Hybrid Work and Telework: Working Hours Control and the Right to Disconnect in 2026

Hybrid work has ceased to be a pandemic-era improvisation and has become a permanent model in many companies. The system has its own regulations in the Brazilian Labor Code (CLT), specifically articles 75-A to 75-E, updated by Law No. 14.442/2022, which now allows for telework, whether predominantly or not. In other words, hybrid work is expressly contemplated, and the employee's attendance at the office on some days of the week does not invalidate the arrangement. What many companies have not yet realized is that adopting this model does not eliminate two issues that currently dominate labor litigation: the control of working hours and the so-called right to disconnect.

Rules for Controlling Working Hours and Telematics

The central rule is found in Article 62, III, of the CLT (Brazilian Labor Code). Only teleworkers who provide services based on production or task are exempt from working hour control. Those who work remotely with a defined schedule must have their hours recorded and receive overtime pay like any other employee. And the classification must correspond to reality. If the contract mentions production, but the daily routine involves fixed hours, scheduled meetings, deadlines, and supervision through systems, the courts disregard the exception and order the payment of overtime. It is worth remembering that Article 6 of the CLT equates telematic means of command and supervision to personal means. Login, management platform, and messaging application are, for the Judiciary, instruments of control.

The Right to Disconnect and Labor Law Case Law

The right to disconnect is not yet specifically regulated by law. Bill No. 4,044/2020 is currently being processed in the Senate, and other proposals are discussing the topic in Congress. This does not mean a lack of protection. Labor courts derive the right to rest from the Constitution and the CLT (Consolidation of Labor Laws) rules regarding breaks and working hours limits, and have been condemning companies based on these grounds. The most common situations involve demands for payment via messaging apps outside of working hours, meetings after hours, demands for immediate responses on weekends, and work during vacations. The rulings vary from overtime pay and on-call pay, as per TST (Superior Labor Court) Precedent 428 (when the employee remains on standby awaiting activation), to compensation for moral or existential damages in the most serious cases.

The Inclusion of Psychosocial Risks in NR-1

In 2026, the topic gained a new component. Since May 26th, labor inspectors can penalize companies that fail to manage psychosocial risks, according to the updated NR-1 (Brazilian Regulatory Standard 1). Overload, excessive targets, exhausting workdays, and constant connectivity outside of working hours are now included in this mapping and are treated as occupational risks, on the same level as physical and chemical risks, requiring diagnosis, action plans, and monitoring documented in the PGR (Risk Management Program). In practice, telework policy is no longer a matter restricted to HR and has become part of the company's health and safety system. Non-compliance results in administrative penalties and can also serve as evidence in individual lawsuits discussing mental illness, such as burnout cases.

Common Errors in Hybrid Operation

The most common errors appear precisely in the gray area between flexibility and informality. Companies that classify as production or task work those who, in practice, keep to a schedule. Absence of the contractual addendum required by article 75-C for the change of work arrangement. Lack of written provisions regarding equipment and expense reimbursement, as stipulated in article 75-D. Invasive monitoring of screens and cameras without proportionality assessment and without adequate treatment under the LGPD (Brazilian General Data Protection Law). And the omission regarding the health of the remote employee, since article 75-E obliges the employer to expressly instruct on precautions against illnesses and accidents, which includes ergonomics and organization of work time at home.

Recommendations and Preventive Actions

The preventative approach is well-known, but it requires method. Review contracts and addendums, defining the modality in accordance with the actual routine of each function. Adopt a reliable electronic timekeeping system for those with set working hours. Formalize a disconnection policy, with communication windows, explicit guidance for leadership, and simple resources such as scheduling messages for the following workday. Include overload and connection outside of working hours in the PGR's (Program for Risk Management) psychosocial risk inventory. Collective bargaining also helps, and disconnection clauses are already beginning to appear in agreements and conventions as a way to provide security for both parties.

The trend for the coming years is towards increased oversight and litigation on this issue, with Congress debating the regulation of disconnection and reduced working hours. Companies that structure their hybrid work policies now will have a head start. Our firm supports companies on both fronts: preventively, by reviewing contracts, telework and disconnection policies, adapting working hours control, and integrating the topic into the PGR (Brazilian Labor Law), and in litigation, by defending against administrative proceedings, civil investigations by the Labor Prosecutor's Office, and lawsuits involving overtime, on-call pay, and compensation claims.

Article written by: Rafael Mello, Israel Cruz and Ana Vasconcelos.