New law to encourage inclusion and retention of women in the workplace

At a glance

• Law No. 14,457/2022 came into force on 22 September 2022. There are a number of topics in the law which must be taken into consideration by employers.

Law No. 14,457/2022 came into force on 22 September 2022. Here we list the main topics to be taken into consideration by employers:

‘Employs + Women’ Program

Aimed at the inclusion and retention of women in the labour market, the Law adopts various measures to support parenthood. The program provides for:

• Early childhood day care reimbursement;
• Enabling more flexible work regimes (teleworking; part-time regime; individually agreed special work-day compensation regime via an hour bank; individually agreed 12×36 working regime; anticipation of individual vacations; flexible working hours);
• The qualification of women in strategic areas for professional advancement, such as, for example, suspension of the employment contract for professional qualification purposes;
• Support for the return of women to work after the end of maternity leave, such as, for example, with the suspension of the employment contract of the parents and flexibility in the right to extension of maternity leave, as provided for in the Corporate Citizenship Program;
• Facilitating government micro credit grants for women starting new businesses;
• A guarantee to pay female employees the same salary as other employees who perform the same function for the same employer;
• Preventing and combating sexual harassment and other forms of violence at work;
• SINE – Sistema Nacional de Emprego, or National Employment System will implement initiatives aimed at improving the employability of women who have children, stepchildren or legal custody of children up to 5 years of age; who are heads of single-parent families (female breadwinners who live without the company of a spouse or partner) or who are disabled or have a disabled child.

Measures to promote a healthy, safe working environment that favors the inclusion and retention of women in the labor market

In order to promote a healthy, safe working environment that favours the participation and retention of women in the labor market, companies with an Internal Commission for the Prevention of Accidents and Harassment (CIPA) must adopt the following measures, in addition to others they deem necessary, in order to prevent and combat sexual harassment and other forms of violence at work:

1. Inclusion of rules of conduct regarding sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the company's internal rules, with wide dissemination of its content to employees;
2. Establishment of procedures for receiving and following up on complaints, for the investigation of facts and, when applicable, for the application of administrative sanctions to those directly and indirectly responsible for acts of sexual harassment and violence, guaranteeing the anonymity of the person complaining, without prejudice to applicable legal procedures;
3. Inclusion of topics related to preventing and combating sexual harassment and other forms of violence in CIPA's activities and practices;
4. Carrying out, at least every 12 months, training, guidance and awareness-raising actions for employees at all hierarchical levels of the company on topics related to violence, harassment, equality and diversity in the scope of work, in accessible and appropriate formats that present maximum effectiveness of such actions.

The deadline for adopting the measures provided for in items I, II, III and IV above is 180 days after the entry into force of this Law.

In respect of justified absences

An absence will be justified, and must be treated as such by the employer,  where the time off is required to accompany the employee’s wife or partner to up to 6 medical consultations or examinations during the pregnancy period. Also, a period of 5 consecutive days shall be considered a justified absence in the event of a child's birth, adoption or shared custody, counted from the child's date of birth.

Benefits for companies that obtain the Employs + Women seal

The Law also creates the Emprega + Mulher seal to recognize good business practices in promoting the employability of women.

The legal entity that holds the Emprega + Mulher Seal may use it for the purposes of publicizing its brand, products and services. Its use for an economic group or in association with other companies that do not hold the seal is prohibited.