Thus, all forms of violence and harassment arising within the labor relationship, as well as in other relationships directly related to it, are prohibited, regardless of the form of manifestation, frequency, intensity, or status of the person perpetrating them.
The Code provides a list of situations and spaces related to professional activities in which harassment is unacceptable.
These include the immediate workplace, located in public or private spaces actually used for the performance of the professional activity; ancillary spaces provided by the employer for the purpose of receiving wages, rest, meals, sanitary facilities, locker rooms or other similar spaces; in living quarters provided by the employer; during the employee’s travel to and from the place of work.
Harassment is now prohibited during work-related travel and activities, including business trips, training programs, or social activities organized for the benefit of work.
It is unacceptable through any form of official communication, including through the use of information and communication technologies.
The published regulations require employers to ensure a safe, healthy and violence-free work environment by developing and implementing internal policies to prevent and combat violence and harassment in the workplace, and by establishing clear and confidential procedures for reporting, investigating and resolving complaints of violence and/or harassment.
It is important to note that the employer develops and approves the content of the aforementioned internal policy depending on the capacity, nature of the activity and organizational structure of the unit. The internal policy should include, at a minimum, the following elements: purpose and general principles, relevant concepts and definitions, powers and responsibilities of designated persons or committees involved, procedures for reporting and investigating incidents of violence, applicable protection and redress measures, and mechanisms for monitoring, evaluating the effectiveness and periodically updating the policy.
All of these provisions are mandatory for employers with at least 50 employees in their unit. In turn, employers with less than 50 employees shall take reasonable and appropriate measures to prevent and combat violence and harassment in the workplace, in proportion to the number of employees, the nature of the activity and the organizational structure, while respecting the principles of prevention, impartiality, confidentiality and effective staff protection.
According to the document, workplace violence is: any behavior, act, deed, omission or threat, committed once or repeatedly within the framework of the employment relationship, as well as other directly related relationships, with the purpose and/or effect of harming the physical, psychological, sexual or economic integrity of a person.
Violence in the workplace includes physical aggression, intimidation, coercion, verbal or psychological abuse, sexual violence, digital violence, and any other form of behavior that harms the dignity, health or safety of a person, whether it is carried out by the employer, the employee or third parties.
Harassment at work, in turn, is any unwanted behavior, expressed in actions, words, gestures or other forms of manifestation, committed within the framework of the employment relationship, as well as in other directly related relationships, either singularly or repeatedly, and which has the purpose and/or effect of harming the dignity of a person and creating a hostile, intimidating, humiliating, degrading, offensive or insulting work environment.
Harassment may be motivated by any legally protected criterion, real or perceived, and may be carried out by the employer, employee or third parties with whom the person comes into contact in the performance of his/her work duties.
These provisions were approved by Law No. 194 of July 10, 2025 and published in the Official Gazette on August 14, but will come into effect on January 1, 2026.
