Brazil: Senate approves five-day workweek reform, with formal promulgation still pending
PEC 221/2019 passed both Senate votes by 75 to one. It provides for a gradual 40-hour week and two days of paid rest without a pay cut.
Brazil’s Senate approved constitutional amendment proposal PEC 221/2019 on 14 October 2026, Brazilian time, to end the model of six working days followed by one rest day. The official legislative record confirms that both voting rounds were completed, each with 75 votes in favour and one against.
What it provides
The general framework gradually reduces the maximum working week from 44 to 40 hours and guarantees two days of paid weekly rest without reducing wages. The official explanation notes special provisions for differentiated working arrangements and certain higher-paid employees with university degrees.
Not effective on the night of the vote
The Senate record marks the proposal as approved and sends it for formal promulgation by Congress, the Brazilian procedure called “promulgação”. It records that a session will be convened for this step; it does not establish that promulgation has already occurred.
The vote therefore does not mean that every employee immediately moves to a five-day or 40-hour week. The phased implementation and special rules must be read alongside the final, formally promulgated text.
What was cross-checked
ERT News reported the development in the early hours of 15 October. Checking the proposal’s full official legislative history confirms that this is now approval in both rounds, not merely an initial positive vote or a scheduled debate.
English translation of the Greek edition · Read in Greek