Area 06
Employment Law
The employment relationship accounts for a large share of the legal conflicts faced by companies and individuals alike. We act on both sides: for the employee whose rights have been withheld, and for the employer seeking to operate in compliance.
- 🇧🇷 Brasil
- 🇵🇹 Portugal
Overview
Need an assessment on this subject? The initial consultation establishes the right framework before any step is taken.
Book a consultationFor the employee, the matter usually arrives after dismissal: sums not paid, hours not recorded, duties performed without corresponding recognition, an employment relationship disguised as a services agreement. The first task is to gather evidence, including payslips, messages, rotas and witnesses.
For the employer, the work is mainly preventive: reviewing contracts, working time policies, pay structure and dismissal criteria. Most employment liability arises from settled practices that were never subjected to legal review.
Where there is an international element, such as staff engaged in Portugal, remote work for a foreign company or temporary posting, we assess which legislation governs the relationship and the social security consequences of the arrangement.
What we do
Services in this area
Each scope may be engaged on its own or combined with others, according to what the matter requires.
Termination payments and recognition of employment
For employees: recovery of unpaid sums, recognition of an employment relationship and rectification of records.
Overtime, working time and equal pay
Assessment of unrecorded working time, missed rest breaks, allowances due and equal pay claims.
Harassment, discrimination and ill health
Workplace and sexual harassment, discriminatory dismissal, accidents at work and occupational illness.
Employment and services agreements
Drafting and review of instruments, with attention to the correct characterisation of the relationship in each jurisdiction.
Preventive employment audit
For employers: a diagnosis of the company’s practices and a remediation plan to reduce contingent liability.
Litigation and negotiation
Individual and collective claims, settlements, approvals and defence in inspection proceedings.
Frequently asked
Questions we are asked often
The answers below are for information only and do not replace individual analysis of your matter.
I worked without a registered contract. Do I have rights?
Yes. The absence of registration does not remove the employment relationship. Where subordination, personal service, regularity and remuneration are present, recognition is possible, together with payment of the sums due for the whole period worked.Does a services agreement rule out an employment relationship?
Not on its own. Under both legal systems, characterisation follows the reality of the relationship, not the label given to the document. It is the actual practice that defines its nature.How does an employer reduce employment liability?
Through periodic review of contracts, working time, pay components and dismissal criteria. A preventive audit identifies exposures before they turn into claims.
Employment Law
Need guidance on employment law?
The initial consultation assesses the legal viability of your objective and sets out the available paths, with stages and timelines defined. Online, by video call or in person in São Paulo.
Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm (Brasília time). We reply within one business day.