End of the 6x1 work schedule approved: companies must prepare for the transition

The Senate approved the end of the 6x1 work schedule on Wednesday, October 14. In summary, Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) 221/2019 (“Amendment”), which was previously approved by the Chamber of Deputies, reduces the maximum weekly workweek from 44 to 40 hours and guarantees two days of paid weekly rest, one of which should preferably fall on Sunday, without any reduction in pay. The Amendment is now awaiting promulgation, and the deadlines below will run from the date of its publication.

What Changes with the End of the 6x1 Work Schedule

Implementation will be gradual, but within an extremely short timeframe:

• Two months after the publication of the Amendment, the maximum workweek will be reduced to 42 hours, with two days of paid rest.
• One year after this first phase, the maximum workweek will be reduced to 40 hours.

The changes apply to existing contracts, with no reduction in wages or salary floors..

Two months after the publication of the Amendment, provisions in collective bargaining agreements and conventions regarding working hours and paid weekly rest that are incompatible with the reform will cease to have effect. Workweeks already set at up to 40 hours will not be subject to a proportional reduction but will have to comply with the new rest requirements.

Exceptionally, a collective bargaining agreement or convention may provide for the rescheduling of rest days, provided it ensures, on a monthly average, two days of paid rest and at least one day of rest for each maximum one-week work period. During the transition period between the two phases, these instruments may also extend the normal daily working hours to accommodate a 42-hour-workweek, provided the rest requirements are observed.

The working-time and timekeeping rules generally do not apply to employees who hold a college degree and earn a monthly salary equal to or greater than 2.5 times the INSS ceiling. They may nevertheless apply if the elects to apply them or if a collective bargaining agreement or convention so provides; in all cases the rest requirements must be observed. The Amendment allow future legislation to establish other work and rest regimes without creating general exceptions for specific sectors.

In existing contracts with the Public Administration that utilize directly hired labor, a reduction in working hours requires an amendment that preserves economic and financial balance, to be formalized within one year of the Amendment’s publication. At the end of this period, the reduction takes effect regardless of the amendment, with the guarantee that wages will not be reduced.

How Companies Should Prepare

The transition period for phasing out the 6x1 work schedule requires joint action by the legal, human resources, labor relations, operations, and finance departments. Priority steps include:

Map work schedules and shifts: 

Identify the affected teams, simulate the distribution of hours and days off, and assess the need for hiring or reorganizing shifts, especially in continuous operations.

Review collective bargaining agreements and initiate dialogue with unions:

Identify clauses regarding work hours, compensation, time banks, and rest periods, anticipating the renegotiation of agreements that will require adjustments.

Project the impact on the budget:

Consider the cost of covering the new days off, the increase in the hourly rate resulting from maintaining salary levels, and the effects on overtime and other payments. The analysis must include paid weekly rest (DSR) and related effects, including those arising when regular overtime is reflected in vacation pay, the 13th-month salary, prior notice pay, and FGTS.

Prepare for implementation: 

Adapt time-and-attendance and payroll systems, contractual documents, and guidance for leadership, while monitoring the publication of the Amendment and the regulations governing specific regimes.

Lobo de Rizzo’s Labor and Employment Practice has thoroughly studied the changes and their effects and is available to answer questions and provide support with the necessary assessments, planning, and implementation.