Change in legislation extends to nine months the term of temporary employment contracts
By Jacques Rasinovsky Vieira and Gabriella Nudeliman Valdambrini
On July 1, 2014, Ordinance No. 789/2014, issued by the Ministry of Labor, was published in the federal gazette. Such ordinance extended the maximum term of temporary employment contracts.
Prior to this ordinance, temporary employment contracts could be signed for up to three months, extendable only once for equal period, provided that it was authorized by the Ministry of Labor.
With this change, the initial term remains the same, but the contract can now be extended for two periods of three months, totaling nine months.
It is noteworthy that the authorization from the Ministry of Labor is still required to extend the temporary employment contract and that the employer must provide a justification for such extension.
This change benefits companies that hire temporary employees, as they will now have legal support for contract extension when there is an extraordinary increase of services or a temporary need to substitute their employees, as happens in cases of maternity leave or sick leave.