In accordance with the agreement stipulated in Article 161 of the CST, literal C, this schedule is an exception to the ordinary working day of 8 hours per day/48 hours per week:
The employer and the worker may agree, temporarily or indefinitely, to organize successive work shifts that allow the company or sections thereof to operate without interruption during all days of the week, provided that the respective shift does not exceed six (6) hours per day and thirty-six (36) per week.
In this case, there will be no place for night surcharge nor for that provided for Sunday or holiday work, but the worker shall earn the salary corresponding to the ordinary working day, always respecting the legal or conventional minimum, and shall have the right to one day of paid rest.
According to the above, it is important to highlight the necessary requirements for its configuration, which are the following:
a. Its implementation only applies when the company requires continuous operation of the company or a part thereof without interruption, that is, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
b. Its implementation is formal and must be the product of an agreement between the worker and the employer, whether applied for a certain time or throughout the entire term of the employment contract.
c. Only a maximum schedule of 6 hours per day and 36 hours per week is allowed. Therefore, no supplementary or overtime hours may be performed, it being clear that the work relationship is 6 hours per day.
d. No night surcharge is recognized if the work shift is carried out between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
e. The worker shall always have the right to one day of paid rest, which may coincide with Sunday, as specified by the Ministry of Labor:
“In this case, being a rotating shift, overtime hours cannot be generated, there will be no place for night surcharge, nor for that provided for Sunday or holiday work because it is a rotating shift, having the right to a paid rest that may or may not coincide with Sunday.”
f. If work is performed on a Sunday or mandatory paid rest day, there will be no place for recognition of surcharge for Sunday or holiday work, but a compensatory rest must be granted in accordance with Articles 180 and 181 of the CST:
“For the case of the thirty-six (36) weekly hours provided in Article 20 literal c) of this law, <161 c.s.t.> the worker shall only have the right to a paid compensatory rest when working on Sunday.”
This special modality of working hours can be very useful in cases where business operations warrant it, obtaining as a benefit the non-payment of night surcharges nor that provided for Sunday or holiday work. However, having a considerable reduction regarding the maximum weekly working hours for workers, it will be necessary to have additional personnel in order to comply with the total operation of the company. For this reason, before implementing this schedule, the respective validation must be carried out with the accounting area to evidence the economic and operational expenses that implementing the schedule would imply for the company.
LABOR LAW.