Essential Labor Law Concepts and Worker Rights

Fundamental Concepts of Labor Law

Labour Law: This covers the set of rules governing the relations between employer and employee, taking care also to ensure basic social conditions for workers.

Employee: Any individual who provides services. Employer: The entity assuming corporations and other business risks, admitting to and paying salaries.

Wages and Remuneration

• Minimum Wage: The minimum amount due and paid nationally by the employer to every employee.
• Salary: Remuneration received through the economic relationship between the employee and employer arising from employment.
• Wage Floor: The minimum salary for every profession can be set at this level.
• Salary Irreducibility: Salary cannot be reduced by changes in remuneration.
• 13th Salary (Set 13): Remuneration the current employer pays for the job.
• Pecuniary Allowance: Monetary compensation or money.

Working Hours and Conditions

• Workday: The normal workday may not exceed eight hours. Hours that exceed the limit of the workday will be considered extraordinary and must be paid with an increase of 50%.
• Night Work: Work performed between 22:00 and 05:00 the next day.
• Weekly Rest: Every employee is guaranteed a rest period of 24 consecutive hours, which should coincide with Sunday.
• Holiday: Every employee is entitled to a vacation each year without harming their earnings.

Employment Contracts and Termination

• Contract Labor: The employment relationship remains a matter of character and person.
• Contract Duration: When you enter the business knowing the specific output period.
• Indeterminate Term (Unknown): This refers to the time of exit from the company when it is unknown.
• Advance Notice: Notification by which the party wishing to terminate the employment relationship announces their decision to the other in advance.
• Freelance Work: Professional activity that is non-conditional, "self-employed," and independent in relation to the aims of the service. It also refers to working without proper registration.

Social Benefits and Protections

• FGTS: A compulsory bank deposit held by companies in the amount of 8% of the employee's salary.
• PASEP: A financial contribution developed by the union of states, involving monthly payments into a bank account in Brazil.
• SIP: A program aiming to promote the questioning of the employee's life and business development.
• Union: A professional association that is duly recognized.
• Strike: A right workers may decide to exercise.
• Protection for Minor Workers: Night work is forbidden, and work in conditions hazardous to health is prohibited.
• Domestic Work Rights: Includes formal registration and holidays.

Economic Factors and Administration

• Capital: The middle ground between labor and nature. In this broad sense, capital includes not only cash but also equipment, tools, facilities, and all instruments used in production.
• Production Factors: Labor and capital.
• Work Booklet Elements: Identification and address.
• Subordination (Tying Training): In carrying out their work, the employee must comply with the orders of the employer.