Employee termination in Brazil: an employer guide
A Brazilian termination should start with the legal ground and the evidence, not with a payroll instruction. This guide maps the checks, amounts, documents and communication sequence.
Termination changes according to the contract, the reason for ending it and any job protection that applies. Before communicating a dismissal, the employer should confirm the legal ground, stability risks, notice, severance components, collective rules and supporting records. A correct calculation cannot repair a decision made on the wrong basis.
Contents
A Brazilian termination should start with the legal ground and the evidence, not with a payroll instruction. This guide maps the checks, amounts, documents and communication sequence.
Identify how the contract will end.
Dismissal without cause. The employer ends an indefinite-term relationship without alleging serious misconduct; statutory severance and the FGTS indemnity must be mapped.
Dismissal for cause. Reserved for serious misconduct recognised by law and supported by proportionate, timely evidence. The reduced severance makes the legal threshold and documentation critical.
Resignation. The employee initiates termination. Free consent, notice and documentation should be clear. If job protection applies, check the assistance required by CLT art. 500.
Termination by agreement. CLT art. 484-A provides a specific consensual route with its own treatment of notice, FGTS indemnity, withdrawal and unemployment insurance.
Fixed-term expiry or early termination. Probationary and other fixed-term contracts have separate rules; the document and the actual end date matter.
Check job protection and discrimination risks.
Pregnancy, occupational accidents, union or internal accident-prevention roles and collectively negotiated protections may restrict termination or create reinstatement and compensation risk. Collective dismissals require prior union involvement, not union authorisation or a compulsory agreement (STF Theme 638). Health conditions, recent complaints, leave and protected activity also require a discrimination review.
This is not a box-ticking exercise. HR, the line manager, occupational health and payroll may each hold part of the relevant information. The legal review should bring those records together before the decision is announced.
Which amounts enter the calculation.
Depending on the ground, the calculation may include salary balance, accrued and proportional vacation with the one-third supplement, proportional thirteenth salary, notice and FGTS-related amounts. In a dismissal without cause, Law 8,036/1990 provides a 40% indemnity over the relevant FGTS deposits. Notice starts at 30 days and may increase with service up to 90 days under Law 12,506/2011.
Commissions, bonuses, allowances, overtime, banked hours, deductions and benefits need individual treatment. The collective agreement may also add a payment, formality, assistance requirement or restriction.
One coordinated termination file.
Confirm the ground and approvals. Record the business decision, the authorised signatory and the evidence that supports the chosen route.
Check protections and collective rules. Search for statutory and negotiated stability, health and discrimination risks.
Validate the calculation. Reconcile payroll data, notice, vacation, thirteenth salary, FGTS and variable compensation.
Prepare communication and documents. The message, termination forms, system events and payment description must be consistent. CLT art. 477, §6 requires severance payment and delivery of documents evidencing notification to the competent bodies within ten days of termination; the applicable date must be checked, particularly for payment in lieu of notice.
Preserve the file. Keep the contract, amendments, policies, time and pay records, performance material and proof of delivery and payment.
The meeting is short; the record lasts.
A termination meeting should communicate the decision without improvising a legal debate. The company should know who will attend, how access and property will be handled, what documents are delivered and where questions about the calculation will go.
If a claim follows, the defence will depend on the records preserved at this stage. For a live dispute, use our employer response guide and the employer-side labour service page.
Documents for a termination review
Provide the full relationship, not only the latest payslip.
Employment contract and amendments
Current collective agreement
Payroll and benefit history
Vacation and leave records
Working-time and overtime records
Performance and disciplinary records
Occupational-health information relevant to stability
Proposed calculation and termination date
Foreign company resource centre
This page is part of a series of English-language guides covering the employment cycle from operating model to dispute. Use the guide that matches the next decision rather than treating every issue as a general employment question.
Employment law in Brazil for foreign companies. Continue with the part of the Brazilian operation that needs a decision.
Hiring employees in Brazil. Continue with the part of the Brazilian operation that needs a decision.
Independent contractor vs employee. Continue with the part of the Brazilian operation that needs a decision.
Labour claims in Brazil: employer response guide. Continue with the part of the Brazilian operation that needs a decision.
Legal services in Brazil for foreign companies. Continue with the part of the Brazilian operation that needs a decision.
Employer-side labour lawyer in Brazil. Service page for a live claim, preventive review or immediate employer-side issue.
Frequently asked questions
Can an employer dismiss an employee without cause in Brazil?
In an indefinite-term relationship, dismissal without cause is generally possible, subject to statutory or negotiated job protection, anti-discrimination rules and payment of the applicable severance amounts. A stability check should precede the communication.
How much notice is due?
For employer-initiated dismissal, Law 12.506/2011 provides 30 days plus three for each completed year of service, capped at 90 days; the first completed year already gives 33 days. Proportional notice protects the employee and does not extend the notice required on resignation beyond 30 days. Work, payment in lieu and related amounts need individual calculation.
What is the FGTS penalty on dismissal without cause?
For dismissal without cause, art. 18, §1 of Law 8.036/1990 provides 40% of the employment-related FGTS deposits, with monetary adjustment and corresponding interest. This is not simply the available balance after withdrawals; missing deposits must also be regularised. Payroll and the linked account must be reconciled.
Can we dismiss for cause after poor performance?
Poor performance does not automatically establish one of the serious misconduct grounds in CLT art. 482. The employer should distinguish capability or performance management from legally defined misconduct and assess evidence, proportionality and timing before using cause.
What is termination by mutual agreement?
CLT art. 484-A permits employer and employee to end the contract by agreement. Half of any indemnified notice and half of the FGTS indemnity are due, other labour amounts remain fully due, FGTS withdrawal is limited and unemployment insurance is not available.
Should headquarters communicate the dismissal?
Headquarters may participate, but the local employer should control the legal ground, documents, payroll and message. A global script should be adjusted to avoid statements that conflict with the Brazilian termination route.
Before communicating a termination
Send us the contract, proposed ground, termination date and available employment records. We review the legal route and the documents before the decision is implemented. At Falchet e Marques Sociedade de Advogados, the initial review identifies the Brazilian legal question and the proposed scope is presented in writing.
Talk to our team on WhatsApp: +55 11 95901-1854.
Sources checked on 4 September 2026: Federal Constitution, art. 7; CLT, especially arts. 477, 482 and 484-A; Law 8,036/1990, arts. 15 and 18; Law 12,506/2011; Law 4,090/1962; and the applicable collective bargaining instruments. The result depends on the facts and contract type.