Labor & Employment | Edition 20

20.01.2026

Key Highlights

Agribusiness. Unemployment Insurance for Seasonal Rural Workers.

The Labour Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved Bill No. 714/2019, which provides for the payment of unemployment insurance to seasonal rural workers, a benefit that will be granted on a staggered basis according to the length of service provided under contract. Once all legal requirements are met, unemployment insurance may be requested only once per year. The workers will be entitled to two instalments if they worked for a period of more than 2 and up to 4 months, or three instalments if the contracts exceeded 4 months, subject to a maximum of 6 months of benefits.

Air Transport. Collective Bargaining Agreement for Airline Ground Staff Signed.

Representatives of employers and employees signed, at the Superior Labour Court (TST), the new Collective Bargaining Agreement for the category, resulting from mediation initiated in December 2025 involving the national unions of airline companies and airline ground staff. The main approved points include 0.5% increase (over inflation) in monthly salaries and other economic covenants, such as 8% increase in meal vouchers; 5% increase in food allowances; 3-year job tenure for employees approaching retirement, and inclusion of paid leaves for employees to accompany children to medical appointments, raising the age limit from six to eight years, as well as new salary wages for specific roles.

Compensation. Improper Payroll Deductions Give Rise to Refund.

The 4th Panel of the Superior Labour Court ordered an employer to reimburse deductions made from an employee’s salary relating to a food basket benefit provided by the company, as such deductions could not be made without the employee’s express authorisation, except in cases of salary advances, legal provision, or collective agreement, none of which were evidenced in the case.

Compensation. Transfer of Responsibility to the Employee for Payment of Salary-Related Contributions.

The Chamber of Deputies is reviewing Bill No. 894/2025, which proposes that employers be required to pay employees the gross monthly salary amount, without deducting charges relating to social security contributions, the Severance Pay Fund (FGTS), and income tax, with such payments to be made by the employee by means of a unified labour tax collection document to be issued monthly by the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service. The proposal aims to relieve employers of excessive operational burdens and encourage employees’ fiscal awareness. The bill remains under internal legislative processing and will be reviewed by multiple committees before being forwarded to the Senate.

Finance & Banking. Workplace Harassment in the Disclosure of Targets and Productivity Rankings.

The 3rd Labour Court of Santo André, State of São Paulo, ordered a banking institution to pay indemnification for a former employee due to workplace harassment arising from abusive target demands and public exposure through productivity rankings. In reviewing the case, the court found that the humiliating disclosure of productivity had been proven, based on documents and witness testimony, which reported the existence of verbal rankings and indirect threats of dismissal—corporate conduct that would breach the category’s collective bargaining agreements, which expressly prohibit the public disclosure of individual employee rankings and comparisons between them.

Labour Enforcement Proceedings. Cargo Transportation Excludes Secondary Liability.

The 3rd Panel of the Superior Labour Court excluded the secondary liability of a contracting company for labour debts owed to a truck helper employed by a third-party company hired to transport goods produced by the former. By overturning the decisions of the lower courts, the Superior labour Court held that the cargo transportation agreement holds commercial status and does not involve labour outsourcing. The carrier operates autonomously, without subordination to the contracting company, which precludes the application of the court’s precedents on secondary liability, in line with the understanding consolidated by Theme 59.

Labour Enforcement Proceedings. Invalidity of Attachment of an Asset Acquired by a Good-Faith Third Party.

The 4th Panel of the Superior Labour Court (TST) set aside the attachment, in labour enforcement proceedings, of a vehicle purchased by a good-faith third party. The vehicle, which had been attached to satisfy a company’s labour debts, had been sold by one of the partners without the ownership being transferred with the traffic authority. The reporting Justice at the court emphasised that the case includes authorisation for the transfer of ownership of the vehicle and that the transaction occurred prior to the attachment order, noting that, according to the Court’s case law, fraud in enforcement may only be presumed against a third-party purchaser where bad faith is unequivocally proven or where there is already a record of the judicial attachment of the asset with the competent authority—circumstances that were not identified in this case.

Labour Enforcement Proceedings. Redirection of Enforcement to Partners/Shareholders.

The Constitution and Justice Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved Bill No. 2,884/2024, which establishes deadlines for pursuing former partners in respect of labour debts. Under the bill, former partners may be held secondarily liable only if the claim against the main company is filed within 2 years of their withdrawal from the partnership and if the request for recognition of liability is made within 5 years of their exit, provided that the proceedings against the company complied with the first deadline. The bill is proceeding under a conclusive procedure and will be forwarded to the Senate for review.

Radio Broadcasters. Professional ID Card.

The federal government enacted Law No. 15,335/2016, authorising the issuance of a professional ID card for radio broadcasters. The law amends Law No. 6,615/78, establishing that the professional ID card, issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, will be valid throughout the country. The Interstate Federation of Workers in Broadcasting and Television Companies and the relevant unions may issue the document accordingly.

Summary Dismissal. Assault Against a Third Party.

The 10th Panel of the Regional Labour Court of Campinas, State of São Paulo, upheld the summary dismissal applied to an employee who assaulted the company’s physician, classifying the conduct under Section 482, item “j” of the Labour Code (an act detrimental to honour or good reputation committed against any person within the workplace), and also confirming the proportionality of the sanction imposed by the employer in view of the seriousness of the conduct adopted by the dismissed employee, who even overturned a table onto the victim whilst being treated.

Workplace Accident. Paraplegia. Compensation and Pension Payments.

The 3rd Panel of the Superior Labour Court ordered a company to fully fund the medical treatment of a technician who became paraplegic in a helicopter accident whilst performing services for the company. The funding includes providing an appropriate wheelchair and carrying out the necessary adaptations to the employee’s residence, as the worker retired due to disability. The panel also increased the monthly pension from 85% to 100% of the employee’s remuneration. During the evidentiary stage, it was found that the helicopter had a number of irregularities, such as weight exceeding the technical limit, indications of fuel tampering, and the pilot’s failure to comply with emergency procedures.