Workers who are parents with children under 12 or with disabilities may face significant changes in their working hours. The government’s proposal to change the Labor Code includes a new clause that raises doubts about the continuity of the right to refuse night shifts, weekends and holidays.
Flexibility at risk for those who have family responsibilities
The proposal was released by SIC Notícias and focuses on the flexible time regime for so-called workers with family responsibilities. So far, these professionals could request the exclusion of times considered incompatible with family life, such as night or weekend shifts. But the new version of Article 56 introduces a nuance with potential practical impact.
According to the proposed text, flexibility must “adjust the special forms of working time organization that due to the company’s operating period or the nature of the workers’ functions”. The new point D, which did not exist in the previous version of the law, also adds that this principle applies to situations such as night work and labor usually provided to weekends and holidays.
The position of the Ministry of Labor
Contacted by SIC, the Ministry of Labor ensured that the change does not revoke the right to flexible hours for workers with small or disabled children. However, it stresses that this right must be compatible with the reality of the function performed.
According to the same source, the purpose of the standard is to avoid situations in which a worker accepts a post with rotary shift regime and, after being hired, requests change for fixed time alleging family responsibilities. The tutelage states that such a scenario creates operational embarrassment in companies, especially in sectors where extended times are part of the usual operation.
What changes in practice?
The proposal raises the possibility that requests for flexible hours can be refused more easily by employing entities, based on the alleged incompatibility with the work organization. Even if the law remains formally provided for by law, in practice it may be more difficult to exercise it in certain professions.
Lawyers and labor law experts warn of the need to clarify the limits of the new writing, in order to ensure that there is no setback in the protection of workers with family responsibilities. For now, the proposal is under consideration and may still change before being voted in the Assembly of the Republic.
Most pronounced impact on certain sectors
Professions with shift times, such as health, safety, flap and hotels, are the ones that can most feel the impact of the new rules. In these contexts, the pressure on times is high and the margin for negotiation is often reduced. Thus, parents with young children can be obliged to accept times that could previously refuse.
According to, this proposal arises in a wider context of revision of labor legislation, which includes other topics such as remote work, term contracts and union rights.
An alert for workers and families
For many families, this change can represent an additional challenge in reconciling professional and personal life. Possible limitation of the right to flexible hours may require reorganizing routines, seek alternatives to children’s care or even reconsider employment options.
The theme promises to generate debate in the coming weeks, especially between unions, parental associations and organizations linked to the conciliation of family life. For now, uncertainty remains the final impact of the measure, but one thing is certain: workers who are parents with children should be aware of the ongoing changes.
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