Brazil and Portugal expand workplace harassment and mental‑health safeguards

Brazil has updated its occupational health regulation NR‑1 to formally include psychosocial factors such as stress, burnout, harassment and workplace violence. Companies must now record, monitor and treat mental‑health indicators alongside physical risks within their Occupational Risk Management (GRO) and Risk Management Program (PGR). The change comes as the INSS reports over 500,000 annual mental‑health related leave certifications, making mental illness a leading cause of work absence.

In Portugal, the labour code defines workplace harassment (mobbing) as any insulting or unwanted behaviour aimed at disturbing, humiliating or destabilising a worker. The law obliges employers to adopt preventive measures, protect victims from retaliation and may impose disciplinary, civil or criminal penalties. Workers are advised to document incidents and can lodge complaints with the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT) or the Public Prosecutor.

Both countries are tightening legal frameworks to protect employee dignity and mental wellbeing, requiring organisations to shift from reactive to preventive approaches.