Brazil

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Join us for a breakfast briefing on March 27 in Palo Alto for an update on the latest trends and regulations impacting multinational employers in Latin America. Hear from leading practitioners in five key LATAM jurisdictions – Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela – as we address hot topics that employers are facing right now including:

  • Managing a modern workforce, from contingent workers to outsourcing service models
  • Addressing the gender pay gap, including gender pay legislation and expectations
  • Complying with changes in termination and anti-harassment legislation
  • Predicting the impact of new leadership in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela
  • Preparing for significant labor reform in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico
  • and more!

Click here more details, including how to register.

In our Global Employer Monthly eAlert, we capture recent employment law developments from across the globe to help you keep up with the ever-changing employment law landscape around the globe.

In this month’s issue, we share updates from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Click here to view.

Be sure to download our 15 minute podcast about employment laws in Brazil. Baker McKenzie partner Kerry Weinger introduces Leticia Ribeiro from Sao Paulo to talk about employment laws in Brazil and give an overview of what has changed in 2017 as well as what we can expect for the year ahead.

Key Takeaways:

  1. With the labor reform, it is time to revisit local practices, policies and agreements, and confirm that they are consistent with the new law
  2. While it is important to adjust to the new provisions of the labor code, it is important to do so with caution as we are hearing that the labor court judges might be a bit resistant to some changes that were recently introduced
  3. With the very near implementation of the eSocial program, multinational employer must be ready to start the required reporting and that the information reported will not create any issues

Download now on iTunes | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn | Google Play.

We are pleased to announce our new “Employer Report” podcast series.

Each 15-minute episode gives an inside view into employment laws in various countries around the world, highlighting legislative changes, trends, and tips for US multinational employers. Our first five countries available now: Brazil, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, and Spain.

Download these episodes now on iTunes | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn | Google Play.

Keeping up with the pace of change in employment law around the world is quite a challenge.

In our Global Employer Monthly eAlert, we capture recent key developments in employment law from across the globe.

In this month’s issue, we share updates from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, Vietnam, Ukraine, the UK and the US.

Click here to read the latest eAlert!

 

In July 2017, amid political turmoil and protests by the opposition and the labor unions, president Michel Temer sanctioned a new law implementing the controversial labor reform in Brazil.

Some of the law’s most significant changes impacting US multinationals include:

  • Labor Rights Negotiation: Agreements negotiated between companies and employees may override statutory requirements relating to labor rights such as: vacation usage, work shift, flextime arrangements, reduced meal breaks and remote work, among other points. However, some labor protections, such as FGTS deposits, minimum wage, 13th salary and vacation pay cannot be subject to negotiation.
  • Waivers and Releases of Labor Rights: Employees with college degrees who receive monthly salaries greater than or equal to twice the limit of benefits from the National Social Security Institute (INSS) will be able to negotiate valid release agreements and waive labor rights.
  • Outsourcing: It is now possible to hire service companies to provide services and activities even for those that fall within the company’s core business.
  • Remote Work: The parties to a remote work agreement shall agree on the use of equipment and payment of related business expenses (such as for electricity and internet access). The employee does not have to keep time records.
  • Dismissal for cause: Possibilities of discharge for cause by the employer are expanded beyond the situations under the current rules. Among these are loss of qualification necessary to the employee’s profession, such as a driving license, if caused by the employee’s intentional misconduct.
  • Termination by Mutual Agreement: Termination can be agreed between the parties, in which case severance will be reduced.
  • Mass layoffs: Collective terminations, also known as mass layoffs, will no longer need the agreement of the labor union. The same rules applicable to individual terminations shall apply to collective terminations.
  • Litigation: Employees will have to pay for court costs relating to any pleas that later are deemed groundless. Requirements for filing labor lawsuits are stricter and it will be easier to impose penalties against plaintiffs for litigating in bad faith by filing frivolous suits.

We thank our friend Leticia Ribeiro, a partner at Trench, Rossi e Watanabe (a Brazilian law firm with a cooperation agreement with Baker McKenzie), for her valuable contributions to this post. And, for more information, please contact your Baker McKenzie lawyer.