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Informal Workers Can Achieve Job Security if the Courts Recognize the Employment Relationship and Prove Violated Rights Including Pregnant Women and Accident Victims
Despite advances in labor legislation, Brazil still experiences high rates of informality. According to the IBGE, over 36 million Brazilians work without formal contracts. This group of workers, in practice, lacks access to basic rights provided for in the CLT: FGTS, paid vacations, 13th salary, leave, and job security in specific cases, such as pregnant women or victims of workplace accidents.
However, over the years, Labor Courts have established a fundamental principle: the reality of facts prevails over what is registered on paper. In other words, even without formal registration on their contract, if a worker can prove an employment relationship, they are entitled to all legal guarantees, including job security in situations provided by law.
What Characterizes the Employment Relationship
The CLT, in its Article 3, defines the requirements that characterize an employment relationship:
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- Personal Service (the worker cannot be replaced by another without authorization);
- Non-Occasional Nature (continuous and habitual activity);
- Subordination (the employee follows orders and is subject to the employer’s authority);
- Remuneration (work done in exchange for salary).
If these requirements are present, the Court can declare the existence of an employment relationship, even without formal registration.
And, from this recognition, all legal consequences apply, including temporary job security in specific cases.
Job Security Guaranteed in Cases of Pregnancy and Workplace Accidents
Two examples stand out.
Pregnant Women – Article 10, II, “b” of the Transitional Constitutional Provisions Act (ADCT) guarantees job security from the confirmation of pregnancy until five months after childbirth. Labor Courts have established consolidated jurisprudence that this protection applies even without a formal contract. It is enough that the relationship is recognized by the courts.
Workplace Accidents – Article 118 of Law 8.213/1991 ensures 12 months of job security after returning to work for those who suffered an accident. If an informal employee can prove the employment relationship and the accident, they can also have this right guaranteed, including compensation in the case of wrongful termination.
The Weight of TST Jurisprudence
The Superior Labor Court (TST) has already ruled on numerous cases in this regard. In recent decisions, the court reaffirmed that the registration in the CTPS is not a condition for acquiring job security, but rather the recognition of the employment relationship.
An emblematic example is the job security of a pregnant woman: the TST has consolidated the understanding that the absence of registration does not strip the pregnant employee of her right to compensation corresponding to job security. The same reasoning applies to other cases provided for by law.
Experts’ Opinions
According to jurist Maurício Godinho Delgado, an TST minister and a reference author in Labor Law, “the employment contract is a factual reality. The formalization on paper is the employer’s obligation, not a condition for the worker to have rights.”
Labor attorney Vólia Bomfim Cassar states that “when the Court recognizes the relationship, all legal effects retroactively apply, including protective measures such as job security and FGTS deposits.”
How Workers Can Prove the Employment Relationship
In practice, the recognition of the relationship depends on evidence presented in court. The following are accepted as indicators:
- Testimonies from colleagues;
- Time records, receipts, or payment proofs;
- Use of uniforms, badges, or corporate emails;
- Any document demonstrating subordination and habituality.
Based on these elements, the judge declares the relationship, and consequently, all rights become enforceable.
Social and Economic Impact
This understanding from Labor Courts has a direct impact on the lives of millions of Brazilians working in informal jobs. It ensures that an employer’s negligence in registering a contract cannot be used as a shield to deny fundamental rights.
At the same time, this practice encourages companies to maintain the legality of employment relationships, as the cost of being condemned in court (with payment of overdue amounts, compensation, and recognition of job security) tends to be much higher than complying with the law from the start.
The Factual Relationship is More Significant than Paper Omission
Labor jurisprudence makes it clear: the employment contract does not arise from registration on paper, but from the reality of the work performed.
When the relationship is proven, the worker is entitled to all guarantees provided by law, including job security in specific situations.
Thus, the Court sends a strong message: informality cannot be used as a tool for suppressing rights.
The employer who does not register the employee assumes significant risks, and the worker seeking their rights finds support in legislation and jurisprudence.
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