Court condemns company for controlling employee bathroom visits

The TST (Superior Labor Court) ordered Telefônica Vivo to pay an employee R$10,000 in compensation for limiting her trips to the bathroom. According to the lawsuit, departures that took longer than five minutes reduced the incentive premium paid to the worker.

The court unanimously understood that the employer, by linking trips to the bathroom to remuneration, would be offending the employee’s dignity, exercising indirect control over the use of the toilet. The case took place in Maringá (PR).

In a note, Vivo says that it strictly complies with Regulatory Standard 17 in relation to mandatory breaks. “The company reinforces that regulatory breaks and those requested by employees are strongly and regularly complied with.”

The attendant claims in the action that the incentive award could reach 70% of the salary, but it was influenced by the breaks to use the toilet. According to the employee, the supervisor also received the benefit and, as he depended on the team’s productivity to earn greater value, he controlled the breaks.

Bathroom use, which was limited to five minutes, was controlled through a Telefonica system, according to the worker in the lawsuit. Employees who exceeded the time limit were harassed with threats and verbal warnings by the boss, who even went to the place to force workers to return at the stipulated time, says the attendant to the Justice.

The appeal’s rapporteur, Minister Alberto Balazeiro, from the TST, stated that companies must allow operators to leave their jobs at any time during the journey to satisfy physiological needs, without repercussions on their evaluations and remuneration.

To the court, the company said that it did not limit the time of use of the toilet and that it granted the legal breaks. According to the company, the collection of productivity was done without abuse, with criteria previously established for the payment of the premium.