Brazil’s Senate has approved a change to the constitution, the country’s main law, to shorten the full-time working week. Senators voted 75 to one in favour. The measure replaces the customary six-day, 44-hour week with a 40-hour week and two paid days off. Unions, which represent workers, will negotiate with employers over which days employees take off.
The reduction will happen in stages so employers have time to reorganise schedules or recruit more staff. Working hours will fall from 44 to 42, with the additional day off also starting 60 days after the measure passes. The limit will then drop to 40 hours a year later. Senate President Davi Alcolumbre said the extra rest day would give workers more time with their families.
The lower house approved an identical measure in May, so the change does not require the president’s signature. Both the current president and his election opponent supported it. First introduced in 2019, the proposal originally aimed for a 34-hour week, but this was later revised to 40 hours. It is the first legislative change to working hours since 1988, when the weekly total fell from 48 to 44.
