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Change in holiday work rules increases the weight of collective bargaining in retail and may alter how supermarkets, wholesale clubs, and large chains organize shifts on busier dates.
Supermarkets, wholesale clubs, and other retail chains now depend on collective bargaining to keep employees working on holidays, according to guidance from the Ministry of Labor and Employment.
The rule affects high-traffic companies like Carrefour, Assaí, and Atacadão whenever store openings require labor on dates protected by labor laws and local trade rules.
Although it does not mandate automatic closure of units, the change creates an additional condition for regular operation on holidays by requiring that employee shifts be supported by a valid collective agreement.
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To call in workers on these dates, companies must observe a agreement made between employer unions and employee representative entities, in addition to municipal rules governing trade openings in each location.
Holiday work in retail depends on collective agreement
In practice, retail chains no longer rely solely on broad administrative authorizations that previously allowed holiday work for various commercial activities without a specific collective agreement for the category.
Operations now depend on a clause negotiated between unions, with validity defined according to the territorial base, economic segment, and professional category involved in service provision during the holiday.
This requirement directly affects sectors that typically see increased activity on holidays, long weekends, and peak consumption periods, such as supermarkets, hypermarkets, and wholesale clubs.
On each holiday, these companies tend to assess the existence of a collective agreement, the necessary shift, the expected operational cost, and the feasibility of keeping units open to the public.
The change altered administrative rules that dealt with permanent authorization for work on Sundays and holidays in various commercial activities.
According to the Ministry of Labor, the measure aimed to reinforce the role of collective bargaining and adjust the authorization for holiday work in general commerce.
Under current rules, activity on these days depends on authorization in a collective agreement and must also comply with local rules on trade operation.
For this reason, the application of the rule does not occur uniformly throughout the country, as each city can adopt its own parameters for opening stores on holidays.
Supermarkets need to plan schedules in advance
With the new requirement, workers’ unions and employer entities play a decisive role in defining the operating conditions of stores during national, state, or municipal holidays.
Collective bargaining can establish authorization for opening, compensation rules, schedule organization, additional benefits, and limits applicable to each professional category involved in the operation.
For companies, the most immediate impact is the need to plan well in advance for peak dates and check if there is a collective basis to call employees.
Without valid provision in a collective agreement, scheduling workers on holidays can lead to questions, union demands, and disputes related to working hours and call conditions.
Business entities have been stating that the measure may increase costs and complicate the organization of operations on strategic sales dates, especially in networks with units spread across several municipalities.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Labor argues that the ordinance reinforces collective bargaining and reestablishes the formal participation of unions in decisions about operating on holidays.
The discussion has gained momentum because retail depends on continuous schedules, especially in supermarkets and wholesale clubs that work with perishables, daily logistics, store supply, and in-person customer service.
Even with the requirement for collective authorization, the rights of those scheduled remain preserved, including regarding remuneration or compensation for the day worked.
Double payment on holidays remains guaranteed
The ordinance does not change the remuneration rules for employees called to work on holidays, nor does it replace rights already recognized in labor relations.
When there is no compensatory day off, the service provided on Sundays and holidays must be paid double, according to the understanding applied in labor relations.
Thus, collective bargaining addresses the possibility of calling and the conditions applicable to the category, but does not eliminate the remuneration protection guaranteed to the scheduled worker.
It also remains possible to grant compensatory rest at another time, provided that this alternative is foreseen in the applicable rules and is correctly organized by the company.
The central difference lies in the authorization to use labor on holidays, not in the right to double payment or the corresponding compensatory day off.
In practical terms, a network can open a specific unit if there is a collective basis for it, but it must meet the conditions defined for the scheduled employees.
The rules regarding work on Sundays follow their own regime and were not the main focus of the change promoted by the Ministry of Labor.
This point remains linked to the organization of schedules, the operation of units, and the employees’ paid weekly rest.
Ordinance was extended before taking effect
Since its publication, the entry into force of the ordinance has been postponed more than once, amid impasses between the federal government, trade unions, and business entities.
In February 2026, the Ministry of Labor published a new 90-day extension and created a working group to discuss the regulation of the issue in retail trade.
This group brought together representatives of workers and employers, with technical support from the ministry itself, in an attempt to reach a consensus on holiday work.
The proposal was to adjust the application of the rule to a broad sector, ranging from small neighborhood establishments to large national supermarket and wholesale chains.
The new extension was published in the Official Gazette of the Union on February 26, 2026, and kept the debate open on the application of the change in retail.
The act established a 90-day period for the rule to take effect, counted from the date of publication of the norm.
With this schedule, the requirement began to be considered from the end of May 2026, after the additional period granted by the federal government.
The exact count may vary depending on the interpretation applied to the period, but the official publication set the extension at 90 days.
Rules do not affect all services in the same way
Not all services fall under the new requirement, because the list of activities with permanent authorization was altered only in specific points of the administrative rules on holiday work.
Some segments continue with their own treatment, while others now depend on collective bargaining to allow work on holidays under the conditions provided for each category.
In the adjustment made by the government, part of the authorizations related to commerce was removed, while other activities continued with specific provisions for operation.
This change indicates that the norm did not generically prohibit commercial operation, but removed automatic authorizations that previously covered certain retail activities.
For consumers, the effect may vary depending on the municipality, union, and economic category, as the authorization for operation depends on the combination of local rule and collective agreement.
A store from the same chain may have collective authorization in a certain city and face different rules in another location, especially when the regional agreement establishes specific conditions.
In the case of large retail groups, adaptation requires administrative and union monitoring in various territorial bases, mainly for chains with national presence or operations in several states.
Carrefour, Assaí, and Atacadão operate in different municipalities, making collective bargaining a relevant factor for setting schedules on national, state, and municipal holidays.
Debate on working hours increases pressure in retail
The change occurs at a time of greater public debate about working hours, schedule organization, and the balance between economic activity and workers’ weekly rest.
Proposals related to reducing weekly hours and reorganizing regimes like the 6×1 schedule have increased attention on the topic in recent months.
In commerce, the discussion involves different interests among companies, workers, and unions, especially in sectors that depend on in-person service and operation on high-demand dates.
While retail chains advocate for predictability to keep stores open during periods of high traffic, labor entities demand formal participation in defining schedules, compensations, and working conditions.
The requirement for collective bargaining turns each holiday into a date for labor and operational planning for supermarkets, wholesale clubs, and other retail companies.
Instead of a unilateral decision, opening with scheduled employees now depends on agreed authorization, correct remuneration, and respect for local rules.
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