STF Set to Rule on Shift From 6x1 to 5x2 Workweek

Overview

• Congress approved a constitutional amendment in October that replaces the 6x1 schedule with a 5x2 workweek and requires a two-step cut from 44 hours to 42 hours on December 16 and to 40 hours one year later without salary reductions.
• Employer groups including the CNC and CNI have filed cases at the Supremo Tribunal Federal seeking suspension or longer transition rules for existing contracts and special treatment for micro and small firms.
• The Ministry of Labour delayed its implementing decree but Minister Luiz Marinho has promised the regulation will be published soon to guide employers on practical steps for compliance.
• A core legal question for the STF is whether the extra 24 minutes per workday needed to meet a 42-hour week counts as overtime or is part of normal hours, and the court must also decide if the reduction can proceed gradually as written or jump straight to 40 hours without agreements.
• The dispute affects millions of workers and employers with about 14.9 million formally on 6x1 schedules and 38.6 million exceeding 40 hours weekly, and observers note other countries used multi-year phase-ins to ease the economic impact.