End of the 6x1 schedule: what changes for businesses and when

If your question is about the end of the 6x1 schedule and what changes for businesses, here is the short answer: about 60 days after the publication of Constitutional Amendment 141, which falls in mid-December 2026, the schedule becomes 5x2, with a maximum workweek of 42 hours. About 14 months after publication, the limit drops to 40 hours per week, with a maximum of 8 hours per day. And there is no salary reduction at any stage.

The amendment was promulgated by Congress on 10/16/2026, two days after passing the Senate. According to the Ministry of Labor, about 14.9 million workers are on a 6x1 schedule today. This is not a niche adjustment: it is a change that hits retail, restaurants, clinics and a large share of the service sector head-on.

This guide delivers what business owners and HR need to act: the timeline from 44 to 42 and then 40 hours, what can be negotiated with the union, who is exempt, the status of the lawsuits at the STF and an adaptation checklist through December. Along the way, some context that helps you read the news without bias: political slogans don't tell you what the law does.

Key takeaways

• In mid-December 2026, the rule becomes 5x2 with up to 42 hours per week and two days of paid rest.
• About 14 months after publication, the workweek drops to 40 hours, with a cap of 8 hours per day.
• A collective agreement or collective bargaining agreement can adjust daily hours and allow an exceptional 6x1, as long as the average is two days off per week over the month.
• CNI and CNC asked the STF to postpone the deadlines, but there is no ruling so far.
• Salaries cannot be reduced: the cost per hour worked goes up and needs to be part of your planning.

End of the 6x1 schedule: what changes for businesses, phase by phase

The change happens in two stages. The first is quick and affects how the week is organized. The second affects total hours and, as a result, the cost of operations.

Phase	When	Schedule	Maximum weekly hours	Daily limit	Rest
Today	Until the amendment takes effect	6x1 allowed	44 hours	Current rules	One day per week
Transition	60 days after publication (mid-December 2026)	5x2	42 hours	May be extended by collective agreement or collective bargaining agreement	Two paid days, one preferably on Sunday
Final rule	About 14 months after publication	5x2	40 hours	8 hours	Two paid days

First stage: 5x2 and 42 hours

Starting in mid-December 2026, workers get two days of paid weekly rest (DSR), meaning paid days off, and one of them should preferably fall on Sunday. The maximum workweek becomes 42 hours.

Do the math: 42 hours divided by five days comes to 8 hours and 24 minutes per day. That is exactly why the amendment allows a collective agreement or collective bargaining agreement to extend daily hours during the transition. Without that negotiation, your 5-day schedule may not add up to 42 hours.

Second stage: 40 hours and a cap of 8 hours per day

About 14 months after publication, the workweek drops to 40 hours, with a maximum of 8 hours per day. This is where the flexibility to stretch the day ends: five 8-hour days add up exactly.

Since salaries cannot go down, the cost per hour goes up. Someone who worked 44 hours and moves to 42 becomes about 4.8% more expensive per hour; at 40 hours, the increase is 10% compared to the original 44 hours. That is the number that needs to go into your 2027 budget.

What can be negotiated with the union

The amendment leaves significant room for collective bargaining. Remember the difference: a collective agreement is signed between the workers' union and one or more companies; a collective bargaining agreement is signed between the workers' union and the employers' union, applying to the entire category.

What can be adjusted this way:

• Longer daily hours during the transition, to fit the 42 hours into five days.
• Days-off compensation, as long as the average is two days of rest per week within the month and there is at least one rest day every seven days.
• Exceptional 6x1, which this compensation rule allows when provided for in a collective agreement.

An illustrative example: a store with heavy traffic during a sale week could, if the collective agreement allows it, give one day off that week, three the following week and two in each of the other two. Over the month, the average works out to two days off per week, and no one goes more than seven days without rest.

Watch out for a deadline that often goes unnoticed: bargaining agreement clauses incompatible with the amendment lose validity after 60 days. If your current agreement sets 6x1 as the rule, it stops applying at that point. You can't rely on the old document.

Who is exempt (or gets more time)

Not every employment relationship follows the same timeline. Here are the exceptions:

• Professionals with a college degree who earn at least 2.5 times the INSS ceiling, which comes to about R$ 21,188.87. Both conditions must be met.
• Public servants, who are not covered by the rule.
• Outsourced workers in public administration, who have 12 months to adapt.

What about small businesses? The amendment states that a future complementary law may set adaptation rules for MEI, micro and small businesses, conditioned on maintaining jobs. May, not necessarily will. Until that law exists, the general rule applies to everyone. Planning around an exception that hasn't been written yet is an unnecessary risk.

The CNI and CNC Lawsuits at the STF

On 11/04/2026, the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the National Confederation of Commerce (CNC) filed two lawsuits at the STF against the end of the 6x1 schedule. They are ADIs (Direct Actions of Unconstitutionality), the instrument used to ask the Supreme Court to declare a rule incompatible with the Constitution.

