This article is about Brazilian labor law (CLT, NR-1, Law 14.457 and related rules). It does not apply to other countries. The source texts are in Portuguese; this is a translation.
Unrecorded overtime is one of the most common claims in Brazilian labor courts, and it usually only shows up after the person has already left. Until then, the time clock looks right, and HR has no reason to suspect anything.
The bill that grows in silence
Overtime pays at least 50% more than the normal hour (CLT, art. 59). In a hypothetical example, with a normal hourly rate of R$ 20, each overtime hour costs R$ 30. If 10 people work 8 unrecorded hours a month:
- 10 × 8 × R$ 30 = R$ 2,400 per month.
- R$ 28,800 per year, before knock-on effects on vacation, the 13th salary and FGTS (severance fund).
And the person can claim up to five years back, within two years after leaving the company.
Why the time clock does not show it
Companies with more than 20 employees must record working hours (CLT, art. 74). If the time records are not presented in the lawsuit, the hours alleged by the employee may be presumed true (TST Precedent 338). But the time clock only shows what was punched: messages after hours, work before clocking in and lunch at the desk do not appear in it.
What changes with Amendment 141
Constitutional Amendment 141/2026 affects this math:
- The limit drops. Normal working time goes to 42 hours a week in December 2026 and to 40 hours in December 2027 (art. 6). Anyone who keeps the same schedule, with no adjustment, starts to have excess hours.
- Pay cannot be cut (art. 2). With fewer hours and the same salary, the hourly rate goes up, and overtime goes up with it. The R$ 20 in the example above is only a hypothesis: check the payroll calculation with your accountant.
- There is one exception. An employee with a university degree who earns at least 2.5 times the INSS (social security) ceiling falls outside the rules on working time and time tracking, unless a collective agreement or the company's own choice says otherwise (art. 8). It does not apply to public employees.
How to find it earlier
- Ask regularly: "Did you work beyond your hours? Was it recorded?"
- Ask without leading: with a "not sure" option.
- Cross-check reports with payroll: someone who reports overtime but has no paid overtime is the first case to look at.
- Fix the root cause: pay the difference and adjust the schedule, not just instruct the team.
In IP, this question goes out over WhatsApp, and the answer takes one tap. The quantity becomes a range, with no typed number, and reconciliation with time clock and payroll flags the mismatches.
Source: CLT (Brazilian Labor Code), arts. 59 and 74; TST Precedent 338; Federal Constitution, art. 7, XIII and XXIX; Constitutional Amendment 141/2026, arts. 2, 6 and 8
Informational content. It does not replace the advice of your lawyer or the company's occupational safety lead.