Monique Vieira Lessa
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
On August 24, President Jair Bolsonaro signed decree 10.470 extending for another two months the program that allows employers to suspend employment contracts or reduce working hours and salaries.
The program stemming from the provisional measure, announced at the beginning of April and later turned into law, provided for the suspension of employment contracts for up to two months and the reduction of working hours and wages for up to three months.
In mid-July, the period for reducing working hours and suspending contracts was extended to a maximum of four months. Now, with the new decree, the period has been extended by another two months, meaning that employers will be able to adopt the measures for a total period of six months, i.e. the same length of time as the state of calamity decreed by the government.
Employees affected by the suspension or reduction in salary will still be entitled to the Emergency Benefit, in accordance with Ordinance 10,486 of April 22, 2020. According to the President of the Republic, the measure aims to preserve millions of jobs, as well as the financial health of business activity in the face of the pandemic ravaging the world.
