Backed then sacked on WhatsApp as Brazil cracks under remote work tasks

Back in 2009, romantic comedy “Up in the Air,” starring George Clooney, introduced to many the concept of remote firings. At the time, it sounded like a brutal, disrespectful way to terminate contracts. But in the Covid-19 world, this cold and impersonal way of transmitting the news has become increasingly common — not through video calls, but rather on WhatsApp. 

And in Brazil, there are no regulations against letting someone go this way. 

Due to the health crisis, many companies were forced to reorganize and adopt a remote working model in order to comply with social isolation rules and protect their employees. In addition to the work itself having to go online, communication between employer and employee also had to adapt. 

Some companies, especially those already dealing with digital technology in their day-to-day, have developed their own communication tools. Others started to use platforms that allow for video calls, such as Microsoft Teams and Skype. And others still have found messaging apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, to be the best solution.

Lawsuits concerning these tools have accompanied the shift. According to the Brazilian legal data platform Data Lawyer Insights, since March last year, 103,000 cases were registered with the keywords “dismissal” and “WhatsApp”, or “application” and “moral damages”. 

In addition, between November...