It is valid to change the employment contract from a celetista regime to an agreement with a legal entity when the worker does so of their own free will, without any signs of coercion.
With this understanding, the Regional Labor Court of the 15th Region (in the interior of São Paulo) upheld the appeal of a university center to rule out the recognition of the employment relationship of a coordinator.
The worker had been a permanent employee of the institution since 2014. In 2018, he began working as a legal entity after the employer, in financial difficulties, proposed that those in leadership positions with higher salaries switch to the new system in order to reduce labor costs.
The coordinator claimed to have understood that anyone who didn't accept the condition would suffer retaliation. However, the employer's witnesses stated that the workers were given the option. One of them even remained under the celetista regime.
As a result, the TRT-15 recognized the validity of the service contract and dismissed the other obligations imposed on the university by the lower court, which had recognized the employment relationship.
Acting for the employer was lawyer Naiara Insauriaga, from Barcelos Tucunduva Advogados. For her, success was achieved by proving the coordinator's hypersufficiency and the absence of subordination.
"The contract respected the legal norms and the flexibility allowed by current legislation, which recognizes the autonomy of the parties in the choice of contracting modalities."
Click here to read the judgment
Processo 0011433-85.2022.5.15.0034
Source: Conjur