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STF validates the adoption of a 12 for 36 hour workday through an individual agreement


Item XIII of article 7 of the Constitution does not prevent a 12-hour workday with 36 hours of rest. It allows the workday of eight hours a day or 44 hours a week to be adjusted through compensation, according to a collective agreement or negotiation. In the case of the 12 x 36 model, the four additional hours of daily work are compensated with a longer period of consecutive rest.


The Federal Supreme Court has validated article 59-A of the CLT, which allows the adoption of the 12 x 36 workday through individual agreement, collective bargaining agreement, or collective bargaining.


The National Confederation of Health Workers challenged this rule, claiming that it violates item XIII of article 7 of the Constitution, which does not mention the possibility of individual agreement, and that unions should be involved in the adoption of this uninterrupted workday.


Minister Gilmar Mendes said there is no unconstitutionality in the law that allows employees and employers, through individual contracts, establish the workday 12 x 36, because this journey was already widely used and recognized by case law and specific laws for certain careers.


Before the Labor Reform, the 12x36 workday was considered valid if provided by law or collectively negotiated, according to the TST Precedent 444.


Gilmar pointed out that this workday is becoming increasingly common among different categories of workers and that it is natural that the Labor Reform has regulated this workday in the CLT, allowing its adoption by workers through individual contracts, based on the freedom of the worker, which was the motto of the reform.




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