TST Voids Extrajudicial Termination of Caregiver Without Lawyer and Sends Case Back to First Instance for Employment Relationship Analysis

Written by Maria Heloisa Barbosa Borges

Published on 12/09/2025 at 21:08

O Tribunal Superior do Trabalho (TST) declarou nula uma rescisão extrajudicial assinada sem advogado, reforçando a proteção legal do trabalhador e determinando que o caso volte à Vara do Trabalho para análise do vínculo de emprego.

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The Superior Labor Court (TST) Nullified an Extrajudicial Termination Signed Without a Lawyer, Reinforcing the Legal Protection of Workers and Determining That the Case Returns to the Labor Court for Analysis of the Employment Relationship.

According to the news portal Migalhas, the TST’s decision nullifies the extrajudicial termination made between a caregiver and her employer in Santa Catarina. The case gained prominence because the worker had received R$ 7.9 thousand in an informal agreement, without legal guidance, in exchange for a clause of “full and irrevocable discharge” of the employment contract. The absence of a lawyer, however, led the ministers to invalidate the document and send the case back to the first instance.

What Was at Stake in the Case

The caregiver sought recognition of the employment relationship between 2018 and 2020 in court. After her dismissal, she signed an extrajudicial agreement without a lawyer, receiving compensation in exchange for waiving any other labor claims.

The employer’s defense presented the document as proof of full discharge.

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The Legal Requirement for Lawyers in Terminations

According to the rapporteur, Minister Evandro Valadão, the CLT (article 855-B) establishes that extrajudicial terminations are only valid if both parties are represented by distinct lawyers.

The goal is to balance the negotiation and prevent the worker, the more vulnerable party, from renouncing rights without a full understanding of the consequences.

The minister emphasized that “there is no way to recognize general discharge without the presence of a lawyer”, as this would undermine the protective character of labor legislation. Thus, the document signed without proper representation cannot be deemed valid.

The Impact of the Decision on Workers and Employers

The TST’s decision nullifies extrajudicial terminations that do not meet legal requirements and serves as a warning to employers.

Signing agreements without a lawyer not only invalidates the document but can also lead to new legal actions and additional costs.

For workers, the measure reaffirms that no broad discharge agreement has legal effect without legal assistance, ensuring a minimum protection against abuses.

The process now returns to the Labor Court for analysis of the caregiver’s requests, including recognition of the employment relationship and severance pay.

The TST ruling reinforces the social function of Labor Justice: to ensure that agreements are only valid when they respect the law and the dignity of the worker.

And you, do you think that the requirement for a lawyer in every extrajudicial termination genuinely protects the worker or merely increases bureaucracy?

Leave your opinion in the comments and participate in the debate.

TST Voids Extrajudicial Termination of Caregiver Without Lawyer and Sends Case Back to First Instance for Employment Relationship Analysis

The Superior Labor Court (TST) Nullified an Extrajudicial Termination Signed Without a Lawyer, Reinforcing the Legal Protection of Workers and Determining That the Case Returns to the Labor Court for Analysis of the Employment Relationship.

What Was at Stake in the Case

The Legal Requirement for Lawyers in Terminations

The Impact of the Decision on Workers and Employers

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TST Voids Extrajudicial Termination of Caregiver Without Lawyer and Sends Case Back to First Instance for Employment Relationship Analysis

The Superior Labor Court (TST) Nullified an Extrajudicial Termination Signed Without a Lawyer, Reinforcing the Legal Protection of Workers and Determining That the Case Returns to the Labor Court for Analysis of the Employment Relationship.

What Was at Stake in the Case

The Legal Requirement for Lawyers in Terminations

The Impact of the Decision on Workers and Employers

The Soviet Union spent 22 years drilling into the Earth’s crust and reached a depth of 12,262 meters — they found water where it was thought impossible, hydrogen bubbling from the rock, granite that is 2.7 billion years old, and temperatures of 180 degrees that melted the drill bits.

Egypt wants to draw 10 million cubic meters of water from the Nile per day into the desert, irrigate a new agricultural frontier, and build a city where there is currently only sand.

Norway is drilling 27 kilometers of rock 392 meters below the bottom of a fjord to build the world’s largest and deepest underwater road tunnel — when completed, a 21-hour journey will be reduced to 10.

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