How to Hire Employees in Brazil?
There are two ways to hire employees in Brazil. The first one is to hire employee with a Global Professional Employer Organization, or PEO, such as SERVIAP. The second one is by your own. You need to make an offer letter determining if the salary is This will cost more time and money than the first one.
Labor Contracts
A work contract does not have to be in written form; an oral agreement is acceptable. Due to the fact that Brazilian labor law tends to favor the employee, theoretically, if someone starts providing a service on a regular basis for another person or company, even though they have not necessarily been invited to do so, they have full employment rights and can demand such under the law, even though no work contract of any sort has been signed. Because of the law’s umbrella coverage and defense of the worker, there is therefore no set list of defined items which have to be included in a contract.
There are several thousand unions and umbrella organisations in Brazil which are supposed to support full-time workers. The Brazilian Trade Union Federation (Central Única dos Trabalhadores) has made protection of employees and health policies one of its top priorities. Yet as most employees in Brazil work without an official work contract they have no access to the support of a labour union.
Type of contracts
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General Work Contract (Contrato de Trabalho) |
It covers any and every type of job. It establishes that an employee should work 8 hours a day, plus 4 hours on Saturday to make a working week 44 hours total. This agreement should continue for an unspecified period of time. |
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Contract for a Pre-Established Time Period (Contrato de Trabalho por Prazo Determinado) |
A fixed-term contract can only be stipulated when required by the nature of the work that the employee’s services will not be required after a certain, pre-established period of time. |
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Part-Tie Work Contract (Contrato de Trabalho de Tempo Parcial) |
It stipulates that the employee may only work up to 25 hours per week. Overtime is fully prohibited. |
Basic Requirements
When an employee is hired, the Labour Ministry must be informed following the specific procedure (CAGED) in the following month. This procedure requires registering with the authorities until the 7th working day of the next month and within the 24 hours of contracting.
- Expat new starts are required to provide the following documentation:
- CPF
- Work Visa
- Copy of Passport
- Contract
- Bank Account
Payroll
Brazilian payroll is compromised to hold back, during every pay cycle, obligations on the part of employers such as income tax and social security percentage.
Legal Benefits in Brazil
Work benefits are additional benefits provided through a worker as a condition of their labor relationship. The benefits are established in a contractual relationship and will be independent of salary, they may consist of an economic, cultural, or medical nature.
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Minimum Wage |
Is defined by federal law but it may increase by a collective labor agreement. It is annually adjusted. |
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Pension Fund |
Retirement age of men is 65 and women 62 years old. Both need a minimum of 15-20 contribution years toward the National Social Insurance Institute. |
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Vacation Bonus |
Employees have the right to get a vacation bonus instead of taking leave from work. This means that up to 10 days of vacation can be converted in actual money. This is the worker’s right and cannot be denied by the employer. |
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13th Salary |
For each 12 performed months of a calendar year, the employee is eligible to receive an additional one-month salary. It is usually paid half in November and half in December of each year. |
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Collective Vacation |
Instead of arranging individual vacations for each employee, the employer can concede two periods per year of at least of days collective vacations.
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Vacation |
Any worker has the right up to 30 days of paid vacation per year. To be creditor the condition is not to have more than five unjustified absences in the year. If it happens the vacations days will decrease as follows:
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Workday and holidays
Working day in Brazil typically runs from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday with an unpaid hour break. By law employees must not exceed 44 hours per week, overall, there is an average of only 40 hours working.
Brazilian workers are eligible for full-time employment at the age of 16 but there are certain protective regulations covering aged 14 to 18: From 14 to 16 years old they are only allowed to work as apprenticeships.
| Type of Work Day | Working hours per Day | Extra Hours | Sundays | ||||
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50% over their hourly salary |
100% for each worked overtime hour on Sundays and holidays. |
According to Brazilian Law, it is prohibited to make employees work during national and local holidays, unless the job is considered essential for the operation of the company at any of those days. In that case, companies must exchange it for a day off or pay double the salary for that day.
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Mandatory Rest Days |
Holiday Name |
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January 1st |
New Year’s Day (Confraternização Universal) |
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April 21st |
Tiandentes |
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May 1st |
Labor Day |
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September 7th |
Independence Day |
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October 12th |
Our Lady of Aparecida Day and Children´s Day |
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November 2nd |
Day of the Dead (Finados) |
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November 15th |
Proclamation of the Republic |
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December 25th |
Christmas |
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Other holidays considered national, although they do not have a fixed date: |
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Employee Termination
Termination Process
Termination requires a prior notice and a pre-notice in some instances. The standard notice period is 30 days plus 3 days per year employed. The maximum notice period is 90 days.
Termination with cause
Considering: acts of improbity, misconduct, disloyalty, imprisonment, negligence on duty, drunkenness, breach of secrecy, insubordination, abandonment of station, breach of moral conduct, and gambling.
Employee will receive:
- 13th Salary: 1/12 compensation per month of work during the calendar year.
- Vacations not taken payment plus 1/3 bonus
Severance Pay
Whether mutual agreement or resignation, employees are entitled to.
- 13th Salary: 1/12 compensation per month of work during the calendar year.
- Vacations not taken payment plus 1/3 bonus
- 30% of the FGTS penalty: 20% due to employee and 10% to the government.
Termination without cause
Employee will receive:
- 13th Salary: 1/12 compensation per month of work during the calendar year.
- Vacations not taken payment plus 1/3 bonus
- 50% of the FGTS penalty: 40% due to employee and 10% to the government.
Why to choose PEO in Brazil?
The recruitment process will be carried out taking into account from the beginning with the skills and characteristics you need for this new member of your team. At SERVIAP, in addition to saving time and money, you will have a customer service manager dedicated to your account. You will be able to use NYRN Cloud where you will find personalized attention and all the information, reports from your employee.
