Mariana Saroa de Souza
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
In a recent decision, the judge of the 87th Labor Court of São Paulo granted the request of a company that sought a court order suspending the payment of installments of the agreement reached with a former employee, based on the current scenario caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many companies are asking for the payment of the agreed settlement to be suspended or for the amount of the installment to be made more flexible, basing their request on the paralysis of the economy due to Covid-19. In her decision, the judge considered that the stagnation/paralysis of the economy caused by the coronavirus legally qualifies as force majeure, thus granting the suspension of the payment of the aforementioned installments of the agreement between the company and the ex-employee for a maximum period of 90 days.
Since she considered the situation to be force majeure, the judge in the case pointed out that the debtor is not liable for the damage caused by unforeseeable circumstances or force majeure, so the creditor will not be entitled to compensation for the damage caused by force majeure, which is the case today in our legal system due to the pandemic.
Although the decision to suspend the agreement is not unanimous in the Labor Courts, the possibility of companies suspending the payment of an agreement based on force majeure brings an important flexibility in the labor sphere, which has been recognizing that the pandemic has caused several losses not only to workers, but also to companies whose economy is stagnating today.
