When does the 5x2 schedule start applying? Understand the deadlines after approval in the Senate
Two weekly breaks will take effect two months after the amendment is published; reduction of the workday to 40 hours will have a 14-month transition period
The 5x2 scale, with five working days and two rest days, will begin to apply two months after the publication of the constitutional amendment that closes the 6x1 scale. The approval by the Senate, on Wednesday night (14), does not immediately change the routine of workers. On Thursday (15), the official processing of PEC 221/2019 indicated that the proposal was still for promulgation.
The text was approved in two rounds, with 75 votes in favour and one against in each vote. Since the senators have maintained the version approved by the Chamber of Deputies, the proposal goes directly to the promulgation stage.
When do the two holidays begin?
The period provided for in the text is two months from the publication of the amendment. Therefore, the date of the Senate vote does not start this count. In this first moment, in addition to the right to two days of paid rest, the weekly limit of work will fall from 44 to 42 hours. The 40-hour journey will be adopted after another 12 months, completing the transition.
The schedule of change looks like this:
Stage
Planned change
Approval in the Senate
Proposal is for promulgation
Two months after publication
Two paid leave and a maximum of 42 hours per week
More 12 months later
Maximum workday of 40 hours per week
The complete deployment will therefore take 14 months, according to the approved transition rule.
Can the salary be reduced?
The proposal requires that the reduction in working hours and the increase in rest be applied to existing contracts without any reduction in wages. The protection also reaches the floors of the categories. Those who already have a journey of up to 40 hours per week will not have an automatic proportional reduction of the hours hired because of the change.
Will the holidays be compulsory on Saturday and Sunday?
The text states that one of the days of rest is preferably on Sundays. Thus, the change does not mean that all workers will have the weekend free. Collective agreements or conventions may arrange for the compensation of rest, provided that they provide an average of two breaks per week within the month and at least one day of rest per maximum period of one work week.
During the transition, collective bargaining may also adjust the daily duration to distribute the 42 weekly hours.
What should workers and companies observe now?
The next milestone is the promulgation and publication of the amendment, necessary to define the timetable for implementation. Until the beginning of the new deadlines, parliamentary approval alone does not oblige immediate change of scales. Conventions and collective agreements with clauses incompatible with the new rules will lose effect two months after publication.
Read also: Senate approves end of 6X1 scale and reduction of working hours
The text also allows a future supplementary law to establish transitional measures for MEIs, micro-enterprises and small enterprises, conditional on maintaining employment levels.
