How long is annual leave in Brazil?

Employees in Brazil are legally entitled to 30 calendar days of paid vacation after a year of continuous employment, in addition to any statutorily required holidays under Brazilian law. This vacation must be taken within the 12 months following the anniversary date of employment. If an employee does not take their vacation within this period, the employer must pay the employee double compensation.

Key points regarding annual leave in Brazil include:

• Employees have the option to sell 10 vacation days, receiving payment instead of taking these days as holiday.
• The use of vacation leave can be divided into a maximum of 3 separate periods. One period must be at least 14 days. The other periods must be at least 5 days each.
• The breakdown of vacation days must be agreed upon in writing.

How is annual leave accrued in Brazil?

In Brazil, for each month that a supported employee works for 15 days or more, they accrue 2.5 vacation days.

What is the carry-over policy for annual leave in Brazil?

An employee in Brazil acquires the right to annual leave after 1 year of continuous employment. The vacation must be taken within 12 months following the anniversary date of employment. If the employee does not take the vacation within this period, the company is required to pay the employee double compensation. Additionally, the employee still retains the right to the 30 days of vacation time off.

How is paid time off (PTO) calculated in Brazil?

In Brazil, paid time off (PTO) is calculated as follows:

• Annual vacation entitlement is 30 calendar days.
• Vacation pay must be at least 1/3 higher than the supported employee’s normal pay.
• Supported employees may request 50% of their 13th salary in advance when taking annual vacations. This request must be made in January each year.
• The vacation bonus must be paid 2 business days in advance of the supported employee’s vacation time.

Example 1:

• Base Salary: BRL 10,000.00
• 30 days of vacation + Advance First Installment of the 13th salary
• Vacation: BRL 10,000.00
• Additional 1/3 of vacation: BRL 3,333.00
• 13th Salary - Advance: BRL 5,000.00

Example 2:

• Base Salary: BRL 10,000.00
• 5 days of proportional vacation
• Vacation: BRL 1,666.67 (10,000.00 / 30 days x 5 days)
• Additional 1/3 of vacation: BRL 555.56

What is the process to request annual leave in Brazil?

In Brazil, the process for requesting annual leave involves the following guidelines:

• A supported employee is entitled to 30 days of vacation, which can be taken in one consecutive period or split into no more than three periods.
• If split, one period must include at least 14 consecutive calendar days, while the remaining two can be no less than 5 consecutive calendar days each.
• Per Brazilian law, a supported employee may choose to convert one-third of their vacation time into a cash payment. For example, they can sell 10 days and take 20 days as paid time off (PTO).

Acceptable vacation splits include:

• 14 days + 5 days + 11 days = 30 days.
• 15 days + 15 days = 30 days.
• 14 days + 16 days = 30 days.
• 25 days + 5 days = 30 days.

Vacation periods encompass weekend days and public holidays if they fall within the vacation timeframe, and these days count towards the 30-day entitlement. For instance, a vacation containing 10 business days and 4 weekend days would count as a 14-day period, with 14 days deducted from the entitlement.

Vacations cannot commence on:

• Weekends;
• One or two days before a weekend (Thursdays and Fridays);
• Holidays;
• One or two days before holidays.

Any vacation taken outside these parameters is considered informal Casual Leave and does not deduct from the annual vacation entitlement.

Additionally, Brazilian law mandates a vacation bonus, providing an extra payment of 1/3 of the salary equivalent to the number of days taken as vacation.

Supported employees in Brazil must follow a specific process to request annual leave:

• The vacation application must be registered on Pebl's Global Work Platform™ or sent via email.
• Employees need to reach an agreement with their manager regarding the vacation schedule before making a request.
• Velocity Global Brazil must be informed of the request to ensure proper processing.
• The annual leave request must be submitted at least 30 days before the start date of the vacation.
• The request should also be reported before the payroll cutoff date to facilitate accurate payroll processing.
• The Specialist must inform payroll via issue, and payroll should send a document called "Recibo da Ferias". The Specialist should send that to the employee´s signature via DocuSign, and once it is signed, it is kept in the GWP employee´s profile.

Is time off usage required in set increments in Brazil?

In Brazil, the use of vacation time must comply with specific increments:

• Vacation time cannot be divided into more than 3 separate periods.
• One period must be at least 14 days.
• The other periods must be at least 5 days each.
• The split of vacation days must be agreed upon in writing.

Is unlimited PTO an option in Brazil, and how can it be accommodated?

In Brazil, all employees are entitled to a minimum of 30 days of paid vacation. While an unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO) policy may be offered, it is crucial to ensure that the statutory 30-day vacation is correctly utilized by the employee. The unlimited PTO can therefore be used at the employee’s discretion, provided the mandatory 30 days of paid vacation are properly adhered to.

Is it necessary to track leave accrual on employee payslips in Brazil?

In Brazil, it is not necessary to track leave accrual on a supported employee’s personal monthly payslip. However, this information must be uploaded and tracked on the government platform, eSocial, every month.