Vacation Time in Brazil

Employees in Brazil get 30 days off each year after their first year of work. Under the CLT regime, the federal law that governs employer-employee relationships, an employee gets paid even while they’re on vacation. They also get some cash to spend: one-third of their monthly salary.

Paid vacation is just one of the many perks that employers are legally obligated to provide to their employees. The employer, however, has one big benefit as well. They get to choose when their employees take their vacation. It could be 30 days in a row or 30 days divided into two or three periods. If the vacation time is split, the first period can’t be for less than 14 days. Then, the remaining periods can’t be for periods less than 5 days each.

An employee also has the option of selling back up to 10 days of vacation time to the company. In Portuguese, this is referred to as abono pecuniário, and it’s a good option for any employee looking to put more cash in their pocket.

In some cases, a company may choose to grant collective leave for all employees. This is common during the end of the year holidays when business generally slows down. Although all employees are given time off, the days out of the office are still deducted from each employee’s vacation days.

If you’re seeking to hire an employee in Brazil, consider all of the benefits you’ll have to provide under the CLT regime. They can add up quickly.