Further Changes to Employment Laws

Written by | Contracts, Corporate

On 14 November 2017 Provisional Measure 808/2017 (“PM 808/2017”) was published introducing additional changes to the recently passed employment law reform (“Law 13,467/2017”) that came into force on 11 November 2017.

Among other less relevant matters, PM 808/2017 provides that:

  • Law 13,467/2017 will apply to existing employment contracts;
  • exclusivity clauses (that is, so that services must be provided to a single employer) will not be allowed in independent contractor agreements;
  • indirect damages (dano extrapatrimonial) payable to employees will be limited to the maximum benefit available under the Social Security scheme;
  • 12 hour shifts by 36 hours per week arrangements will need to be approved by a collective bargaining agreement or an award negotiated with the employees’ union;
  • the definition of “salary” for employment law purposes will not include housing allowance if it is less than 50% of the employee’s total remuneration; and
  • unions must be parties to collective negotiations.

PM 808/2017 was expected to be issued as it was a promise made by President Temer to obtain approval of Law 13,467/2017 at the Senate level.

Provisional measures are presidential decrees used in cases of “relevance and urgency”. Provisional measures come into force at the time of publication, but need to be approved by the National Congress within 60 days from publication – at which point they become law. If the Congress does not approve PM 808/2017 until 22 February 2018 it will be automatically extended for other 60 days, but it will be included as priority vote after 45 days of its publication.

Unfortunately, by 5:00PM on 21 November 2017 (Brasília time), no less than 431 amendments to PM 808/2017 that been filed by members of Congress. At this point it is very difficult to foresee what changes (if any) are likely to be approved.

Contact us if you require further information.

Last modified: December 5, 2018