Brazilian Congress Approves the end of the 6x1 Work Schedule and the Reduction of the Workweek to 40 hours

On October 14, 2026, the Federal Senate approved Proposed Constitutional Amendment (PEC) No. 221/2019, which ends the 6x1 work schedule (six days of work followed by one day of rest) and reduces the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours. The text was approved in two rounds, by 75 votes to 1, with no changes to the version approved by the Chamber of Deputies in May. It now proceeds to promulgation by the Boards of the Chamber and the Senate, with no need for presidential sanction.

Main Changes

• Working hours: Regular working time limited to eight hours per day and 40 hours per week.
• Rest: Two days of paid weekly rest, one of them preferably on Sundays.
• No salary reduction: the new rules apply to existing employment contracts without any nominal, proportional, or other salary reduction, including with respect to minimum salaries set for professional categories.
• Shorter schedules: Contracts with a workweek of 40 hours or less will not be proportionally reduced, but will also be entitled to the two days of rest.

Transition Rules

• Two months after publication of the amendment: The two days of weekly rest and a 42-hour weekly limit take effect. Within the same period, provisions of collective bargaining agreements on working hours and weekly rest that are incompatible with the new standard become invalid.
• During the following 12 months: Collective bargaining agreements may extend daily working time beyond eight hours to accommodate the 42-hour workweek, provided the two days of rest are observed.
• Fourteen months after publication: the weekly limit becomes 40 hours.

Exceptions and Special Regimes

The text adds a Paragraph 2 to Article 7 of the Constitution: on an exceptional basis, collective bargaining agreements may establish a compensation regime ensuring, on average, two days of paid weekly rest within the calendar month, provided that at least one of those days is taken within a maximum period of one work week. A new Paragraph 3 allows the law to provide for the cases and conditions of special regimes, subject to the limits set forth in items XIII, XIV, and XV of Article 7.

The amendment also provides that the constitutional rules on working hours and time control do not apply to employees holding a university degree and earning a monthly salary equal to or greater than two and a half times the cap on General Social Security Regime benefits (BRL 8,475.55 in 2026), except at the employer’s discretion or where provided for in a collective bargaining agreement, with the two days of weekly rest preserved. This exception does not extend to public employees of the direct and indirect public administration.

For contracts with the public administration in force on the date of publication of the amendment that involve the direct employment of labor, including concessions, permits, public-private partnerships, and other instruments of collaboration with the private sector, the reductions in working hours depend on a contract amendment to maintain the economic and financial balance, to be executed within one year. Regardless of such amendment, employees become covered at the end of that period, with no salary reduction. Transitional measures for individual micro-entrepreneurs, micro-enterprises, and small businesses were deferred to a complementary law, conditioned on the maintenance of employment levels.

Next Steps

According to the Federal Senate, a joint solemn session of the National Congress will be convened for the promulgation, and the transition periods will run from the publication of the Constitutional Amendment. Companies are advised to begin reviewing work schedules, shift charts, and timekeeping systems, to map the collective bargaining agreements that will need to be renegotiated; to assess cost and staffing impacts; and, where applicable, to identify contracts with the public administration subject to amendment.

The Employment & Benefits practice of Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown remains available to clarify any questions on the matter.