After Labour Reform, Pending Definition on Terms of Contract Creates Uncertainty

11/14/2017 - 10h36

Commerce is looking for people interested in working under the 'periodic' classification. However, retailers won't actually finalize any contracting until the Administration and Congress define changes that were agreed to during the negotiating process for labour reform law but still need to be legally formalized.

The category was created during the reform negotiations and is an option that allows an employee to be paid for the time that he works, provided that the hourly minimum salary (R$ 4,26 [US$ 1.30]) is respected. The employee must be notified that he is to show up to work at least three days in advance.

The Sá Cavalcante Group, which is a fast-food restaurant holding company in the State of Espírito Santo, posted a job opening in October for R$ 4,45 (US$ 1.36) per hour, with a workload of five hours on Saturdays and Sundays. In four weeks, it would pay up to R$ 178 (US$ 54.27) - 19% of the minimum monthly salary. Paulo Solmucci, Executive-President of Abrasel, from the restaurant sector, said that other companies are concerned about negative repercussions from the case. "This 'guarantee' bunch doesn't understand the reality of Brazil's unemployed", he said.

The government has promised to create a buffer of 18 months to prevent business owners from firing employees and then rehiring them as 'periodic' workers. This kind of contracting is widely used by restaurants in many countries.

The General Workers Union (UGT) which represents categories in the commercial sector, argues that a maximum of 10% of a company's labor force should be allowed to be contracted as 'periodic' and that all such employees should be paid a minimum monthly salary per month.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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