Working time control in Brazil: a practical guide

TL;DR: Working time control is the set of rules and records that keeps work inside the contracted hours and documents every exception. The time clock solves the record; it does not solve the email answered at 10 p.m. For people who work on a computer, complete control includes a rule on the workstation itself.

This guide is informational and does not replace the advice of your company's labor counsel, who knows the rules and collective agreements that apply to each role.

Most companies already keep some form of working time control. The difference is in what that control can prove. The time clock records that the employee left at 6 p.m. It does not record that they opened the laptop at home at 9 p.m. to finish a report.

That hour outside the record is the one that becomes a liability. This guide explains how to choose a recording method, where traditional control fails and how to roll out a control that also covers computer work.

What working time control is

Working time control is the set of rules and records a company uses to make sure each employee works within the contracted hours, and to document start times, end times, breaks and authorized overtime.

It has two halves, and companies usually take care of only the first:

Record the time worked (the time clock).
Prevent work outside hours that was neither authorized nor recorded.

A control that only records pays for overtime afterwards. One that also prevents stops it from happening.

Types of time clock record

Records come in three main forms:

Type	How it works	Note
Physical time clock	A device where the employee punches in and out	The traditional factory and office model
Software	An app, web system or time clock software on a phone or computer	The most common choice for office and remote work
Manual record	A sheet or time book filled in by the employee	Simple to start, hard to audit at scale

Which form your company can use depends on the rules that apply to each group of employees. Confirm it with your labor counsel before you choose.

Where traditional working time control fails

The time clock records what the employee declares. In on-site work with a turnstile, the declaration and reality almost coincide. On a computer, they do not:

The time clock closes, the computer does not. The employee clocks out and keeps answering emails, adjusting spreadsheets, finishing a presentation.
Home office erases the boundary. With no commute, the end of the day becomes "just ten more minutes", and ten minutes every day add up to hours every month.
The manager cannot see it. Unauthorized overtime does not show up on the time clock. It shows up later, in disputes nobody planned for.
The culture pushes. A message from the boss at 9 p.m. is a request, even if nobody says so.

The result is the worst combination: hours worked with no record, which the company did not pay, did not authorize and cannot prove did not happen.

How to roll out working time control in 7 steps

Map the real working hours. List the company's regimes (on-site, hybrid, remote, shifts) and who is in each one, including people whose role does not follow a fixed schedule, such as managers or those paid by output.
Choose the record. Define the type of recorder for each group (physical, software or manual) and, where the rules allow it, exception-based recording.
Write the working hours policy. Schedules, breaks, how to request overtime, who authorizes it, the hour bank (with the period allowed to offset it) and what happens outside working hours.
Define the authorization flow. Overtime only with a prior request and a recorded manager approval. Without a simple flow, nobody formalizes it.
Close the computer gap. For people who work at a workstation, a rule on the equipment itself: a warning near the end of the shift, a lock at the end and release only with authorization.
Communicate before turning it on. Explain why: to protect the rest of the people who work and the company from liability. A control announced as surveillance creates resistance.
Track the indicators. Review every month and adjust the policy by area.

Indicators to track

overtime by area and by person, authorized and unauthorized;
extension requests approved and refused by manager;
breaks within the shift and rest between shifts below the company's minimum;
records adjusted manually after the fact.

Working time control on the computer: how the Workday Assistant works

Fhinck's Workday Assistant covers the half the time clock does not: work on the computer outside authorized hours, with computer lock outside working hours by department and role.

Warning before the end: the employee is warned before the shift ends.
Lock at the end: when the shift ends, the computer screen is locked.
Authorized extension: if they need to keep working, the employee asks for the extension in plain language over WhatsApp; the manager approves on their phone and the request is recorded for audit.

The rules are configurable by area, role and period, with a flexible mode (a tolerance window before the request) for areas with operational variation. As a published reference result, CPFL cut unnecessary overtime by 91% (published case).

The time clock remains the official record. The Workday Assistant keeps the hour outside the record from happening without authorization.

Related tools

Overtime tracking spreadsheet (free template): to record and add up overtime per employee while the policy has no system yet.
How to reduce overtime in your company: a practical guide for HR and managers: the tactics for attacking the cause of overtime.
Overtime study: official data and real results: the official numbers on the topic.

Frequently asked questions

What is working time control?

It is the set of rules and records a company uses to make sure each employee works within the contracted hours, and to document start times, end times, breaks and authorized overtime. It includes the time clock record and the practices that prevent unrecorded work outside working hours.

Which companies should control working hours?

Any company whose employees work set hours should record them. Without a record, the company has no document to check the hours someone claims to have worked, and the larger the team, the more that gap costs. Whether a given role must be controlled depends on the rules that apply to it, so confirm it with your company's labor counsel.

Are there people whose hours are not controlled?

Some roles do not follow a fixed schedule, such as managers, external staff and people paid by output or by task. Which roles fall outside the control is a question for your labor counsel, who should check each role against the rules that apply.

Which types of time clock record exist?

A physical time clock, software on a phone or computer, or a manual record such as a sheet or time book. For office work, software on a phone or computer is now the most common choice. Which one your company can use depends on the rules that apply to each group of employees.

What is exception-based time recording?

It is the model in which only what departs from the regular schedule is recorded (overtime, lateness, absences), instead of every start and end time. Whether it fits your company depends on the agreements in place, so check that with your labor counsel before adopting it.

How do you control working hours for people who work on a computer or from home?

The time clock shows when the employee said they stopped; the computer may stay in use after that. For people who work on a computer, the most complete control combines the time clock with a rule on the workstation itself: a warning before the end of the shift, a lock at the end and an extension only with the manager's recorded authorization.