A House of Representatives recently approved a reform that changes the work scale for employees with a work contract, passing from 6 days of work a week to 40 hours every 7 days, as it was in 2026. However, now more 36 opposition senators have submitted a Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) that allows the creation of a “7×0 scale,” where employees can choose to work every day of the week. This means that employees can opt to work 168 hours a month, instead of 160 hours, as it was in 2026, and still earn the same salary.
This proposal aims to expand the freedom and autonomy of workers in choosing their work schedule and, subsequently, in defining their proportional remuneration. Nevertheless, Federal Deputy Erika Hilton, from the PSOL, criticized this proposal, stating that it creates a “7×0 scale,” where employees will be forced to work every day of the week. The delegate alleges that the proposal does not guarantee employees’ rights and that there is no clear norm to determine how many worked hours are equivalent to 40 hours of work.
The PEC proposal provides that employees can negotiate their work schedules with their contractors and choose between the common regime prescribed by the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) or a flexible regime based on worked hours. The justification of the proposal is that this will allow the working person to choose a work model that better meets their needs, reconciling their personal life with their work and adapting their routine to labor market demands and opportunities. However, there is no clarity on how this would be implemented in practice and what would be the consequence of the worker having the commitment to work every day of the week.
The PEC is already in the Senate’s Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee, where it is being analyzed and discussed by the category and the economic sector, which defends the flexibility of labor laws to allow for greater competitiveness in national companies.
