Reports of "pejotização" increased in the Campinas region Reproduction/EPTV Reports of "pejotização" in the Campinas region increased 52.4% from January to July 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT). In total, 93 cases were brought to the attention of the state agency in the first seven months of this year – an average of 13 complaints per month. In turn, from January to July 2025, 61 complaints were registered. ? What is "pejotization"? Pejotization occurs when a company hires a worker as a legal entity (PJ) — for example, through a CNPJ or an individual micro-entrepreneur (MEI) — to provide services. When this contracting is used to hide an employment relationship that, in practice, has characteristics of an employment relationship provided for in the CLT, it can be considered a fraud under labor legislation. In these cases, the company stops registering the worker and paying for charges and benefits provided for employees. ? Join the g1 Campinas channel on WhatsApp According to the deputy chief prosecutor of the MPT, Ronaldo Lira, cases have been increasingly reported by workers and the company cannot force the employee to work as a legal entity. "With this wave of 'pejotização', many people believe that they can hire anyone as a PJ. This is not true, because the law has not changed. The law remains the same. If the requirements of the law are met, he is an employee and can sign any contract he wants, which is a null contract and we consider it a labor fraud", he said. Differences Many PJ contracts are, in fact, "CLT in disguise", with typical characteristics of an employment relationship Getty Images via BBC Ronaldo pointed out that the services provided by a PJ and a CLT are different. According to him, the CLT, "as a rule, works eight hours a day, 44 hours a week and has a boss, he is a subordinate". The PJ, on the other hand, has freedom, but has "taken away all labor rights", such as payment of overtime, 13th salary and vacations. "The CLT is that worker who, if you remove it, the company won't work. The idea of ??the PJ is something supplementary, it's something that appears episodically, like a consultant, like someone who is there providing some service, but who is not part of the company's day-to-day operations", he explained. In some cases, the employee is forced to give up the CLT bond to be hired as a legal entity (the "pejotization"). "He continues to wear the company uniform, working for that boss, at that position," said the deputy chief prosecutor. Ronaldo also recommended that the worker seeks to find out, when negotiating a contract with the company, what rights are guaranteed. "The PJ does not have any labor rights and he will, of course, have a higher remuneration at first, but he will have taken away all the guarantees of the law, including social security", he warned. How to report Cases can be reported to the Public Ministry of Labor Reproduction/EPTV According to Ronaldo, when the worker identifies any irregularity in the employment contract or is forced to act as a legal entity, he must report it through one of these channels: Inform the category union about the situation; Forward the case to the Public Ministry of Labor, especially if it is a collective complaint; Hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit in the Labor Court. "This new wave is a new chapter in this universe of attempts to mask the work relationship, the employment relationship. But, therefore, I believe that this wave will pass too", he commented. VIDEOS: everything about Campinas and the region See more news about the region on the g1 Campinas page