IEL Elite

Overview

A primarily employer-side practice, BMA’s labour and employment team regularly supports important multinationals and large domestic entities, including non-profits, with their workforce-related concerns in Brazil.

Cibelle Linero in São Paulo and Luiz Marcelo Góis in Rio de Janeiro co-lead the group.

Specialisms

The firm’s broad expertise in advisory matters is reflected in its regular advice to clients across a host of sectors. For example, Linero led the advice to BioMarin Pharmaceutical Brazil on an expatriation process and a special severance package. The latter needed to encompass a number of long-term benefits, including related stock options.

Similarly, the group was retained by petrochemical giant Braskem for assistance with a variety of issues, including D&I matters, remuneration, and a stock option plan.

The team also has a notable track record in advising on issues that pose a significant potential reputational risk, and urgent support. Work in this arena regularly consists of acting on highly confidential workplace investigations and disputes, including those involving workplace accidents, or violation of compliance programmes. Importantly, the team is able to work alongside the firm’s compliance and investigations practice to fully support clients.

A further area of prowess is labour relations. For example, Góis successfully acted for energy distributor Energisa in avoiding planned industrial action following a failure to reach an agreement during its annual collective bargaining negotiation in 2021. The strike would have halted the distribution of energy across the state of Mato Grosso, which is home to four million people.

In another example, Energisa appointed the team to assist with a dispute relating to its “bank of hours” system, after changes to the law in 2017 allowed companies to negotiate directly with employees rather than through unions. A union in the state of Tocantin challenged Energisa’s employee negotiations based on a provision in the collective bargaining agreement. The BMA team was able to reverse a lower labour court injunction that prevented Energisa from negotiating additional banks directly with workers.

Alongside providing day-to-day legal advice, the team also regularly assists clients with workplace training, such as in relation to sexual harassment.

Clients