Brazil Weighs End of 6x1 Workweek as Government Backs 40-Hour, 5x2 Plan

Overview

• Labor Minister Luiz Marinho told CCJ lawmakers the economy supports a 40-hour week with a 5x2 schedule, not an immediate shift to 36 hours, and he advised handling detailed rules by ordinary law.
• The Labor Ministry presented a study estimating an average 4.7% rise in payroll costs from moving to 40 hours and reported that roughly two‑thirds of formal jobs already follow a 5x2 pattern.
• Sectoral exposure varies, with air transport (53.2%), accommodation (52%), food services (47.1%) and commerce (42.2%) concentrating the most 6x1 jobs and facing higher adaptation needs.
• CCJ relator Paulo Azi warned against measures that could harm employment, signaled a sector‑by‑sector assessment, called potential compensations plausible, and plans to present an admissibility opinion in April after hearing the Finance Ministry.
• Business groups dispute the government’s estimates, with CNC and CNI projecting far higher costs and warning of price pressures and risks to formal employment.