Another year is coming to an end, but that does not mean that all companies stop working during the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Many of them need to organize the end of the year and keep working, respecting labor standards.
Every employee has rights under the law regarding the end of the year. From temporary workers, those who take time off during this period or those who work. Knowing the rules in this sense is essential for companies to know how to act these days.
After all, it is important to know how to differentiate each situation so that the company can organize the teams at that time, without suffering from problems with unions or the Ministry of Labor. So in this article we’re going to talk about:
- How does the year-end journey work ?;
- What does the law say about the end of the year journey ?;
- End-of-year remuneration: who is entitled? ;
- Collective holidays x Recess;
- Temporary work x Effective work;
- Tips on how to organize the holiday season;
Go ahead and have a good reading.
How does the year-end journey work?
The end-of-year shift is nothing more than the period of work, recess or collective vacation that takes into account Christmas and New Year.
Obviously, many companies also consider the eve of these festive dates in the end of the year to organize the operation of the company.
What does the law say about the end of the year journey?
To understand the legal functioning of the year-end journey, it is essential to know the difference between Facultative point and national holidays. The optional point is that day of work that is not mandatory, but that the decision to work or not is at the discretion of the company.
We can mention as an optional point the Christmas or New Year's Eve, where several companies choose to release employees earlier or allow the absence on the date.
However, as it is a normal working day, the company has no legal obligation to release them. The decision comes from a previous negotiation with unions or with the employees themselves.
On the other hand, there are national holidays. In this case, within the end of the year, the 25th of December and the 1st of January fit together. In theory, according to law nº 605/49: “Art. 9 ”, nobody would work on those dates, but in practice it is not quite like that.
That's because, the Decree 27.048 / 49 it allows various sectors (commerce, culture, transportation, etc.) to make use of the presence of employees on these dates.
However, those who are scheduled for the end of the year on what are considered national holidays will have compensation for the day worked. We will talk about this benefit next.
End-of-year remuneration: who is entitled?
Article 9 of Law No. 605/49, as mentioned above, talks about working on civil and religious holidays and highlights what companies should offer to employees who work on those days.
Law nº 605/49: “Art. 9º – In the activities in which it is not possible, due to the technical requirements of the companies, the suspension of work, on civil and religious holidays, the remuneration will be paid in double, unless the employer determines another day off ”.
In other words, to compensate for these days worked, the company has two options: pay the employee twice or negotiate a day off.
It is also important to emphasize that when it comes to double remuneration, it means that the employee will receive twice as much as he / she would receive per working day, this means 100% additional.
We’ve already talked in another article about companies ’obligations to employees who work on Sundays and holidays, Click here and check it out.
Collective holidays x Recess
It is common for many companies to adopt collective vacations or recess during the end of the year, but is there a difference between these “stoppages”? The answer is yes.
THE recess it is commonly a “break” that the company grants at the end of the year. However, there are no financial discounts on employee compensation, additional payments, such as holidays, or reduction in vacation days.
As it avoids these legal obligations, the recess is the sole responsibility of the company, which does not have the need to inform the Ministry of Labor about it.
Now collective vacations on the end of the year journey is another story. In this case, the company is obliged to notify the Ministry of Labor and the Union at least 15 days in advance.
In addition, the company needs to set the start and end date of the collective vacation, discount the employee's vacation later on the days that contemplated this collective vacation period and still pay the vacation.
Temporary work vs. actual work
With the end of the year, many companies end up needing a larger workforce to support customer demand. Commerce is one of the examples that year after year bets on new hires at the end of the year parties.
One research carried out by the UK residents Association of Temporary Work (Assertem) estimates that in the last three months of 2021 more than 400 thousand temporary job vacancies will be created in the country.
Recalling that the temporary hiring it can be done, according to the labor legislation, in two situations: adding personnel due to demand for work or provisional replacement of an employee.
However, when we talk about temporary work comes the question about the rights of these workers in relation to those who work under the CLT regime.
The truth is temporary workers have the same rights as a professional with a formal contract. These rights are present in art. 12 of Law no. 6,019/ 74 and include:
- Same remuneration as an effective worker;
- 8 hours of workday;
- Extra hour;
- Night additional;
- Insurance against accidents at work;
- Weekly rest and etc .;
The only difference is on vacation, since the maximum number of days a temporary worker can stay at the company is 180.
