The TST (Superior Labor Court) determined that the day worked on a Shrove Tuesday does not entitle to double payment. Unanimous decision of the 8th Panel, which analyzed the request of a laundry assistant, reaffirmed the jurisprudence that the day is only considered a holiday if there is specific regional legislation for the employee’s city.
The judgment came after the decision of the TRT (Regional Labor Court) of Goiás, which defended that, by custom, Carnival Tuesday would have the nature of a national holiday, with double payment due.
The judgment includes the clarification that holidays must be declared by law, and that Shrove Tuesday is not included in national holidays. To be included in religious holidays, it should be provided for in municipal law and be a local tradition.
“It is common, even though there is no specific legislation that determines Carnival as a holiday, for companies to grant days off during Carnival”, says lawyer specialist in labor law Graziela da Cruz Garcia. This, for the TRT, would constitute the uses and customs that would justify the double payment, even without having legislation determining that the date is a holiday.
As for the TST, although uses and customs are a source of law, there is no way to attribute the nature of a holiday to Shrove Tuesday just for them. “There would be double payment if there was a law, even at the municipal level, determining Shrove Tuesday as a public holiday”, explains Garcia.
What are the rights for working on holidays?
Garcia explains that working on holidays is prohibited, unless they are activities authorized by law or companies authorized by the Ministry of Labor.
“In this situation, where there is work on rest days, such as holidays, the company must establish a previously organized rotation schedule, guaranteeing employees a compensatory time off, that is, a paid weekly rest on another day of the week. “
Garcia says that, if the compensatory time off is not granted by the company, the worker must be paid double the day. The lawyer also recalls the importance of consulting the convention or collective agreement of the category to verify if there are other provisions that must be observed by the company.
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