Countries › Brazil › Guide › 16. What is normal abroad but not here › Working hours: the move to a 40 hour week and overtime at 50 percent

Working hours: the move to a 40 hour week and overtime at 50 percent

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Changing

Abroad, many countries leave hours to contract or exempt salaried staff from overtime; in Brazil the Constitution caps normal hours and overtime costs at least 50 percent more. Constitutional Amendment 141, published on 16 October 2026, cuts the week from 44 to 42 hours on 16 December 2026 and to 40 hours on 16 December 2027, with two paid rest days a week and no pay cut. It also exempts from hour controls graduates earning at least 2.5 times the social security ceiling, R$21,188.88 a month in 2026; sites with more than 20 workers must record entry and exit times.

USD figures use the Banco Central do Brasil PTAX selling rate of R$5.3346 per US dollar for 27 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Maximum normal weekly hours (from 16 December 2027)	40 hoursEC nº 141 art. 6 item II, as of 2026-10-27 · pending
Maximum normal weekly hours from 16 December 2026	42 hoursEC nº 141 art. 6 item I, as of 2026-10-27 · pending
Maximum normal daily hours	8 hoursConstitution art. 7 item XIII, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Paid weekly rest days (from 16 December 2026)	2 daysEC nº 141 art. 1 and art. 10 item I, as of 2026-10-27 · pending
Minimum overtime premium	50 %Constitution art. 7 item XVI; CLT art. 59 § 1, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum overtime hours per day	2 hoursCLT art. 59, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Minimum night work premium	20 %CLT art. 73, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Monthly pay above which graduates are outside hour rules (2026)	21188.88 BRLEC nº 141 art. 8; Portaria Interministerial MPS/MF nº 13/2026 art. 2, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
RGPS contribution and benefit ceiling 2026	8475.55 BRLPortaria Interministerial MPS/MF nº 13/2026 art. 2, as of 2026-01-01 · in force
Workers above which entry and exit must be recorded	20 workersCLT art. 74 § 2, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Normal working time may not exceed 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, with two days of paid weekly rest, one preferably on Sunday. The reduction applies to existing contracts with no reduction of nominal salary, including wage floors, and collective agreement clauses on hours and rest that conflict with the amendment lose effect two months after publication.
Cost to do it: The same monthly pay for fewer hours: about 4.8 percent more per hour at 42 hours and 10 percent more per hour at 40 hours, compared with 44 hours.
Example: An employee earning R$5,000 a month for 44 hours keeps R$5,000 for 40 hours. / About US$937 a month for 10 percent fewer hours.Emenda Constitucional nº 141 of 16 October 2026 (published in the Diário Oficial on 16 October 2026), amending Constitution art. 7, Art. 1 (Constitution art. 7 items XIII and XV); arts. 2, 3 and 10, 2026-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Emenda Constitucional nº 141 of 16 October 2026 cut the constitutional maximum from 44 to 40 weekly hours and raised weekly paid rest to two days.

2. The cut is phased: two months after publication (16 December 2026) normal hours may not exceed 42 a week, and one year after that (16 December 2027) 40 a week. The two rest days apply from two months after publication. Until the second date, collective agreements may lengthen daily hours to fit the 42 hour week. A complementary law may set transitional measures for individual microentrepreneurs, micro and small companies, conditioned on keeping jobs.
Cost to do it: Rescheduling and possibly hiring or overtime to cover the lost hours.
Example: A retailer open 6 days a week must move staff to schedules of 42 hours with two rest days by 16 December 2026. / No statutory US dollar amount.Emenda Constitucional nº 141 of 16 October 2026, Arts. 5, 6 items I and II, 7 and 10 item I, 2026-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Phase in set by Emenda Constitucional nº 141: 42 hours from 16 December 2026, 40 hours from 16 December 2027.

3. Hour rules and time controls do not apply to an employee with a university degree earning monthly pay of at least 2.5 times the maximum social security (RGPS) benefit, unless the employer chooses or a collective agreement provides otherwise; weekly rest still applies. The RGPS maximum for 2026 is R$8,475.55, so the threshold is R$21,188.88 a month. Managers in positions of trust paid at least 40 percent above the underlying salary, external workers whose hours cannot be controlled and teleworkers paid by output were already outside the hours chapter of the CLT.
Cost to do it: No overtime exposure for qualifying senior staff.
Example: A graduate engineer earning R$25,000 a month (above R$21,188.88) is outside the hour rules. / Threshold about US$3,972 a month; the engineer earns about US$4,686.Emenda Constitucional nº 141 of 16 October 2026; Portaria Interministerial MPS/MF nº 13 of 9 January 2026; CLT art. 62 as worded by Lei nº 8.966 of 27 December 1994, EC 141 art. 8; Portaria 13 art. 2; CLT art. 62 items I to III and sole paragraph, 2026-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: New exemption created by Emenda Constitucional nº 141 art. 8.

