Law 21,822, published in the Official Gazette on June 1, 2026, incorporates into the Labor Code a new regime on the employment contract of the older worker. The law enshrines the right to work of people aged 60 or older and creates a set of flexibility tools that employers and workers may agree on. It takes effect on June 1, 2027.
If you have or will have workers aged 60 or older in your workforce, the new regime changes the conversations about duties, working hours, and job continuity. Twelve months to prepare well.
What changed
On June 1, 2026, the Official Gazette published Law 21,822, the Comprehensive Law on Older Persons and the Promotion of Dignified, Active, and Healthy Aging. The rule establishes a broad framework of rights aimed at promoting active aging, with a specific block on employment that has direct consequences for employers.
The law incorporates into the Labor Code a new Chapter XI, "On the contract of the older worker." In its article 15 it recognizes that "older persons have the right to dignified and decent work, with equal opportunities and treatment relative to others," and provides that the State must protect that right and eradicate discriminatory conduct based on age.
The core of the new regime consists of four tools or rules relevant to the employer and to the worker aged 60 or older.
Compatibility of duties. The duties agreed in the contract must be compatible with the physical condition and capabilities of the older worker, taking into account the requirements of the position and the general duty of protection that falls on the employer.
Flexible working hours. The parties may agree on time-band systems with different start and end times, or free-choice arrangements within agreed limits.
Agreed suspension of the contract. Employer and worker may agree to temporarily suspend the effects of the employment relationship. During the suspension, the worker does not provide services or receive remuneration, but retains seniority and the rights derived from the employment relationship. The worker may also provide services to other employers during that period.
Early use of vacation. Older workers may take their proportional vacation from the seventh month of service, without being subject to the general rules of fractioning of the Labor Code.
Hiring before age 60. If a worker acquires the status of older worker during the term of their contract, they will continue to be governed by their prior terms and conditions, unless the parties agree to adopt the new chapter.
The new regime takes effect on June 1, 2027. In addition, within one year of publication, the Ministry of Social Development and Family must issue the new regulations corresponding under the law.
What it may mean for your company
Several tools of the new regime operate on the basis of the parties' agreement. Flexible hours, suspension of the contract's effects, and early use of vacation are configured within the contract or through agreements between employer and worker. But that framing should not be confused with a total absence of requirements. If the contract adopts the new chapter, the duties of the older worker must be compatible with their physical condition and capabilities.
There is another, no less relevant angle. Article 15 of the law establishes that the State, through the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, will encourage employers to adopt people-management policies or strategies with a full-work-cycle perspective. The matters it expressly identifies are recruitment, professional development, working conditions, training and improvement, knowledge transfer, intergenerational cooperation, and transition to retirement. The law does not create a direct sanction for not having these policies, but the regulatory direction is already set.
What this implies in practice is simple. If your company has workers aged 60 or older, or if part of your workforce will reach that threshold in the coming years, you have twelve months to review how you will manage these conversations. The compatibility of duties, in particular, has a protective dimension for the employer. If you keep or hire an older person in a position with physical demands incompatible with their condition and do not assess adequate measures, that breach of the duty of protection may lead to labor liability.
The agreed suspension opens a figure different from the current ones. The worker may suspend the contract and provide services to other employers during that period, without losing seniority with you. It is a tool that can facilitate gradual withdrawals and transitions to retirement, with benefits for both the worker and the company.
But that flexibility has limits the law does not define precisely. The rule does not establish in detail what determines that duties are "compatible" with the older worker's condition. That standard could be developed by regulations or administrative criteria and, in the event of a dispute, by the interpretation of the labor courts. Companies with workers in positions of significant physical effort should monitor how that criterion develops during the implementation period.
What you can do
The deferred entry into force on June 1, 2027 gives real room to prepare, but the schedule moves on its own.
Before December 2026. Map your current workforce and identify how many workers are 60 or older and how many will reach that threshold in the next three years. Identify positions with significant physical demands and assess how the compatibility of duties would operate in each.
During the first quarter of 2027. Review individual contracts and internal regulations to detect clauses that conflict with the new regime. Assess whether your recruitment, professional development, working conditions, training, and talent-management policies contemplate the work-cycle perspective the law promotes.
Upon entry into force (June 2027). Have a clear internal protocol that defines how to process requests for compatibility of duties, flexible hours, agreed suspension, or early use of vacation, and who negotiates them on behalf of the company. Improvising in these matters —with workers who have established seniority and labor protection— is not an option.
If you want to review the impact of Law 21,822 on your employment contracts, your internal regulations, or the structure of your workforce of workers aged 60 or older, schedule a diagnostic meeting with our team.
This content is informational and does not constitute legal advice.