Government publishes measure that allows a hybrid model of remote work

The government signed this Friday (25) an MP (Provisional Measure) that relaxes rules for telecommuting and changes the regulation of food aid.

Bruno Dalcolmo, executive secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Welfare, said that the measure allows the adoption of the hybrid model for company employees, with prevalence of on-site over remote or vice versa.

“[O teletrabalho] It was binary, or the person was teleworking or face-to-face. People want something flexible, and companies understand that in the ethical training of people it is important that people are at some point within companies. The measure launched today allows for that flexibility,” he said.

The text establishes that the presence of the worker in the work environment for specific tasks, even if in a usual way, does not de-characterize remote work.

The measure also expressly provides that telework can be contracted by journey, production or task. In the case of a production contract, the chapter of the CLT (Consolidation of Labor Laws) which deals with the duration of work and which provides for the control of working hours will not be applied.

If the hiring is for a journey, the measure allows remote control of the journey by the employer – making it possible to pay overtime if the regular journey is exceeded.

According to the government, workers with disabilities or those with children up to four years old should have priority for telecommuting vacancies.

For those activities in which the control of working hours is not essential, the worker will be free to carry out his tasks whenever he wants. Telework can also be applied to apprentices and interns.

According to the government, details are allowed to be included in the individual agreement between the company and the worker.

In the case of food aid, the measure changes payment rules, prohibiting, for example, the charging of negative rates or discounts when hiring food aid providers.

The model in use previously allowed discounts by companies issuing meal and food vouchers to beneficiary companies, which receive tax exemptions to implement food programs for their workers.

With that, says the government, the “ticket” companies balance this loss by demanding high fees from accredited commercial establishments. For the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the practice distorts public policy, removing the worker from the condition of the greatest beneficiary.

“The program maintains its relevance, but it was disrupted by market agents who turned it into a financial organization. They started to negotiate company with company, workers started to have more expensive meals”, he said.

The government had already published a decree in November to tighten the rules, but companies specializing in the sector complained that the tightening left out food aid — an instrument created in the 2017 labor reform of the Michel Temer government (MDB) and that could still be used by companies to circumvent the rules.

The ABBT (Brazilian Association of Workers’ Benefit Companies) —which represents companies such as Alelo, Sodexo and Ticket— came, at the time, to regret that the decree had not included food aid and said that companies have been exploring the instrument in a irregular.

According to the government, the new measure makes the rules apply both to the PAT (Worker’s Food Program) and to food aid, establishing a fine for cases of inadequate execution.

The government also states that the changes aim to ensure that resources are effectively used to buy foodstuffs and correct existing market distortions in the contracting of supplier companies.

The government also signed another MP, with actions aimed at protecting workers and their families in times of calamity. According to Palácio do Planalto, these are quick response measures to the immediate needs in these situations.

“The norm allows the public sector to act in a timely manner, with a set of actions that generate the preservation of jobs, companies and the worker’s income – at national, state or municipal levels”, states the government’s text.

Among the measures are the facilitation of the telework regime, anticipation of vacations, the use and anticipation of holidays and the advance withdrawal of benefits.

Managers will also be able to use the measures provided for in the Emergency Employment and Income Maintenance Program, such as a proportional reduction in working hours and salary or temporary suspension of the employment contract upon agreement with payment of the Good (Emergency Benefit).

During the ceremony, the Digital Path Program was also launched. According to the government, the initiative will offer digital training and professional insertion to participants.

The folder states that more than five million workers will be trained. The project was developed in partnership with Microsoft Brazil and offers more than 40 free courses in digital skills, according to Planalto.

The full text of each measure launched this Friday had not been released by the government until the publication of this text.