Labor lawsuits on eSocial: major change goes into effect in October

A new change expected for October 2023 is bound to have a significant impact on employers: labor lawsuits will be required to be reported on the eSocial. This is another development that helps paves the way for the system to be consolidated as the only channel for providing information related to labor and social security.

Companies will be required to report information on labor lawsuits whose judgment became final and unappealable, regardless of whether labor obligations have been affected. This data must be supplied through four new events deployed on the eSocial, as detailed below.

New information, new eSocial events

New entries equal new events. Starting with version S-1.1 of the program, the following events will be implemented:

Starting date and deadline for supplying information

The above events will not be implemented until October 1, 2023. Hence, this date will serve as the starting point from which the corresponding information should be reported using the eSocial system. Therefore, the new events must be used to report:

• labor lawsuits whose decisions have become final and unappealable on or after October 1, 2023;
• In-court settlements ratified on or after October 1, 2023;
• Lawsuits where award calculations have been ratified by a labor court on or after October 1, 2023, regardless if the final and unappealable was issued at an earlier date;

• Settlements with the Preliminary Conciliation Commission (CCP) or Interunion Centers (Ninter) signed on or after October 1, 2023;
• Preliminary injunctions granted to enforce early compliance with a court order (in part or in full) issued on or after October 1, 2023.

As of the above date, the events must be filed by the 15th of the month following the date on which one of the following occurs: the judgment becomes final and unappealable; an in-court settlement or award calculation is ratified; an out-of-court settlement is signed; an agreement is entered into with the CCP or the Ninter, or a preliminary injunction is issued.

DCTFWeb will replace the GFIP

It should be noted that, once the labor lawsuit events have been added to the eSocial, all social security contributions due on account of Labor Court rulings, which used to be declared through the GFIP, shall now be reported using the DCTFWeb.

RFB Normative Ruling No. 2,005/2021 regulates the replacement of the GFIP-Reclamatória with the DCTFWeb, establishing that the latter must be used to report information related to final judgments and settlement agreements ratified by Labor Courts as of the October 2023 assessment period.

Employers should accommodate the new changes

Employers face the challenges of understanding the system requirements, meeting the deadlines, developing ways of monitoring processes of this kind, and thinking of all the implications that a lawsuit can have system-wide, all at the same time. Mismanagement can lead to a series of errors when supplying information to the government.

Companies will need to tighten the coordination of their legal counsels in order to ensure that information such as the final conclusion of the processes and the payment of the awards reach their in-office or outsourced Personnel Department personnel.

Not only that, but It is necessary to clearly define the ones in charge of submitting the reports through the eSocial. With a tight deadline in place and the information being due by the 15th of the following month, depending on the date of the court decision this task may prove to be a difficult one. Hence, it is clear that assigning the responsibility for carrying out the reporting duties is something that cannot be put off.

One should also be mindful that the data to be entered into the eSocial not only pertains to that of the lawsuits filed against the employers themselves, but also to those where they incurred in a joint or subsidiary obligation on account of the purchase of an outsourced service. This is yet another situation that requires close monitoring, as several parties might be involved.

Sanctions

Employers who do not conform to the requirements for supplying information within the deadline will be subject to the legal penalties in force. Fines for non-compliance can be as high as BRL 42,564 and may be doubled in case of recidivism.

eSocial compliance

DPC offers all-round solutions for labor and social security management, including eSocial support. By counting on our assistance, companies and domestic employers can ensure that they are in full compliance, as we adopt the best practices to avoid exposure to risks. Talk to the experts at DPC: dpc@dpc.com.br.