By Camilo Diniz
Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF), the country's highest court, has reached four votes to keep the 5x2 work schedule exactly as set out in an injunction by Justice Flávio Dino, with the switch scheduled for December 16 this year. The tally was recorded on Friday (Nov. 13). By Saturday morning, Nov. 14, 2026, three justices had joined the rapporteur's vote: Alexandre de Moraes, Cármen Lúcia and Gilmar Mendes.
The case is being judged in the court's virtual plenary, which ends on Monday (Nov. 16). A majority is not yet secured, but the trend points toward confirming the transition rule for ending the 6x1 schedule (six days of work, one day off). The 5x2 schedule means five days of work and two days off.
What is at stake on December 16
Under the injunction, the new organization of the work week begins on December 16 this year. In the initial adaptation phase, the 42 weekly hours may be spread over five working days.
Under the reform approved by Congress, the work week, currently capped at 44 hours, drops to 42 in the first stage and reaches 40 hours on December 16, 2027. The date is not a technical detail: it marks when the routine of millions of workers begins to change.
The Chamber of Deputies pushes back on six points
The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Brazil's Congress, filed a statement with the Supreme Court objecting to six points of the injunction. According to the Chamber, some of the flexibilities go beyond what Congress approved in the constitutional amendment.
The items questioned include the distribution of days off, the permission for eight-hour-and-24-minute workdays without a collective agreement, and the deadline for regulating differentiated regimes.
The deputies' argument is straightforward: the Judiciary should respect the choice made by the Legislative branch, not rewrite it through an injunction.
Dino's reasoning on the extra 24 minutes
In Dino's reading, the 24 minutes beyond eight hours a day should not be treated as overtime for that reason alone during the transition period. Spreading 42 hours over five days works out to eight hours and 24 minutes a day. How schedules are distributed, however, may vary according to collective bargaining and the particularities of each sector.
That is the most sensitive point: who decides in practice how this flexibility will be used, an agreement between employer and union, or the Supreme Court's interpretation?
Why it matters
The Supreme Court is not voting on whether the 6x1 schedule should end. The debate is over how the reform is applied, that is, whether the rapporteur's measures fit within the Constitution and the text approved by Congress. The dispute also puts a familiar question back on the table in Brazil: how far the Supreme Court can go when it shapes rules that lawmakers say belong to them.
What happens next
If a majority confirms the injunction by Monday, the transition rules remain in force and the 5x2 schedule stays set for December 16. Until the remaining justices vote, the outcome is still open.
