New CLT: learn about the possibilities for employee benefits

In November 2017 entered into force Law No. 13.467/2017, which became better known as the labour reform law. The text changes, in several points, the Consolidation of Labour Laws, bringing what we call, today, the new CLT.

It is in the CLT that the duties and guaranteed rights of all employees hired under this regime are exposed. Today, the CTPS (Employment and Social Security Card) is an important document in the lives of Brazilians, and understanding its nuances is essential.

Among the major changes in the text of the CLT are the sections that talk about holidays, bank of hours, union contribution, lunch hours, hours spent in transportation and even home office. Today, however, we will deal with another very important point when the subject is labor laws: the benefits.

What does the new CLT guarantee in terms of benefits?

The changes that were implemented with the new CLT brought with them a series of doubts regarding what changed and what remained. However, it is essential to understand everything about employee benefits in order to offer them those that comply with the law.

When the subject is benefits, we have, firstly those that are mandatory, that is, they are rights guaranteed by CLT. See:

• remunerated weekly rest period;
• justified absences - the employee has the right to be absent from work without prejudice, provided that the absence is justified;
• 13th salary - it is an additional salary to the employee that happens annually. It is divided into two installments and received according to an average of his remuneration in the last 12 months, according to the number of months worked;
• paid holidays - for each year worked, the employee has the right to rest for 30 days and be paid for it;
• transportation voucher - it is a sum destined to pay the transportation that takes the employee to the workplace and has up to 6% discount in the payroll. The employee can choose not to receive it;
• FGTS (Guarantee Fund for Time of Service) - every month, the company deposits 8% of the employee's gross salary in an account at Caixa Econômica Federal. This amount can be accessed in some specific situations, such as dismissal without just cause or buying a property;
• notice - thirty days from a dismissal where the employee works normally and is paid for it;
• unemployment insurance - in cases of dismissal without just cause;
• sick pay - if you need to take time off work for health reasons;
• maternity and paternity leave.

What has changed in the granting of benefits?

Now that you know everything about what is guaranteed by law, it is time to understand what has changed in terms of employee benefits. Before, the CLT provided legal security for VR and VT, but it did not explicitly talk about health plans, pharmacy, gym, gasoline, culture vouchers and others. In other words, these benefits were always at the company's discretion.

With the labour reform, this has also changed. Now, the law says that only "the fixed stipulated amount, legal gratuities and commissions paid by the employer" can be considered part of the employee's salary.

Now companies can offer other types of benefits besides meals and food without paying charges on them.

Flexible benefits: a legal possibility under the new CLT

The new CLT and the changes in relation to the definition of what can and cannot be part of an employee's salary, have set the precedent for a new modality, the offering of flexible benefits.

Today, the benefits package is important for a professional's decision to accept or not a job position, and for this to be a differential for the company in the market, it is important to offer something really interesting.

The flexible benefits model is interesting because it offers the employee a certain amount, but he/she decides what to spend it on (according to the possibilities offered by the employer). In this way, the package can become even more interesting for the employee, as it is customised according to his/her needs.

Learn more about flexible benefits and their possibilities on Alymente's blog!