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Changes in labor legislation in 2025: MTE announces new rules for working on Sundays and holidays that can impact thousands of workers — be sure to check it out!
As of July 1, 2025, the new rule for work on Sundays and holidays will come into effect with the enactment of an ordinance from the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE) that regulates activities in the commerce and services sectors. In this article, we will detail the new rules for work on Sundays and the main changes in labor legislation.
Main changes in labor legislation in 2025
Os trade and service sectors, such as supermarkets, pharmacies and retail trade in general are the sectors most impacted by the new rules for working on Sundays and holidays.
The new form changed the previous regulation, repealing some items of the Annex IV of Ordinance MTE No. 671/2021, which dealt with activities authorized to operate on those days without the need for temporary authorization.
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Now, several categories require negotiations between employers and workers' representatives. Otherwise, companies must pay the benefits provided by law to those who work on Sundays and holidays.
According to Lucas Lobo, lawyer and partner in the labor area of Valença & Associados, companies that operate on these days, with the new rules for work on Sundays and holidays, must make double payment or compensate for the workday, and can no longer consider it as working days. In order to avoid having to pay double for the day, only through collective bargaining with workers' unions.
Companies will be fined for not adopting changes
The ordinance before the new rules for work on Sundays and holidays allowed several categories to work on these dates without an agreement or collective bargaining agreement.
What the new form did was revoke this exception. According to lawyer Beatriz Tilkian, partner in the labor law area at Gaia Silva Gaede Advogados, Ordinance 671/2021 directly contradicted art. 6-A of Law No. 10.101 by failing to require a collective agreement for work on holidays, exceeding the legal limits for the scope of the ordinances.
Therefore, the changes in labor legislation are not aimed at sectors considered essential. The major change is for retail, which will need union assistance to operate on holidays.
Companies that do not comply with the new rules for working on Sundays and holidays and do not pay double or compensate for the workday may be fined and charged by labor inspectors.
Check below which categories are included in the new rules
Categories that will need collective bargaining for work on Sundays and holidays:
- Fishmongers;
- Shops in hotels;
- Markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, wholesalers and similar;
- Butchers;
- Establishments in airports, ports, roads, bus and railway stations;
- Slaughterhouses;
- General trade and retail in general;
- Fruits and vegetables and similar;
- Car, truck and tractor stores;
- pharmacies.
- Categories that will not need to adhere to changes in labor legislation:
- Florists;
- Bicycle rental companies and similar;
- Restaurants, bars, guesthouses, cafes and ice cream shops;
- Beauty salons and barber shops;
- Street markets;
- Leisure establishments (including sports establishments where admission is paid);
- Hotels;
- Gas stations and car accessories stores;
- Laundries;
- Bakeries, confectioneries and biscuit shops;
- Travel agencies and establishments intended for tourism.
It is worth mentioning that the main objective of these new rules for working on Sundays and holidays is to ensure that workers' rights are protected.
The new approach seeks to strike a balance between the operational needs of companies and the rights of employees, ensuring that work on rest days is adequately rewarded.
