Brazil’s Congress enacts phased end to six-day working week

Brazil’s Congress promulgated a constitutional amendment on October 16, 2026, replacing six working days and one rest day with five working days and two paid rest days, without reducing salaries. The new rest entitlement and shorter working hours take effect in stages, according to Agência Senado, the Senate’s news service.

The reform changes a system allowing a maximum 44-hour working week. The Senate approved it on October 14 by 75 votes to one in each of two voting rounds, following approval by the lower house in May.

When the working week changes

Constitutional Amendment 141 ties the transition to its publication date. Two paid weekly rest days begin after 60 days, alongside the first reduction in maximum weekly hours. One rest day should preferably fall on Sunday.

The final reduction comes one year after the initial 60-day transition period.

During the transition, collective agreements between workers and employers may extend daily hours to fit a 42-hour week while preserving the two rest days. Rest days may also be averaged over a month, provided workers receive an average of two per week and at least one in every seven days.

Who the reform affects

Agência Senado’s October 16 report cites a Ministry of Labour and Employment survey estimating that 14.9 million of the 44.7 million workers with identified schedules work six days followed by one rest day and will benefit. That is about one-third of the surveyed group. The change reaches sectors including commerce, services, industry and logistics.

The amendment does not change working hours for federal, state, Federal District or municipal public employees. Existing schedules of 40 hours or less will not receive a proportional reduction.

The rules on working-time limits and monitoring exclude employees with higher-education qualifications who earn at least 2.5 times the general social-security benefit ceiling. That exception remains subject to collective-bargaining provisions and the guarantee of weekly rest.

Contract clauses incompatible with the new rules lose validity after 60 days. A future law may provide adaptation measures for individual microentrepreneurs, microenterprises and small businesses, conditional on maintaining jobs.