4. Daily hours may be extended by up to 2 hours of overtime by individual or collective agreement, paid at least 50 percent above the normal hour. Overtime may be offset instead of paid through an hour bank: within one year by collective agreement (maximum 10 hours a day), within six months by written individual agreement, or within the same month by tacit or written individual agreement. Unoffset hours are paid on termination at the current pay rate.
Cost to do it: At least 1.5 times the normal hourly rate for each extra hour.
Example: Keeping a R$5,000 a month employee on 44 hours after the 40 hour week starts: 4 extra hours a week at 150 percent, roughly 15 percent more pay, about R$5,750 a month before reflections on rest days, vacation and 13th salary. / About US$1,078 instead of US$937.Constituição Federal art. 7 item XVI; CLT art. 59 as worded by Lei nº 13.467 of 13 July 2017, Constitution art. 7 item XVI; CLT art. 59 caput and §§ 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, 2017-07-13 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. A 12 hour shift followed by 36 hours of rest may be agreed in writing individually or collectively. A rest break of at least 1 hour and at most 2 hours is required for continuous work over 6 hours, and 15 minutes for work over 4 hours; a missed break is paid as the suppressed time plus 50 percent. Night work between 22:00 and 05:00 is paid at least 20 percent more, with a night hour counted as 52 minutes 30 seconds.
Cost to do it: 20 percent night premium; 50 percent on suppressed break time.
Example: A security guard on 12 by 36 shifts working nights receives the 20 percent premium on night hours. / No statutory US dollar amount.CLT, art. 59-A added by Lei nº 13.467 of 13 July 2017; arts. 71 and 73, Art. 59-A; art. 71 caput and §§ 1 and 4; art. 73 caput and §§ 1 and 2, 2017-07-13 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Working hours are recorded in the employee register. Establishments with more than 20 workers must record entry and exit times, manually, mechanically or electronically; recording by exception is allowed by written individual or collective agreement.
Cost to do it: Cost of a time recording system for sites with more than 20 workers.
Example: A 25 person office must keep entry and exit records for each covered employee. / No statutory US dollar amount.CLT, art. 74 as worded by Lei nº 13.874 of 20 September 2019, Art. 74 caput and §§ 2 and 4, 2019-09-20 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Period	Weekly hours	Paid rest days	Source
Until 15 December 2026	44	1	Constitution art. 7 items XIII and XV, 1988 wording
From 16 December 2026	42	2	EC nº 141 arts. 6 item I and 10 item I
From 16 December 2027	40	2	EC nº 141 art. 6 item II

Maximum normal weekly hours and weekly rest (Emenda Constitucional nº 141).

Worked example

A Brazilian subsidiary has 50 shop staff on 44 hours at R$5,000 a month each (about US$937). From 16 December 2027 the same pay buys 40 hours. Keeping 44 hours by overtime costs roughly 15 percent more pay, about R$37,500 a month for the team (about US$7,030), before reflections on paid rest, vacation and the 13th salary; the alternative is rescheduling or hiring. A graduate manager earning R$25,000 (about US$4,686) is outside the hour rules under EC nº 141 art. 8 because the pay exceeds R$21,188.88.

Step by step

1. Map every schedule against 42 hours and two rest days for 16 December 2026, and 40 hours for 16 December 2027.
2. Review collective agreements: clauses on hours and rest that conflict with EC nº 141 lose effect after 2 months (EC nº 141 art. 3).
3. Keep nominal salaries unchanged when hours fall (EC nº 141 art. 2).
4. Identify graduates paid at least 2.5 times the RGPS ceiling who fall outside hour rules, and decide whether to keep controls voluntarily.
5. Set up or renew hour bank agreements (six months individual, one year collective).
6. For sites with more than 20 workers, keep entry and exit records.

Common traps

Cutting salary in proportion to the lower hours is prohibited, including for wage floors (EC nº 141 art. 2).
A manager title alone does not remove overtime: the trust position needs pay at least 40 percent above the underlying salary (CLT art. 62 sole paragraph).
The new graduate exemption depends on both a university degree and pay of at least 2.5 times the RGPS ceiling, which is updated every January.
Hours left in an individual hour bank after six months, or on termination, are paid as overtime (CLT art. 59 §§ 3 and 5).
Contracts with public bodies are adjusted for EC nº 141 only after an amendment restoring the economic balance, to be signed within one year (EC nº 141 art. 9).

Sources

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