Global PEO Services (GPS) helps companies hire employees in Brazil without establishing a legal entity. All human resources, benefits, payroll, and tax needs for the employees are managed by the Global PEO, while the new hires and headquarter teams focus on your business goals.
When hiring employees in Brazil, establishing a subsidiary or branch office is not always the best route, as it’s often a lengthy and expensive process. Hiring via a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), or Employer of Record (EOR), is a faster and often more effective option – especially when starting up in a new country.
Global PEO Services hires the employees on your behalf, legally contracting them through our subsidiary in accordance with Brazilian labor laws. As a result, the burden of compliance is on us and the employees can begin work for your company in a matter of days. PEOs/EORs provide you with a streamlined option for hiring employees, testing markets, and responding to growing business needs in Brazil. With Global PEO Services, you get control without taking on legal entity liabilities, contractor risks, or sacrificing on talent or speed to market.
Country Overview
Brazil’s economy is the 9th largest in the world with an estimated worth of natural resources being US$ 21.8 trillion. The country’s diverse and open economy has developed flourishing trade relationships with more than 100 different countries. According to the 2019 Index of Economic Freedom, the total foreign direct investment in Brazil was $62.7 billion. The Brazilian government promotes foreign investment in scientific and technological infrastructure. Brazil’s moderate climate, excellent infrastructure, supportive government and wealth of natural resources make it a highly favored destination for foreign investment.
Overview
Currency: Brazilian Real (R$)
Principal Language: Portuguese
Government: Federal Constitutional Republic
Capital City: Brasília
Major Cities: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro
Employment Contracts
Under the Brazilian law, employment contracts need to be in writing only for professional artists, professional athletes and apprentices. An employment relationship through written contract, tacit agreement or oral promise is also legally valid. A tacit employment agreement is often based on the parties' behavior when there is no formal employment agreement. When there is no specific termination date, an employment agreement is expected to be valid for an indefinite period. Employers may hire employees with probationary terms that are treated as fixed-term contracts with a maximum period of 90 days.
Work/Time Regulations
The federal constitution establishes “normal working hours” of 8 daily and 44 for every week, unless stated otherwise as part of a collective bargaining agreement. It may be mandatory for employees to work a maximum of 2 overtime hours every day. In an emergency, there may be a need for additional overtime if a specific agreement registered with the Ministry of Labor and Employment.
Workers get the right to 11 hours off in between 2 working days. For every uninterrupted work period lasting 6 hours in a workday, employers need to provide a 1 hour break for rest or a meal. Employers that fail to allow this rest break must compensate workers with a premium of 50% additional wages for the hour that should have been a break.
Employees get 1 day paid off each week, usually on Sunday unless the Ministry of Labor and Employment has given special approval to an employer's request for carrying out work on Sunday. Underage employees cannot work night shifts.
Overtime Rules
Continuous work hours for more than 8 per day and 44 per week are deemed overtime, unless recommended otherwise
in a collective bargaining agreement. Compensation for overtime must be a minimum 50% more than compensation
for normal working hours. Employees get the right to double pay for work on holidays and Sundays. The entitlement
to overtime pay is not applicable in the case of part-time employees.
Employees can be made to work a maximum of 2 overtime hours a day as the legal limit to the workday is 10 hours. However, the law considers a few exceptional circumstances valid for additional overtime.
Leave
Holidays
Employees are entitled to 8 national holidays:
- Jan. 1: New Year's Day
- April 21: Tiradentes
- May 1: Labor Day
- Sept. 7: Independence Day
- Oct. 12: Our Lady of Aparecida Day
- Nov. 2: All Souls Day
- Nov. 15: Proclamation of the Republic Day
- Dec. 25: Christmas
Brazil also identifies some optional holidays and optional partial holidays, which are:
- Carnival (2 days prior to Ash Wednesday)
- Ash Wednesday (44 days prior to Good Friday)
- Good Friday (2 days before Easter)
- Corpus Christi (on a Thursday about 2 months after Easter)
- Oct. 28: Public Service Day (Date finalized according to the ordinance issued by Ministry of Planning)
- Dec. 24 after 2 p.m.: Christmas Eve
- Dec. 31 after 2 p.m.: New Year's Eve
Based on the place of work of employees, they may also get local holidays. If a national holiday falls on a Sunday, employees can take an off on the following Monday.
