Provisional Measure institutes program to maintain employment during the Coronavirus pandemic

The proportional reduction in working hours and wages, limited to ninety days, may be agreed between employer and employee, as long as the value of the hourly wage is preserved.

Provisional Measure No. 936, published yesterday, April 1, 2020, instituted the “Emergency Employment and Income Maintenance Program”, coordinated by the Ministry of Economy, along with other labor measures to deal with the state of public calamity caused by the spread Coronavirus, with the purpose of: preserving employment and income; guarantee the continuity of the activities of workers and companies; and reduce the social impacts caused by the pandemic; being excluded from the incidence of the MP, Federal Government, States, Federal District, Municipalities, bodies of direct and indirect Public Administration, public companies, mixed capital companies (including subsidiaries) and international organizations.

To this end, the payment of “Emergency Benefit of Employment and Income Preservation” was established as measures; proportional reduction of working hours and wages; and temporary suspension of the employment contract. The last two may be agreed upon by individual written agreement between employer and employee, which must be communicated within up to ten calendar days after its conclusion to the respective union, or through collective bargaining.

The “Emergency Employment and Income Preservation Benefit”, created by the MP, paid for by the Union, with monthly installments, will be operationalized and paid by the Ministry of Economy, based on the monthly unemployment insurance amount to be calculated. the employee would have the right, when it occurs and for the duration of the workload and salary reduction or the temporary suspension of the employment contract, hypotheses that must be informed by the employer to that body, within ten days, counted from the conclusion of the individual written agreement with the employee, so that the benefit is paid to the worker in up to thirty days, from that same event, regardless of the fulfillment of any acquisition period, length of employment and number of wages received.

Employees who receive the “Emergency Benefit” will have a provisional guarantee for employment during the agreed period of reduced working hours and wages or temporary suspension and for the time corresponding to these circumstances after the re-establishment of the work and salary or the end of the temporary suspension, so that the unfair dismissal during the provisional guarantee will subject the employer beyond the severance installments to indemnity.

The proportional reduction in working hours and wages, limited to ninety days, may be agreed between employer and employee, as long as the hourly wage value is preserved; formalization takes place by individual written agreement sent to the worker, at least two calendar days in advance; restricted to 25%, 50% or 70% percentages; wages and hours are re-established within two continuous days after the state of public calamity has ended, on the date set in the individual agreement or on the date on which the employer communicates its decision to bring forward the end of the reduction period.

The temporary suspension of the employment contract, restricted to sixty days, with permission for two periods of thirty days, must be established by means of an individual written agreement between employer and employee, the document must be made available two days in advance, and the employment contract when the state of public calamity ends, on the date fixed in the individual agreement or on the date on which the employer communicates the anticipation of the end of the temporary suspension temporary, and the worker is prevented from maintaining his activities, even partially or at a distance, under penalty of the suspension becoming uncharacteristic.

It should be noted that during this period, the worker is entitled to all benefits granted by the employer to other employees, with authorization, as an optional insured, to collect for the RGPS. MP 936 also predicted that companies with gross revenue greater than R $ 4.8 million, in calendar year 2019, will only be able to adopt the temporary suspension if they make the payment of “monthly compensatory aid”, of an indemnity nature, equivalent to 30% of the employee’s salary, during this period, which can be combined with the payment of the “Emergency Benefit” created by the provisional measure.

According to the Secretariat of Labor, of the Ministry of Economy, with the Program “up to 8.5 million jobs will be preserved, benefiting about 24.5 million workers with a formal contract” in a total investment of approximately R $ 51, 2 billion. In addition, the Special Secretary for Social Security and Labor added that “in addition to the financial cost of not adopting measures now being higher, the social losses are incalculable”.

By: Wilson Sales Belchior