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Understanding of Labor Justice Strengthens Legal Certainty for Retired Workers, Acknowledges Legitimate Expectation Created by Prolonged Company Conduct, and Invalidates Charges Made After Decades of Inertia
The absence of copayment charges for medical assistance benefits over a prolonged period can generate a right to free services, even when the company’s internal regulations required payments. This was the understanding of the 8th Panel of the Regional Labor Court of the 2nd Region (TRT-2) as it upheld a favorable decision for a former employee of an automotive manufacturer who used the company health plan at no cost for almost two decades.
This information was disclosed by a legal website specialized in labor decisions, based on the ruling issued in Process No. 1000055-44.2025.5.02.0464, which analyzed the company’s conduct throughout the execution of the contract and the legal effects of its prolonged omission.
History of the Employment Relationship and the Granted Benefit
The worker was hired by the automaker in 1997 and, a few years later, in 2002, had to leave work due to common illness. Subsequently, in 2005, he was retired due to disability, beginning to enjoy the company health plan intended for employees and retirees.
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Although the company’s internal regulations provided for monthly contributions and copayments for consultations and procedures, the company ceased to make any type of charge between 2005 and 2022. Throughout this period, the beneficiary regularly used the medical plan without being informed about the existence of debts, financial liabilities, or changes in the benefit rules.
However, in 2022, the automaker abruptly communicated that the retiree had an accumulated debt of R$ 48.6 thousand, related to copayments that would have been owed over the years. Additionally, it informed that the worker would be migrated to a lower-tier health plan due to the alleged noncompliance.
As a direct consequence of this communication, there was a suspension of the medical plan, which led the former employee to seek the Labor Justice to ensure the continuation of the benefit and to dismiss the retroactive charge.
Supressio, Objective Good Faith, and Incorporation into the Employment Contract
Upon reviewing the case, the panel at TRT-2 concluded that there was no evidence that the worker had been informed over the years about the existence of pending debts or financial obligations. On the contrary, the total absence of charges for almost 20 years created a legitimate expectation of free services, supported by the principle of objective good faith.
According to the ruling, this situation characterizes the application of the contractual doctrine known as supressio, as provided in Article 422 of the Civil Code. This legal institute recognizes that prolonged inaction by one party in exercising a specific right may result in the loss of the ability to demand that obligation in the future, especially when it creates legitimate trust in the other party.
Furthermore, the decision highlighted that, although the benefit had an extralegal nature, it was definitively incorporated into the claimant’s employment contract. As stated by the reporting judge Silvia Almeida Prado Andreoni, the right to free services became part of the legal bond, in light of Article 444 of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) and Summation No. 51 of the Superior Labor Court (TST).
In practice, this means that the company could not, after years of inaction, unilaterally change the conditions of the benefit or demand retroactive amounts.
Effects of the Decision and Impacts for Other Workers
With the decision, TRT-2 declared all charges under copayment for the health plan null and void, entirely dismissing the debt of R$ 48.6 thousand presented by the automaker. In addition, the company was ordered to immediately restore the medical plan to the former employee, maintaining the same conditions previously applied.
Another relevant point is that the company must also refrain from making new charges related to copayment, definitively consolidating the worker’s right to free services.
This understanding reinforces the importance of consistent corporate conduct over time and serves as a warning for employers who, for years, fail to apply rules set forth in internal regulations. At the same time, the decision strengthens the legal certainty of retired workers, especially those in a state of disability who rely on the health plan for ongoing treatments.
In your opinion, was the TRT’s decision fair in recognizing the permanent gratuity of the health plan after almost 20 years without charging by the company?
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