Carnival is not a holiday: know the rights of the worker

The coronavirus pandemic caused Carnival street parties to be canceled for the second year in a row in virtually every city in the country due to the advancement of the omicron variant of Covid-19. With the cancellation of the celebrations, many workers have doubts whether the usual rest on revelry days, which this year falls between February 26 and March 2, is maintained or not.

As Carnival is not a national holiday, companies are not required to take time off and can call professionals to work without having to pay overtime, according to labor law experts. However, some cities or states decree the date as an optional point or holiday. In the latter case, there is the right to time off and payment of double hours if there is a working day.

“It is necessary to differentiate a holiday from an optional time. The holiday is for everyone and the optional time is only for civil servants. The City Hall and the Government of the State of São Paulo, for example, determined that, between February 28 and March 2, until noon, it is optional. So, depending on the areas, there is no office”, says lawyer Maurício Pepe De Lion, from Felsberg Advogados.

De Lion says that most companies tend to follow what is done in government and by banks. According to Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks), there will be no banking hours between February 26 and March 2 until noon. As a result, depending on the sector, most employers will lay off employees.

Lawyer Cíntia Fernandes, a partner at Mauro Menezes & Advogados, says that, as it is not a holiday, workers need to follow what the company determines, that is, if they have to work, there is no way to escape work. Also, there is no overtime pay on Tuesday. Whoever releases the employees cannot make a deduction from the salary on the days off.

Labor law professor Eduardo Pragmácio Filho, a partner at Furtado Pragmácio Advogados, says that professionals need to pay attention to what the collective agreement says on the date. “If there is no law, no collective norm, the period will be considered a normal working day.”

By law, for most workers, Sunday rest is guaranteed. With this, if they are forced to work, there is the right to receive double the amounts, if the employer does not guarantee the day off for the work. The rules, however, can be modified according to the convention or collective bargaining agreement.

Missing leads to dismissal, even at home office

If forced to work and absent, without any legal justification, such as medical leave, for example, the worker may receive a discount on wages, vacations, basic food baskets and other benefits, according to lawyer Lariane Del Vecchio, from the Aith office, Badari and Luchin Advogados.

In addition, dismissal may even occur. “The employee can even be penalized with a warning and suspension and if the conduct is repeated, if it is desidious, he can even be fired for just cause”, he says.

The rules also apply to those who are working from home, says lawyer Ruslan Stuchi, from Stuchi Advogados. “Employers will be able to deduct days of absence from salary, apply disciplinary sanctions or dismiss workers who are absent in person or remotely.”

De Lion says that it is important that the worker follows what the employer asks, as determined by the CLT (Consolidation of Labor Laws). According to him, there are companies that can choose to operate to try to rebuild at a time of resumption in this pandemic. “There are companies that already have Carnival as something programmed in their calendar and will not fail to take the day off.”

Mall stores will have alternative hours

Professionals who work in shopping malls in the country will work, but at a different time than usual. According to Alshop (Brazilian Association of Shopkeepers), on Saturday (26) and Monday (28), opening hours will be normal, from 10 am to 10 pm. On Sunday (27), the operation will be from 14:00 to 20:00, with the food court being able to operate until 23:00.

On Tuesday (March 1st), opening hours will also be from 2 pm to 8 pm, with no extension to food courts. On Ash Wednesday, the opening will be at 12:00, with operation until 22:00, but shopkeepers can choose to start from 10:00.

“For consumers, it will be a period where the enterprises will have recreational activities to entertain and animate children and even adults and an opportunity for a stronger return to normal as we have not seen for a long time”, says Luis Augusto Ildefonso, institutional director of Association.