The lawsuits challenge six points of the amendment and ask for the timeline to be postponed: the new work schedule would move to 12/16/2027 and the 40-hour week to December 2028. So far, there is no ruling.

The practical advice is simple: plan according to the current timeline. If the STF postpones it, you will be ahead and will have gained time. If it does not and you waited, you will be rushing to reorganize schedules, payroll and the collective agreement in December, with the risk of labor liabilities.

Why the Right Voted in Favor: Political Labels Don't Tell You What the Law Does

The amendment passed 75 to 1 in each of the two rounds in the Senate. The opposition was against it, tried to block the vote and then released its members to vote freely, and most voted in favor. The only vote against was from Senator Hamilton Mourão.

To understand why this is surprising, it helps to go back to where the terms came from. Right and left originated in the French Assembly of 1789, based on where each group sat. On the economic axis, the right tends to lean toward the owner and the left toward the worker.

But labels are misleading. Bismarck, a conservative, created Germany's national health insurance in 1883. In Brazil, Simples Nacional, Complementary Law 123 of 2006, which eased life for millions of small businesses, was signed into law by Lula.

The most recent example follows the same pattern. Law 15.270/2025 exempted those earning up to R$ 5,000 from income tax and created a 10% withholding on dividends above R$ 50,000 per month paid by the same company. For business owners, it weighs on one side and provides relief on the other, depending on how they pay themselves.

Even countries cited as free-market models defy the label. In Denmark, there is no statutory minimum wage and firing is simple, but strong unions and unemployment insurance protect workers.

For anyone running a business, the lesson is to read the law, not the label of whoever voted for it. What defines your cost is the text: deadlines, exceptions and what can be negotiated.

The same reasoning applies to other politically charged news, such as the debate over whether extending the runoff vote could void an election: what matters is what the rule says.

Checklist: What Changes for Businesses by December

Use this list as an adaptation roadmap. Items 1 through 5 are urgent for the December 2026 phase.

1. Map who is on 6x1. List employees, roles, work hours and current days off.
2. Identify who is excluded. Separate those with a college degree and a salary of at least roughly R$ 21,188.87, as well as outsourced workers under public contracts, who have 12 months.
3. Redesign schedules as 5x2 with up to 42 hours. Check whether five days cover the required hours and where you will need extended daily hours.
4. Review the collective agreement. Flag incompatible clauses, which lose validity after 60 days.
5. Contact the union now. Negotiate extended daily hours during the transition, compensation for days off and, if it makes sense, an exceptional 6x1 schedule through a collective agreement.
6. Recalculate payroll and hourly cost. With no salary reduction, simulate the impact of 42 and then 40 hours on service pricing and margins.
7. Ensure coverage at peak times and on Sundays. Stagger days off so not everyone rests on the same days, keeping in mind that one of the rest days should preferably fall on Sunday.
8. Communicate with your team and customers. Update service hours. If you use automation to cover hours without staff, see how much the WhatsApp Business API costs.
9. Follow the STF and the complementary law for small businesses. Adjust your plan if a ruling or new rule comes out, but don't stop preparing.
10. Plan for the 40-hour phase. Start thinking about hiring, shifts and processes for when the 8-hour daily cap takes effect.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the 6x1 schedule end?

The 6x1 schedule stops being the rule 60 days after the publication of Constitutional Amendment 141, which falls in mid-December 2026. From then on, the 5x2 schedule applies, with up to 42 hours per week.

Will salaries decrease with the 40-hour workweek?

No. The amendment prohibits salary reductions. Working hours go down, but pay stays the same, which increases the cost per hour for the employer.

Can the 6x1 schedule still be used after the change?

Only on an exceptional basis and through a collective agreement. The compensation must ensure, over the month, an average of two rest days per week and at least one rest day every seven days.

Are small businesses and MEIs exempt from the new rule?

Not for now. The amendment provides that a future complementary law may create adaptation rules for MEIs, micro and small businesses, conditioned on maintaining jobs. Until then, the general rule applies to everyone.

Can the STF postpone the end of the 6x1 schedule?

It can, but there has been no decision so far. CNI and CNC have asked to postpone the new schedule to 12/16/2027 and the 40 hours to December 2028. Until the Supreme Court rules, the original timeline remains in effect.

Conclusion

The end of the 6x1 schedule comes in two stages: 5x2 with 42 hours in mid-December 2026 and 40 hours about 14 months after publication, always without salary reductions. Collective bargaining is the main tool for adjusting the transition, exceptions are few, and the lawsuits at the STF have not changed anything yet.

Recommendation for today: make a list of who works on a 6x1 schedule at your company and schedule a conversation with the relevant labor union. With these two steps, the rest of the checklist becomes much easier.