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Retail grocery movement tests new work schedule with two days off per week, expanded benefits, and focus on attracting employees amid hiring difficulties in the sector, while national debate pressures changes to traditional scheduling.
The Koch Group opened 140 positions for the new Komprão unit in São Bento do Sul, in the North of Santa Catarina, and decided to use the operation as a test for a 5×2 schedule, with two days off per week and a 44-hour workweek.
The initiative comes at a time when the debate about the end of the 6×1 schedule has returned to the center of the national agenda, after the federal government sent a bill to Congress to reduce the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours and expand paid weekly rest.
Job openings and new work schedule model in the supermarket
The selection to form the team of the new store was announced to cover different areas of the unit, with opportunities in both operational roles and leadership positions.
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There are also positions designated for people with disabilities.
In practice, the chain is trying to fill positions during an expansion phase while monitoring, within the operation itself, how the 5×2 schedule works in the food retail sector, a field historically linked to more distributed work hours throughout the week.
According to the HR manager of the Koch Group, Alisson Santos, the company treats the measure as a pilot project to observe the functionality of the model and its effects on the workers’ routine.
This statement indicates that the goal is not only to open the new store with a different work schedule format but to measure, in day-to-day operations, how the change interferes with the organization of the operation and the lives of the employees.
5×2 schedule gains strength in the competition for workers
The group’s decision occurs in an environment where retail companies face more difficulty in hiring and retaining employees in high-turnover activities.
Although the announcement from the Santa Catarina chain is directly linked to the opening of the São Bento do Sul unit, the movement gains weight because it is part of a company that currently ranks 10th among the largest supermarket chains in Brazil and leads the sector in Santa Catarina.
This size helps explain why the experience attracts attention.
The Koch Group reported on its career site that it ended 2025 with 94 stores in the food segment in Santa Catarina, in accelerated expansion.
Data from the sector indicates that the company had reached 80 units in 2024, consolidating itself as the main supermarket chain in Santa Catarina.
The numbers show recent growth and support the reading that changes in the work regime, when adopted by companies of this size, tend to be closely observed by the market.
How to participate in the selection process in São Bento do Sul
The selection process was scheduled to serve on a first-come, first-served basis, with candidates armed with a photo identification document.
The selection took place at the São José Matriz Church, located at Otto Eduardo Lepper Street, 336, in the Serra Alta neighborhood, in São Bento do Sul.
In addition to in-person attendance, the company informed about the possibility of submitting applications in advance through a virtual registration, as a way to expedite service.
The vacancies were opened for different profiles within the store’s structure.
This list includes management, sub-management, coordination, and supervision positions, as well as operational roles related to the daily functioning of the wholesale store.
The phone number provided for more information about the selection was (48) 99942-0368.
In the package offered to future hires, the company reported benefits such as health plan, dental assistance, telemedicine, psychological support, transportation voucher, and childcare assistance.
Additionally, there is a monthly shopping voucher of up to R$ 500, conditioned on employee performance.
At a time when retail chains compete for labor in various regions, the combination of a 5×2 schedule and a broad benefits package also serves as an attraction argument.
Government proposal pressures changes in the 6×1 schedule
The experience of the Koch Group was announced shortly after the federal government formalized, on April 14, 2026, the urgent constitutional submission to the National Congress of a bill to end the 6×1 schedule.
According to the proposal, the weekly limit would drop from 44 to 40 hours, with maintenance of salaries and guarantee of two days of paid rest.
The text also provides for the consolidation of the five-day work model for two days of rest, although the concrete definition of schedules may go through collective negotiation depending on the economic activity.
This context helps explain why the announcement from the Santa Catarina chain goes beyond the restricted field of a local selection process.
In the food retail sector, where operations require continuous functioning, including on weekends and holidays, any change in the distribution of days off affects schedules, costs, shift coverage, and team planning.
By launching the test in a new unit, the company reduces part of the need to adapt an already established workforce and observes the performance of the format since the store’s opening.
This relationship between expansion and reorganization of working hours appears as one of the most relevant points of the initiative.
Even so, the case of São Bento do Sul does not, by itself, equate to a widespread change across the entire network.
The Koch Group itself classified the measure as a pilot, which indicates internal monitoring before any broader decision.
Even with this caveat, the choice to test the 5×2 scale in a sector marked by hiring difficulties, high operational demands, and competition for professionals transforms the opening of the 140 positions into a concrete sign that part of the retail sector has already begun to respond to the new discussion environment regarding working hours in Brazil.
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