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Brazil has approved a constitutional amendment to reduce the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours and abolish the traditional six-day workweek.
Brazil has reduced maximum hours from 44 to 40 per week and mandates two paid days off, effectively ending the common “6×1” (six days on, one day off) schedule.
This has been implemented without any reduction in workers’ salaries.
The transition will be phased in gradually—dropping to 42 hours within 60 days of taking effect, and reaching the full 40-hour limit over a 14-month period.
The historic vote took place in the Brazilian Senate on Wednesday, 14 October 2026.
The new law mandates two paid days of rest per week alongside the 40-hour limit. In practice, this transitions the country to a 5-day workweek (a 5×2 schedule) for all formal employees.
The National Confederation of Industry (CNI) strongly criticized the move, warning that the sudden cut in hours without wage drops could inflate annual employment costs by 178 billion to 267 billion reais.
Business leaders have warned that small storefronts, retail shops, and the construction sector will suffer the most. To maintain their current operational hours, they will be forced to hire extra staff or pay high overtime rates to existing workers.
While business groups foresee inflation and job cuts, a study by Brazil’s Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) balanced this out, estimating that operating costs in major job-generating sectors would actually rise by less than 1%.
Brazil introduced a five-day work week, and India followed Brazil in implementing E20 petrol. So, can we expect India to follow Brazil in giving employees a five-day work week too, or will we only follow the policies that benefit the system? We can adopt Brazil’s fuel model, but when it comes to giving employees more time for their families, the decision suddenly becomes complicated.
