Working Time Rules: Brazil
Brazil: standard working hours, overtime, rest, annual leave, and record-keeping rules - a practical overview, not legal advice.
Statutory working time
Under the Consolidation of Labour Laws (CLT, Art. 58) and the Federal Constitution (Art. 7, XIII), ordinary working hours are limited to 8 hours per day and 44 hours per week. Overtime is permitted up to 2 extra hours per day with a 50% pay premium.
Overtime
Standard hours are 8 a day and 44 a week. Overtime is capped at two hours a day, agreed individually or collectively, and paid with a premium of at least 50% over the normal hourly rate. Clock variations of up to five minutes per marking, and ten minutes across a day, are neither deducted nor counted as overtime.
Rest periods
At least 11 consecutive hours between two workdays, and a weekly rest of 24 consecutive hours that must fall on Sunday, wholly or in part, unless public convenience or pressing need requires otherwise. Continuous work beyond six hours carries a meal and rest interval of at least one hour and, absent a written agreement, no more than two; work of more than four but not more than six hours carries fifteen minutes. Those intervals are not counted as working time.
Record-keeping
Working hours go in the employee register, and establishments with more than 20 workers must record entry and exit times, on paper, mechanically, or electronically, with the rest period allowed to be marked in advance.
What to check before you rely on this
- The current statutory limits, reference periods, and any opt-outs.
- Sector or collective-agreement rules that may override the defaults.
- How overtime is authorised, recorded, and compensated.
- What working-time records you must keep and for how long.