Center for Public Leadership compared the model being processed in Congress with rules from 21 other countries
A study by the (Public Leadership Center), on Wednesday (May 27, 2026), shows that Brazil would move away from the global regulatory standard if it combined 40 hours a week with 2 mandatory days off.
on Wednesday (May 27), the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) of the end of the 6 x 1 scale, the constitutional ceiling on working hours. It also establishes two paid weekly days off. Currently, there is only one, preferably on Sundays. The text goes to the Senate for analysis.
The CLP assessed that the model being processed in Congress differs from the systems of 21 other countries by making “the way in which these hours can be distributed is stricter” and the “little time for transition”.
The implementation of 40 hours will not be immediate. The schedule establishes that, 60 days after publication of the amendment, the maximum permitted working hours will fall from 44 to 42 hours per week. After 14 months, the limit of 40 hours per week comes into force.
However, the right to 2 days off — one of which is preferably on Sundays — comes into force immediately after the initial period of 60 days of enactment, regardless of the hours limit.
The 21 countries compared by the CLP with Brazil are: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, United States, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Netherlands, South Africa, Kenya, Japan, South Korea, China, Singapore, Philippines, Australia and New Zealand.
According to the survey, most of these countries impose daily and weekly work limits, but with a fixed requirement of just one day off per week.
The comparison was also made with international blocs, such as the EU (European Union) and the ILO (International Labor Organization). In these cases, there are also limits on hours and requirements for days off, but without rest being set on 2 days a week.
The biggest difference in the Brazilian proposal is in the imposition of the 5 x 2 scale as a maximum, and not necessarily in the reduction of the total workload. In relation to countries with shorter working hours — such as France, which adopts 35 hours a week — the rest period is more flexible.
According to the CLP study, countries such as Japan, China and Mexico allow hours to be distributed throughout the week in up to 6 days, with the rest period being able to be made more flexible by one or more days.
“This rigidity could even harm some of the workers that the proposal intends to benefit. The defense of reducing working hours usually assumes that fewer days worked always mean better well-being. But, for many workers, especially women, the question is not just how many hours you work, but when you work”says the CLP.
The organization also states that small businesses can suffer from “informalization, pejotization, reduction in hiring, benefit cuts, more turnover or compression of schedules”.
According to the CLP, “a more prudent alternative would be to start with the sectors less exposed to long contracts, where the cost of adaptation tends to be lower, and gradually move towards the sectors more dependent on the 6 x 1 scale”.
