A study by the Institute of Economic Research Applied (Ipea), released on February 10, 2026, estimates that ending the 6x1 schedule would raise formal labor costs by 7.84%, assuming a reduction from 44 to 40 weekly hours. For a 4x3 schedule with 36 hours, the increase would be 17.57%. The authors argue that the economy could absorb this impact, similar to minimum wage adjustments.
The Ipea study, prepared by Felipe Pateo, Joana Melo, and Juliane Círiaco, examines the impact of reducing work hours for CLT-governed contracts. Drawing from the 2023 RAIS, which records 44 million CLT workers, 31.8 million work 44 weekly hours, or 74% of those reported.
"It is true that there is a cost, but there are various indications that it can be absorbed. These are costs with which we have had similar experiences and the economy was able to absorb them," said Pateo, an Ipea planning and research technician.
The accounting logic explains the rise: with fewer hours but the same monthly salary, the hourly value increases, creating additional costs for companies. Sectors like surveillance, security, cleaning, and personnel selection would face a 6% operational cost increase due to heavy labor reliance. Industry and commerce, employing 13 million workers with technology use, would see only a 1% impact.
In 31 of 87 economic sectors, over 90% of workers exceed 40 weekly hours. The authors note that the 1988 Constitution's reduction from 48 to 44 hours had no negative employment effects. Amid historic low unemployment, the change could draw more workers to formal jobs, curbing informality.
Pateo stresses the cost is non-cumulative and occurs once, with diluted effects if gradual. PEC 148/2015, by Senator Paulo Paim (PT-RS), approved in the Senate's CCJ in December 2025, outlines progressive cuts: from 44 to 40 hours in the first year, then one hour annually to 36 hours. There would be no ongoing inflationary propagation, per the study.
