In addition to the reduction in wages and suspension of contracts established by MP 936 and summarized in the previous explanatory table, other labor alternatives include:

RECENT MEASURES

a) Law 13.979/2020 – MEASURES TO TACKLE THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY

The first rule issued about COVID-19 was Law no. 13,979, of February 6, 2020, regulated by MS Ordinance no. 356, of March 12, 2020.

From the point of view of labor law, the new legislation provides for the adoption of isolation and quarantine measures that must be complied with, as well as compulsory medical examinations and laboratory tests.

For cases of isolation and quarantine (determined by health professionals and authorities), the law determines that the worker’s absence from work will be considered as justified absence, and the employer will continue to be obliged to pay wages for the first 15 days.

The employee who is off work for more than 15 days, as long as he meets the other requirements required by law, will be entitled to ordinary sick pay, as of the 16th day off work.


b) Telework, anticipation of vacations, suspension of FGTS and other recent labor alternatives
(MPs no. 927 and 928/2020)

Teleworking

Individual and Collective Holidays

Holidays

Hour bank

Suspension of Administrative Requirements on Occupational Health and Safety

Suspension of the FGTS payment deadline

Other Provisions

EXISTING (PRE-PANDEMIC) MECHANISMS FOR DEALING WITH LABOR ISSUES

In addition to the measures already announced, there were already some options in the current legislation for application in times of crisis that, although not specific to the current pandemic situation, are valid solutions that can be implemented by employers now.

Some of these options, especially those dealing with pay and working hours reduction, depend on collective bargaining, but others can be agreed upon directly with the employees. See below, in a summarized way, each one of them:

a. Lay off

The suspension of labor contracts and salary reductions to address the crisis generated by the coronavirus pandemic was specifically addressed by Provisional Measure 936 on April 1, 2020.

However, there were already possibilities for suspension and reduction of wages in Brazilian law, which can still be used if the company’s planning does not adhere to the exact terms of PM 936.

Besides the recent MP, Brazilian law already provided for it:

The first hypothesis deals with the reduction of wages and working hours to adapt to temporary retraction scenarios.

The option foreseen in article 476-A of the CLT foresees the suspension of contracts for a period of two to five months, requiring as a counterpart the funding of a professional qualification course or program.

In both cases there must be collective bargaining with the Union because they do not count on payments by the Government.

As the contract will be suspended and no wages will be paid, the object of the negotiation with the Union will include monthly compensatory aid (such as scholarships) and maintenance of benefits such as health insurance.

b. Paid leave

In paid leave, the employee stops providing services for a certain period of time, without loss of pay. In this case, the leave period counts as a period of service, since it constitutes an interruption of the employment contract with normal payment of wages.

It is recommended that the leave, even if paid, be reduced to writing, in order to provide a deadline for returning to work, with the possibility of extension or suspension at any time, due to the exceptional situation in which the leave is granted.

We clarify, finally, that the above text is not exhaustive and does not represent or replace a specific recommendation from an analysis of the case.

The labor team at DDSA – De Luca, Derenusson, Schuttoff Advogados will be available to guide its clients.