entitled to 13th month, according to 1/12 of the monthly salary calculation;



􀂾 equal labor contracts the same holiday. An irregular contract is usually a short-term or medium-term labor contract. Upon the termination of the contract, the employee can enjoy a certain proportion of the number of working days, plus one third of the vacation.



􀂾 for pregnant women, the trade union representatives and agents, accident prevention committee members (CIPA), as well as staff from inductrial injury accident, the temporary safeguard measures. The safeguards shall terminate upon expiration of the contract;



􀂾 according to the provisions of the new labor law, the retirement pension to regular working hours under labor contract as the calculating basis. To safeguard other social welfare at the same time;



􀂾 length of security funds (FGTS) calculated at 8% of the monthly wages.



(3) irregular labor contracts



Irregular labor contract is one of the employment contracts commonly used by enterprises. It is also applicable to the continuous signing of a fixed-term labor contract, there is no six-month interval between the case.



Rights of employees under an irregular labor contract:



􀂾 minimum wage;



􀂾 average working hours are not more than 44 hours a week;



􀂾 wage shall be arbitrarily cut;



􀂾 unemployment insurance;



􀂾 13 months salary;



􀂾 profit distribution;



􀂾 overtime;



􀂾 annual paid holiday;



􀂾 maternity leave;



Paternity leave 􀂾 father;



􀂾 remove labor contract notice;



􀂾 retirement pension;



􀂾 inductrial injury insurance;



􀂾 length of security funds;



􀂾 for accident prevention committee (CIPA), a member of the staff from inductrial injury accident, and the pregnant female worker, a temporary safeguard measures.



* Rules for foreigners working in the region



Foreign workers must have special technical expertise and a work visa to work in A Brazilian enterprise. The Brazilian Government stipulates that all enterprises may employ foreigners to work in Brazil for a short period of time. However, when processing the application, the immigration Department of the Brazilian Department of Labor, as the competent authority, has the following approval principles:



1. Foreign workers must have professional skills and at least two years of professional work experience (with advanced education), or at least three years of work experience if they are professionals with a medium education.



The number of foreign labourers shall not exceed one third of the number of the staff and workers of the enterprise, and if the number of foreign labourers is less than one third, their wages shall not exceed one third of the total wages of the enterprise.



Under Brazilian law, companies are allowed to hire a higher proportion of foreign workers only when there are not enough professionals available at home.