Therefore, he will receive the amount proportional to that time and will not get to take a vacation, as he will not complete the 12 months necessary to enjoy this benefit.
Tips on how to organize the end of the year journey
So that the company does not suffer from the end of the year journey, whether due to absences or ignorance of the law, we have prepared some tips so that your company can organize the teams for the period without problems.
Assess the reality of the company
Assessing the reality of the company is essential for the end-of-year journey to be built effectively. Many companies have a very low work rate, while others increase the load.
Having knowledge about the demands in this period will help to establish a stopover, collective vacation or work, according to the law.
That way, no one will be overwhelmed and if possible, in the case of the release of employees in the period due to low demand, the whole team will be able to recharge their energy.
Therefore, the first tip for setting up the end of the year journey is to evaluate the routine and demands of the company in the period.
Define the goals and objectives of the journey
It is common in many companies that there is a division in the work and that an agreement is lined up so that some teams can play at Christmas and others at New Year. However, in this division of the year-end shift there needs to be an alignment in the tasks.
This is because if everything is decided at the last minute, it is possible that the company will have complications and routine problems in absent sectors or the work may be interrupted abruptly, overloading the teams and reducing the productivity.
Therefore, plan the end-of-year journey in advance, with clear goals and objectives so that teams are directed correctly in possible employee absences.
Meet the labor law
Legally speaking, a year-end journey must necessarily go through a knowledge of the law.
This is because a noncompliance in this sense, such as the non-payment of collective vacations or ignoring the labor obligations to those who work on national holidays, can create future problems in the courts.
Thus, the company's HR needs to be always up to date with the legal aspects of the year-end journey to comply with the laws that support the worker.
Understand how collective agreements work
In addition to HR knowledge in the sense of the Ministry of Labor, it is important to understand all the guidelines that govern the sector's union.
This detail is important, since many agreements with the unions govern the work schedules at the end of the year. Deciding, for example, collective vacation agreements.
Therefore, any agreement for the end of the year, in case of union involvement, must be previously debated and discussed. Even so that any decision is based on labor rights and compliance with the law.
Bet on good point control
Another good option for those who do not want to get lost in organizing the employees' year-end journey is to bet on a digital point control.
Even this type of automated system can not only serve in a punctual way, in this end of the year journey, but it is also a long-term option for the company's routine.
With a digital point control the company can more quickly manage the entire process of those who work during the Christmas and New Year period and even manage to manage collective holidays and recess.
This is because in the digital point everything is done in an automated way, offering greater security in the point registration and offering managers a real-time view of the employees' journey.
Thus reducing the chances of errors in the registration of employees and later in the payment calculations.
Be transparent with employees
The planning of the year-end journey involves not only the organizational process itself, but also the company's transparency towards its employees. This means that the company needs to be clear in the information.
Whether exposing work hours, recess or collective vacations, as well as conducting time control in the right way.
Thus, avoiding absences, delays or even inconveniences that confuse employees in relation to working hours on the day before and on Christmas or New Year's Day.
This type of action, mediated by transparency in the employee and company relationship, also facilitates the employee's personal life so that he can plan a trip in advance, a meeting with family or friends.
Time control can also help in this aspect of transparency of the journey, as we mentioned earlier.
New Year's Eve, just plan
Organizing the end of the year journey, as we have seen, is a great challenge for companies in general. This is because this moment involves several issues, mainly labor, that need to be fulfilled.
In addition, those who do not plan the work schedule for Christmas and New Year's Eve and days may suffer from labor and organization problems between the teams, and may even create great dissatisfaction among professionals.
Therefore, defining last-minute days of work, recess or collective vacations can demonstrate a lack of concern for the employee's personal life, which currently must be extremely valued.
Not to mention that an arbitrary decision by the company who leaves on a certain date or works, without prior consultation with employees or the union, can create problems in the company's relationship with those involved.
This way, it is important that the end-of-year journey is planned in advance and that it is communicated in advance to employees, with no last minute surprises.
Thus, it becomes feasible to facilitate the control of time, demands and needs in general during this period.
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