Employment
CLT with the 2017 reform and the FGTS severance fund
The Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho (CLT) governs employment. Lei 13.467/2017 substantially reformed it, expanding the scope for individual and collective agreements to depart from statutory terms and altering litigation cost rules. Employers deposit 8 percent of monthly pay into the worker's FGTS account; dismissal without cause triggers a 40 percent penalty on the accumulated balance.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Federal, with a dedicated labour court branch up to the TST
- Deadline — Notice: 30 days plus three days per year of service, capped at 90 days
- Deadline — Annual leave: 30 calendar days
- Deadline — Claims: two years from termination, covering the last five years
Governing law
- Decreto-Lei 5.452/1943 - Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho
- Lei 13.467/2017 - Reforma Trabalhista
- Lei 8.036/1990 - FGTS
In practice
Brazil is distinctive in having a separate labour judiciary — Varas do Trabalho, Regional Labour Courts and the Tribunal Superior do Trabalho — which handles a very large caseload. The 2017 reform introduced the principle that a valid collective agreement prevails over the statute on defined subjects, reversing the previous strict protective hierarchy, and made intermittent employment contracts lawful.