Since the first ridersharing company began operating in Brazil in 2014, the issue of whether or not drivers have an employment relationship with the apps has been on the agenda in the Brazilian judiciary.
The news it that on March 4th, the Brazilian President of the Republic Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a Proposed Bill (“PLC” – Brazilian Acronym) that aims to regulate the work of app drivers in Brazil.
The labor claims involving these topic have already reached the Brazilian Superior Labor Court (“TST” – Brazilian Acronym) and the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (“STF” – Brazilian Acronym), and, although the majority of decisions are based on the absence of employment bond between the parties, there is still no decision by the Full TST on the subject, nor a decision of general repercussion by the STF on the subject.
Thus, the PLC was created, as a result of an agreement in the Tripartite Working Group, created in May 2023, coordinated by the Brazilian Ministry of Labor and Employment, with representatives of workers, companies and the Brazilian Federal Government, with the objective of clarifying the relationship between the parties and end labor claims on the matter. The PLC promotes the creation of a new type of professional, called by the Bill as Self-Employed Platform Worker, applicable, for now, only to drivers of “four-wheeled motor vehicles”, leaving out motorcycle couriers and couriers on delivery’s platforms.
Important topics were analyzed and are provided for in the Bill, such as the maximum period of worker connection to the platform, which cannot exceed 12 hours per day, minimum remuneration and Social Security contribution percentages for platforms and drivers, based on in amounts received per month. One of the most controversial propositions of the Bill involves the possibility of representation of workers by a trade union, with powers of collective bargaining between the parties. This may create new rights and duties between the parties, not specified in the Bill, potentially creating more and new discussions on the matter.
Therefore, although the new regulation may guarantee legal security, reducing the number of claims on the subject, the text, which may still be the subject of changes, in addition to leaving motorcycle couriers out, also raises new discussions, especially regarding operationalizing the measures and potential new rights to be negotiated between the parties in the collective bargain agreements.
