Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
3 min of reading 
0 comments 
In 2025, Unemployment Insurance Has Updated Values: Minimum of R$ 1,518 and Maximum of R$ 2,424.11. Rules Remain the Same, With Payments Ranging from 3 to 5 Depending on Work Time and Benefit History
The government has updated the values of unemployment insurance for 2025, an essential benefit that provides temporary financial support to workers dismissed without just cause.
The change brought important news regarding the minimum and maximum payment values, but access rules remain the same as applied in the past ten years.
Who Is Entitled to the Benefit
Unemployment insurance is exclusive to workers who have been dismissed without just cause.
-
Government enacts new law: paternity leave increases from 5 to 20 days with gradual increases until 2029, and Social Security pays the paternity salary; companies no longer bear the absence cost, estimated at R$ 5.4 billion.
-
End of the 1-hour lunch break in the CLT? Current labor law maintains the break, allows for negotiated reductions, and defines rules for working hours and home office in Brazil.
-
Employee Fired After Accumulating 114 Days of Medical Leave in One Year, Labor Court Upholds Company’s Decision
-
Employee Fired While Treating Depression Wins in Court and Vale Is Required to Rehire Him Following Decision Based on the CLT and INSS Benefits
This means that those who resign, are dismissed for just cause, or enter into a severance agreement stipulated in the labor reform—where the employee receives only 20% of the FGTS fine instead of 40%—do not have a right to the benefit.
Additionally, there is an essential factor: the number of times the worker has requested the benefit in their lifetime affects the minimum work time requirements with a formal contract. In 2025, the rule remains as follows:
- 1st request: must have worked at least 12 months;
- 2nd request: requires a minimum of 9 months;
- 3rd request or more: only need to prove 6 months of employment.
Many still find outdated information online that states 18 months for the first request. This rule has not been valid since 2015. Therefore, the current criterion is 12 months for the first application.
Another important point: in addition to meeting these deadlines, the worker must observe the minimum interval of 16 months between requests. Otherwise, the benefit is denied.
Number of Payments in 2025
The number of payments varies according to work time:
- Between 6 and 11 months: entitled to 3 payments;
- Between 12 and 23 months: entitled to 4 payments;
- From 24 months onwards: entitled to 5 payments (the maximum allowed).
Situations in which the government releases a sixth or seventh payment only occur in exceptional cases, such as public calamities. Aside from that, the maximum limit remains at five payments.
Another little-discussed detail: if the worker secures a new job while still receiving payments, they may be entitled to a proportional amount, provided the rules are followed.
This point has generated much confusion, but there are decisions and normative instructions that confirm payment in specific cases.
New Values for 2025
Starting in January, the values have been adjusted. The calculation does not directly correspond to the worker’s salary but follows a table defined by the government.
- Minimum payment: will always be R$ 1,518, equivalent to the minimum wage of 2025. Even if the worker earned less, the benefit will never be lower than this amount.
- Maximum payment (cap): in 2025, the unemployment insurance cap is R$ 2,313.74. This means that those earning above R$ 4,000, for example, will not receive more than this monthly amount.
The logic of the program is to ensure basic survival conditions and not to maintain the previous salary standard. Therefore, those who received high salaries will have their payments limited to the cap.
Practical Examples
- A worker earning R$ 1,200 will be entitled to the minimum amount of R$ 1,518 per payment.
- Someone with an average salary of R$ 3,000 will receive an intermediate amount defined by the official calculation table, falling above the minimum and below the cap.
- For salaries of R$ 7,000 or more, the payment will always be capped at R$ 2,313.74.
The average salary used in the calculation considers the last three salaries received before dismissal, including additional payments such as hazardous pay and overtime.
The total is summed and divided by three, and the result serves as the basis for placing the worker in the official table.
Differences for Domestic Workers
It is important to highlight that these rules and values apply only to traditional CLT workers. Domestic workers have their own legislation and different values for the benefit, as stipulated in specific regulations.
-
Uma pessoa reagiu a isso.