Brazil: Pay and benefits

Updating authors: Patricia Barboza and Maury Lobo, CGM Advogados

See the legal services provided by the authors of International > Brazil, including any discounts/offers for subscribers.

Summary

• Pay is set by employment contracts and collective agreements but legislation also plays an important role in this area. (See Pay - general)
• The fixed portion of wages - that is, excluding variable elements such as commission and bonuses - must be paid at least once a month, within five working days of the end of the month in which the relevant work was performed. (See Payment of wages)
• Except in certain circumstances, employers are not permitted to make deductions from pay without the employee's written consent. (See Deductions)
• Employees who perform the same function, and work of equal value, for the same employer and at the same location must receive equal pay, regardless of sex, nationality or age. (See Equal pay)
• A national minimum wage is established by law, and applies, as the minimum remuneration for employment, to all employees, regardless of age, experience and sector/type of employment. (See Minimum wage)
• In addition to the state pension system, employers may voluntarily provide employees with complementary pension insurance, either occupational or personal. (See Pensions)
• Employers are obliged to deduct income tax at source from employees' pay and pass the sums deducted to the tax authorities. (See Income tax and social security)
• If an employee is absent from work owing to illness or injury, the employer is obliged to pay the employee during the first 15 days of absence. (See Sick pay)
• Employees are entitled each year to be paid a "13th month" of salary by their employer, also known as the Christmas bonus. (See 13th month payment)
• Employers are obliged to provide employees who incur public transport expenses from their home to work and back with transportation/commuting vouchers, at the employee's written request. (See Transport and meal vouchers)
• E-social is an online platform developed by the federal Government. Employers must input employment information that is stored in the "e-social national environment", which enables participants to verify the calculation of social security contributions and taxes. (See E-social programme)