The flexibility that Executive Order 141/2026, which ends the 6×1 work schedule, offers the retail sector is contingent upon negotiations with the union.
With enactment scheduled for October 16, the two days of weekly rest and the 42-hour limit will take effect two months after publication, in mid-December, at the height of the year-end shopping season. On the same date, provisions in collective bargaining agreements and conventions regarding working hours and rest periods that are incompatible with the new text will cease to be effective, even if the agreement remains in force. On the other hand, the flexibility mechanisms take effect upon publication. The window for negotiation begins now and is short.
Points requiring immediate attention:
1. Work schedules other than the 5×2 schedule are permitted only under a collective bargaining agreement: The negotiated compensatory schedule allows for weeks with only one day off during peak periods, provided that the calendar month averages two weekly days off and that the employee has at least one day off each workweek. Without a collective bargaining agreement, the strict rule is the 5×2 schedule.
2. The 42-hour workweek over five days is subject to negotiation: When distributed equally, the 42 hours result in 8 hours and 24 minutes per day, exceeding the daily limit of 8 hours. The amendment authorizes this extension during the transition period only through a collective bargaining agreement. Without such an agreement, the excess hours tend to be treated as overtime.
3. Sundays and holidays require joint review: Work on holidays in the retail sector is already subject to collective bargaining agreements. With one of the two days off preferably falling on a Sunday, the clauses regarding Sunday and holiday rotation must be brought into compliance with the new rule.
4. Breaks, time banks, and the cost of overtime: The redistribution of working hours may involve reducing the intra-shift break – which is permitted under collective bargaining agreements with a minimum of 30 minutes for shifts exceeding 6 hours, as well as revising the time bank. Due to the wage floor requirement, the divisor drops from 220 to 210 and then to 200, which increases the cost of each hour of overtime and makes negotiated compensation even more important.
For smaller chains, the Constitutional Amendment 141 authorizes a complementary law to establish transitional mitigation measures for Microentrepreneurs (MEIs), Microenterprises (MEs), and Small Businesses (EPPs), contingent upon maintaining employment levels. Such a law does not yet exist, and there is currently no compensation, incentive, or special deadline. Planning should be based on the rules that have already been approved, not on a future and uncertain benefit.
In the retail sector, where operations continue uninterrupted, the collective bargaining agreement is no longer a mere formality but now defines which work schedules the company can safely implement. Mapping out demand peaks, identifying clauses that will become ineffective, and bringing technically sound proposals to the negotiating table before December is what distinguishes an organized transition from labor liabilities accumulated in the midst of peak season.
