Brazil Moves to a Two Day Weekend as Congress Cuts Standard Workweek

Brazil is preparing for one of its most important labour market changes in decades after the Senate approved a constitutional amendment that ends the 6x1 work pattern, a schedule under which employees work six days and rest one.

Under the approved text, workers will be entitled to two paid days off each week for every five days worked, without a cut in wages. The measure also lowers the country’s maximum weekly working time from 44 hours to 40 hours.

The amendment still needs to be formally promulgated by Congress, the final step that brings a constitutional change into force in Brazil. For employers, the key issue is timing. Once enacted, most companies will have 60 days to move to the 5x2 schedule and reduce weekly hours from 44 to 42. If promulgation takes place in October, the first stage would apply from December 2026.

A second reduction will follow 12 months later, bringing the maximum workweek down to 40 hours. In practice, the full transition will run for 14 months from enactment.

A large compliance shift for employers

The change is expected to affect a substantial share of Brazil’s workforce. DIEESE, the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies, estimates that 26.8 million workers will benefit from the end of the 6x1 schedule and the shift to a 40 hour ceiling.

That figure includes 22 million formal employees, representing 54 percent of workers with signed employment contracts, as well as about 4.8 million informal workers who currently work more than 40 hours a week. DIEESE based its estimate on the 2025 PNAD household survey, conducted by IBGE, Brazil’s national statistics agency.

For international companies operating in Brazil, the amendment will require a review of staffing models, payroll costs, shift design and collective bargaining arrangements. The impact will likely vary by sector. Retail, restaurants, hospitality, logistics, security, cleaning, call centres, manufacturing lines and other labour intensive activities have historically relied more heavily on six day rosters.

The rule does not simply prohibit any work on a sixth day. It sets a new default, while allowing some flexibility through collective bargaining. Under the approved text, an alternative schedule may be used on an exceptional basis if it is agreed through a collective labour agreement.

For example, a company may maintain a 6x1 system if it is authorised by collective bargaining. In that case, however, the extra day worked must be compensated with a day off in the same month. By the end of each month, the employee must have received, on average, the equivalent of two paid rest days per week.

Public contractors get more time

One important exception concerns outsourced workers serving the public sector. Companies that provide services to government bodies will have 12 months from the amendment’s enactment to end the 6x1 schedule for those employees, instead of the 60 day deadline applied to most private employers.

The approved text justifies the longer period as a way to “avoid the risk of disruptions to essential public services provided through outsourcing.” In Brazil, many public facilities rely on private contractors for services such as cleaning, security, maintenance, reception and other operational functions.

This distinction matters for foreign investors and service providers bidding for public contracts. Labour cost assumptions, workforce availability and contract pricing may need to be reassessed once the amendment is promulgated. Companies with long term government contracts should pay particular attention to whether existing agreements allow for renegotiation or adjustment when labour legislation changes.

Higher paid graduates face a narrower rule

The constitutional amendment also creates a specific provision for employees with a college degree whose monthly compensation is equal to or above BRL 21,188.87.

For this group, the reduction in daily working hours will not apply automatically. Shorter daily hours would depend on the employer’s decision or on provisions negotiated in a collective bargaining agreement. The text also states that, under this provision, there will be no limit on the number of hours worked per day.

Even so, these employees will continue to have the right to two days off per week, preferably including Sunday. That means companies cannot treat the higher salary exception as a complete carveout from the new rest day requirement.

The measure adds another layer to Brazil’s already detailed labour framework. Investors should treat the amendment as both a legal compliance issue and a workforce planning issue. The law changes the baseline around working time, but many operational questions will depend on collective agreements, sector practices, job categories and the timing of promulgation.

For businesses entering Brazil or expanding local operations, the immediate priority is to map which employees are on 6x1 schedules, identify contracts affected by the 42 hour and 40 hour limits, and prepare for negotiations with unions where alternative rosters may be necessary.

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