Unhealthy work additional: everything your company needs to know!

Unhealthy work additional: everything your company needs to know!

Table of Contents

The unhealthy allowance is a right provided for in the labor legislation for all workers who perform work activities that expose them to agents harmful to health.

Safety and quality in the work environment are two social rights guaranteed to all workers by the Federal Constitution and Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT).

However, there are some cases where certain problems cannot be avoided. For this reason, activities that present risks must offer a additional to salary of professionals exposed to these environments.

In such cases, in order to try to reduce the losses resulting from these risks, companies must compensate the workers of these activities with the hazard pay.

This benefit is provided for in articles 189 to 197 of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT). There are different risks that can generate this benefit, which are defined together with their values ​​by Regulatory Standard 15 (NR-15).

Created to protect those who work in unhealthy environments and engage in risky activities, the legislation provides for several questions about this right that must be considered by companies. And it is about this topic that we will deal with in this post.

Take all your doubts on the subject and provide all rights to your customers. Check out!

What is additional for unhealthy work and who is entitled?

First, it is important to understand the meaning of unhealthy, which is a environment or working condition, which through uncontrollable environmental risks, can harm the health and integrity of the worker.

Therefore, we can consider it a way to reward those professionals who submit to these possible harmful agents.

According to the Ministry of Health, the following are considered harmful to the health of workers:

  • excessive noise;
  • radiation;
  • extreme temperatures;
  • Thechemical people.

Some of the main professions considered to be unhealthy are: radiologist, oil, gas and mining equipment operators.

Therefore, the regulatory standard, NR-15, defines that the hazard pay it is the right of professionals who carry out activities involving the following risks:

  • continuous or intermittent noise;
  • impact noise;
  • extreme temperatures (both heat and cold);
  • ionizing and non-ionizing radiation;
  • hyperbaric conditions;
  • vibrations;
  • moisture;
  • chemical agents;
  • mineral dust;
  • biological agents.

To find out which other risk agents are entitled to the unhealthy premium, professionals can consult NR-15, which discusses each type of risk.

How is it calculated?

THE NR-15 defines that there are 3 degrees of unhealthiness and that each level entitles you to a different percentage of compensation:

  • for unhealthy activities to a minimum degree, the worker is entitled to an additional 10%;
  • at an average grade of 20%;
  • and in a maximum degree you are entitled to an additional 40%.

Article 192 of the CLT provides that calculation of unhealthy work additional is done based on the minimum wage for each region – that is, it is not related to worker's salary.

However, the surcharge can be calculated on the category floor in cases determined by collective agreement.

See this example of chow to calculate the additional for a worker from the State of São Paulo who carries out unhealthy activity to a medium degree:

Minimum wage in the region: £ 1076.20 (São Paulo's minimum wage in 2017)

Additional: 20% (average degree of unhealthiness)

The surcharge will have the value of: £ 1076.20 x 0.2 (20%) = £ 215.24

It is worth mentioning that if a worker carries out his activity exposed to more than one degree of unhealthiness, NR-15 establishes that only the highest grade for salary increase be considered.

In addition, the value of the surcharge can be reduced or suspended if conditions harmful to health decrease or are eliminated with reforms or the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), for example.

What are the degrees of unhealthiness?

In order to control unhealthy levels to which employees are exposed and the amount they should receive from benefits, it is necessary to identify the degree of harmfulness of the environment.

For this, it is necessary to check if the environmental risk is above the tolerance limit of NR-15, which will be identified through the degrees:

  • 40%: considered unhealthy of maximum degree;
  • 20%: considered to be medium grade unhealthy;
  • 10%: considered to be of minimal health.

Thus, if an environmental risk is found in the activity carried out above the limit, the company must pay the hazard pay, which will range from a minimum of 10% to 40% of the minimum wage.

How to calculate the degree of unhealthiness?

At unsanitary percentages must have as base the current minimum wage. Thus, according to the determined degree of unhealthiness in the environment, the percentage must be equivalent to the minimum wage.

Check an example of how to calculate:

In a situation where the assessment of the environment considered that the professional is exposed to an unhealthy degree of 20% and the minimum wage is £ 995.00, the calculation of the surcharge should be:

20% over the minimum wage. Thus he will receive the monthly amount of £ 199.00.

The value of hazard pay it will reflect on the other funds that the professional receives in the month, such as, overtime, nighttime pay, among others.

How and when should it be paid?

O hazard pay must be paid in cash, with the employee salary. The law prohibits its conversion into products or other amenities for the employee.

The employee is entitled to hazard pay from the inclusion of its activity in the tables approved by the Ministry of Labor.

Who is exposed to more than one degree of unhealthiness can accumulate the benefit?

No. According to the law, professionals exposed to more than one degree of unhealthiness must receive the benefit, considering the highest degree, cumulation being prohibited.

What are the differences in unhealthy and dangerous premiums?

These two terms are often confused among workers. Therefore, it is essential to understand the distinction between them, as not all unhealthy work is dangerous, like the dangerous ones.

Hazardousness is a concept that defines those jobs that involve life risks. In this way, professionals are in danger, as in the case of people who work with flammable, explosives, electrical network, among others.

Dangerous work is on the list of Regulatory Standard 16 (NR-16) of the Ministry of Labor.

Therefore, unhealthy work involves direct exposure to agents harmful to health. Meanwhile, the dangerous work involves activities that have contact with flammable materials and radioactive substances, or with exposure to theft or violence.

Another difference between both is that the additional dangerousness is not calculated based on the current minimum wage, but in relation to the employee salary.

O additional risk premium is 30% over the base salary, being able to surpass this percentage if the collective agreement of the category determines.

Knowing all of this, it is essential that your company carry out the necessary expertise if you work with any company. unhealthy condition. In this way, it is possible to correctly make the payment of the hazard pay to employees who are entitled. Otherwise, the company may suffer from high fines and labor lawsuits for do not pay the unhealthy premium.

Did you realize the importance of this issue? Still have any questions about unhealthy work additional? Leave your comment!

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