When will the end of the 6-day workweek begin to take effect? Learn the next steps in the process

A 6x1 schedule generally means working six days and taking one day off. The approved constitutional amendment changes that model by guaranteeing two paid rest days each week and reducing the maximum weekly workload. This matters because the change would alter the basic rules governing working time in Brazil.

The transition happens in stages. Two months after the amendment is published, the maximum workweek falls from 44 to 42 hours, while workers gain two paid weekly rest days. During the next 12 months, collective agreements and conventions may adjust how those hours are distributed.

Fourteen months after promulgation, the second stage is completed. The maximum workweek becomes permanently 40 hours, with no salary reduction. The Senate approved the PEC in two sessions, with 75 votes in favor and one against, and the text matched the House version.

The first change does not begin immediately after the Senate vote. It starts two months after the constitutional amendment is published. At that point, the maximum weekly schedule drops from 44 hours to 42 hours, and workers gain two paid days off each week.

The following 12 months form a transition period. During this time, collective agreements and conventions may adjust how working hours are distributed. This mechanism is intended to make the change easier for companies to implement while the new limits take effect.

The final stage arrives 14 months after promulgation. At the end of that period, the maximum workweek is permanently set at 40 hours, with no salary reduction. The article says the counting of these deadlines begins after publication of the amendment, following promulgation by the congressional chambers.

The amendment creates a total reduction of four hours in the maximum weekly work time. The current limit described in the article is 44 hours. The first stage lowers that limit to 42 hours, a two-hour reduction.

The second stage removes another two hours. Fourteen months after promulgation, the maximum becomes 40 hours per week. In total, the final limit is four hours below the starting point, or roughly one-tenth less weekly time than 44 hours.

The reduction occurs alongside a change in rest rights. Two months after publication, workers also begin receiving two paid days off each week. During the 12 months after that first stage, collective agreements and conventions may adjust the distribution of the working hours. The final 40-hour limit applies without salary reduction.

When both congressional chambers approve the same constitutional-amendment text, the process moves to promulgation by the Houses of Representatives and the Senate. Promulgation formally makes the amendment part of the Constitution and allows it to be published.

That is what the article describes here. The Senate approved the PEC without changing the version previously approved by the Chamber of Deputies. Therefore, the text will be promulgated by the Congress rather than sent to the president for approval.

After publication, the transition deadlines begin to run. Two months later, the weekly maximum falls to 42 hours and workers receive two paid rest days. Fourteen months after promulgation, the limit reaches 40 hours permanently. The article identifies promulgation by the two congressional Houses as the next step after the Senate vote.

For employees, the clearest practical change is more guaranteed weekly rest. Two months after publication, they will have two paid days off each week. Their maximum work time will also fall from 44 to 42 hours, eventually reaching 40 hours without salary reduction.

For employers, the new limits mean working schedules must be reorganized. The article does not specify how individual businesses will change shifts or staffing. It does state that collective agreements and conventions may adjust the distribution of working hours during the 12-month transition after the first stage.

The current process is not immediate. The Senate has approved the PEC, and the text matches the Chamber version, so promulgation comes next. After publication, the first changes begin in two months. The permanent 40-hour limit arrives 14 months after promulgation, creating a defined timetable for adaptation.

Collective agreements are allowed to adjust schedules because the amendment introduces major changes in working time over a short transition. The article specifically says this flexibility will facilitate companies’ adaptation. It creates room to organize the new weekly limits before the final rule applies.

For example, after the first stage, the maximum week becomes 42 hours and workers receive two paid rest days. During the next 12 months, an agreement or convention may adjust how those hours are distributed. The article does not give a specific schedule or sectoral example.

This flexibility is temporary, not a permanent exception to the amendment. The transition lasts 12 months after the first change. At the end of the broader 14-month period, the maximum workweek becomes 40 hours permanently, without salary reduction. The schedule mechanism therefore supports adaptation while preserving the final constitutional limit.

A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the Constitution, the country’s highest legal framework. The measure in the article is a PEC, or Proposal for an Amendment to the Constitution. That status explains why it follows a special approval process in Congress.

The Senate voted on the proposal in two sessions and approved it with 75 votes in favor and one against in both. Because the Senate text was identical to the Chamber of Deputies’ version, the congressional chambers will promulgate it. Promulgation is the formal step before publication.

Unlike an ordinary bill, this PEC does not go to the president for sanction. The article explicitly says constitutional amendments do not depend on presidential approval through sanction. Once the amendment is promulgated and published, the transition clock begins: the first changes come after two months, and the 40-hour week becomes permanent after 14 months.