Brazil: government sets new rules over ‘hours of service’ employment contracts

Created as part of the Labor law reform program that was approved in July 2017, occasional work, or ‘trabalho intermitente’ (c.f. article No.10312) enables employers to hire workers ‘by the hour’ on a repeated or ad hoc basis, depending on need. On 24 May the Labor Ministry published a decree in the Official Journal of the Union in a bid to establish a new set of rules governing these types of employment contracts that Brazil’s employers and employees are still trying to understand.
Enjoy this article for free while you’re in your trial period
You have access to our content for 1 month.

This decree defines that a ‘trabalho intermitente’ must be established in writing and it must feature in the worker’s employment logbook, or ‘carteira de trabalho’ (all employees in Brazil possess an employment logbook). The contract must specify a set hourly or daily salary, which cannot be less than the minimum legal salary and which must be the same for all employees carrying out the same job on a similar contract. However, going forward, employees legally working ‘by the hour’ will be able

Do you have information to share with us?
What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
See all
EU: social partners split over competitiveness and action on job quality
The European Trade Union Confederation and BusinessEurope have published their response to the consultation document on the European Commission's upcoming EU quality jobs initiative. The two...
4 February 2026
2026 TRENDS — Social dialogue, a major challenge in the deployment of AI in companies
mind RH is analysing the trends that will shape 2026. Artificial intelligence is emerging as a force that goes far beyond efficiency gains and productivity improvements. It is reshaping tasks...
4 February 2026
The major trends of 2026
New regulations coming into force, economic uncertainty, evolving skills requirements… More than ever, the HR function will play a strategic role within organizations in 2026. mind HR...
Germany: collective bargaining negotiations begin in chemical industry
Collective bargaining talks in Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries are due to open this week, covering nearly 580,000 employees across around 1,700 companies. With the sector facing...
3 February 2026
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
United Kingdom: government urged to legislate against forced labour
After consulting victims, businesses and NGOs, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) has published a report showing that the UK is lagging behind in the fight against forced labour. The...
13 January 2026
2
EU: European Parliament calls for a directive on just transition
On 20 January, MEPs approved, with 420 votes in favour, an own-initiative report calling for a just transition directive. The text calls for the protection of workers to be guaranteed in the...
20 January 2026