Jayme Petra de Mello Neto
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
Law 13,767/2018 was published on Tuesday, December 18, amending article 473 of the CLT, adding item XII, which now reads as follows:
Art. 1 The heading of art. 473 of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), approved by Decree-Law no. 5,452, of May 1, 1943, shall come into force with the addition of the following item XII:
Art. 473……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
XII – up to 3 (three) days, every 12 (twelve) working months, in the event of duly proven preventive cancer examinations. (NR)
The aforementioned item adds to the list in article 473 of the CLT, as yet another hypothesis for absence without prejudice to salary, the absence of the worker from work to undergo a preventive cancer examination, just as it already is for marriage, the birth of a child, the death of a spouse, among others.
It is true that there is no legal provision for stability for people with serious illnesses. On the other hand, in line with constitutional and legal provisions regarding the prohibition of discriminatory practices in employment relationships, and since cancer is an unequivocally serious illness, the legal regulation of justified absence for preventive cancer examinations, without a deduction from the worker’s salary, points to yet another important advance in the world of labor relations.
At the same time, employers should be aware of which medical examinations are considered by the scientific community to be cancer prevention tests, since the Ministry of Labor has not issued a list, even if it is an example, and may in the future see the need for one in order to avoid controversy.
Finally, it is worth noting that only the reasons listed in article 473 of the CLT exempt unjustified absences from deductions. It is also important to present a doctor’s certificate, since the mere warning that you will be late or absent does not justify the absence, and repeated absences can lead to dismissal for just cause based on negligence.