Annual Leave
Employers need to provide paid annual vacation to employees for up to 30 days, but the exact number of days
will be based on the number of unexcused absences that can be attributed to a worker, as follows:
- Number of days of paid vacation for 5 or lesser unexcused absences: 30 days
- Number of days of paid vacation for 6 to 14 absences: 24 days
- Number of days of paid vacation for 15 to 23 absences: 18 days
- Number of days of paid vacation for 24 to 32 absences: 12 days
- Number of days of paid vacation for more than 32 absences: None
Vacation pay need to be at least one-third more than the employee's usual salary. Generally, the vacation need to be taken all at once. Employers need to allow workers to avail their vacation within 12 months of their eligibility or the employers must double their regular pay when employees do take it. An employee may choose to take cash payment in lieu of up to one-third of total days of vacation.
Maternity Leave
Female employees are entitled to get maternity leave for up to 4 months (120 days), including up to a month
prior to the due date. This leave can be extended by 2 weeks before or after childbirth based on the medical
condition of the mother or child.
Employers need to pay the employee's last complete salary (or the average of the last 6 months of salary in case of variable pay) as maternity pay — but the same gets reimbursed by the social security system later.
Upon notifying the employer about pregnancy, a female employee cannot be terminated without cause until 5 months after delivery. New mothers are entitled to go on 2 half-hour breaks every day to breast-feed until the child is 6 months old.
Paternity Leave
Fathers can take 5 days of paid paternity leave, and employers cannot discriminate against them for doing
so.
Sick Leave
Employees who must stay away from work due to a non-work related injury or sickness are entitled to get their regular salary for the first 15 days of absence from work. If they remain absent longer than that, Social Security will pay the sick leave.
Workers who receive sick leave benefits from social security may need to undergo periodic medical examinations and, if they are unable to perform their job, must participate in vocational rehabilitation as part of their training for a new job. Workers that received sick leave social security benefits cannot be fired for upto 1 year after their return to regular work.
Other Leave
Employees are entitled to 3 days of paid leave for their marriage and 2 days of paid bereavement leave if
a spouse, parent, child or sibling or any other dependent passes away.
Benefits
In Brazil, a comprehensive Social Security system is run by its National Institute of Social Security (the Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social or INSS) under the Ministry of Social Welfare. The system manages contributions to provide for workers' compensation, pensions, education funds, unemployment insurance, and other welfare provisions. Both employees and employers need to make social security contributions, which vary based on industry type and workplace risk.
Social security also grants benefits in the following areas: survivor pensions, aid for dependents of people who are incarcerated, savings funds, benefits for the elderly and those with disabilities, professional rehabilitation assistance, work accident payments, maternity leave payments, family salary support, and accident insurance and sick leave benefits. The legal age of retirement is 65 for men and 60 for women. To qualify for benefits, male employees need to have completed contributions for at least 35 years, women for a minimum of 30 years.
How GPS can Help
With our Global PEO/Employer of Record services, companies can expand into Brazil and hire their employees without having to establish a branch office or subsidiary in Brazil.
- Your candidate is hired via our Brazil PEO. If needed, we can also help you find the right talent in any country with our comprehensive global staffing services.
- Your new employee begins work quickly as we take care of employment contracts, statutory and non-statutory benefits, and running their payroll - all in full compliance with Brazil laws.
- Global PEO Services experts manage all day-to-day operational issues such as employee expenses, and severance/termination if required.
- With no contractor risks, pass on the compliance burden to Global PEO Services.
Spin Off/M&A Support
- Ensure continuity of payroll, benefits and HR support when acquiring or spinning off a business with employees overseas.
24/7 Support in 150+ Countries
- Empower your teams with 24/7 support and a single point-of-contact model in which experienced client services directors are in continuous communication with information and advice.
- We are backed by a mix of 300+ multidisciplinary experts from HR, Payroll, Finance, Tax, and Legal domains who are ready to respond to the expected and unexpected needs of your business on the shortest notice.
Easy Visibility into Your Employee Time & Attendance and Benefits Data
With our Global PEO, you get access to Mihi, our proprietary SaaS solution for time and
attendance, vacation, leave management and benefits enrollment and management.
Mihi enables clients to have easy access to employee data in real time. It is designed
specifically for companies with a global workforce, especially when working in multiple
countries with low headcount.
Ready for Growth When You Are
When ready, we can seamlessly transition you from the PEO/EOR model to your own
legal entity and provide ongoing international HR, finance, legal, compliance and staffing
support. Learn more about our end-to-end international expansion services.