Hiring employees in Brazil: documents, pre-employment exam and eSocial

The order of the steps matters

Each hiring step depends on the previous one. Without verified documents, there is no reliable data for the registration. Without the pre-employment examination, the worker cannot take up their duties. And without submitting the information to eSocial on time, the company is not compliant with the system's rules. A typical sequence is as follows:

• 1. Candidate approval and formal offer
• 2. Receipt and verification of documents
• 3. Pre-employment medical examination and issuance of the ASO
• 4. Employee registration and submission of the S-2200 event to eSocial
• 5. Contract signing and onboarding on the first day

Candidate documents

Each company defines its own list, but hiring generally requires documents that identify the worker and support the personal data needed for registration and for eSocial. Check each document carefully: an incorrect CPF (individual taxpayer number) or date of birth carries over into payroll and all other obligations.

Ask only for what is necessary. Brazil's General Data Protection Law (Law 13.709/2018) calls for limiting collection to the minimum required for the purpose (Article 6, III), and Law 9.029/1995 prohibits requiring any test, examination, medical report, certificate or statement relating to sterilization or pregnancy (Article 2, I).

• Identity document and CPF
• Work Card (physical or digital)
• Proof of address
• Dependents' details, where applicable
• Bank details for payment
• Proof of education and professional registration, when required for the role

Pre-employment medical examination (NR-7)

NR-7, which covers the Occupational Health Medical Control Program (PCMSO), lists the pre-employment examination among the mandatory examinations (item 7.5.6) and, in item 7.5.8, subitem I, requires it to be carried out before the employee takes up their duties. The result is recorded in the Occupational Health Certificate (ASO).

Schedule the examination right after the candidate is approved so as not to delay the start date. Any complementary tests set out in the PCMSO for the role must also be factored into planning.

Employee registration

Article 41 of the CLT states that, in all activities, employers must register their workers. Article 47 provides for a fine of R$ 3,000.00 per unregistered employee, plus the same amount for each repeat offense.

The registration must accurately reflect the terms of the contract: position, salary, working hours, hiring date and other conditions. The same data feeds eSocial and, through it, the worker's Digital Work Card.

Digital Work Card

Article 29 of the CLT, as amended by Law 13.874/2019, gives employers five business days to make entries in the Work Card (CTPS) of the workers they hire. With the Digital Work Card, regulated by Ordinance 1.065/2019, these entries are now made based on the information submitted to eSocial.

According to the eSocial portal, there is no separate procedure for making entries in the Digital CTPS: it is populated with eSocial data, and employers are no longer required to make entries in the paper CTPS for new events. As a result, the quality of the information submitted to eSocial is, in effect, the quality of the record in the worker's card.

Submitting the S-2200 event to eSocial

Hiring is reported to eSocial through the S-2200 event (initial registration of the employment relationship and hiring/entry of the worker). Under the eSocial Guidance Manual (MOS), the event must be submitted no later than the day immediately before the worker starts providing services.

When the company does not yet have all of the worker's data, the MOS allows the S-2190 event (preliminary registration) to be submitted first, within the same deadline, with the information completed later within the period set out in the manual. Deadlines may change between versions of the MOS: always confirm the current version on the official eSocial portal.

Checking the data before submission avoids corrections and inconsistencies in later obligations, such as payroll and the FGTS (Severance Indemnity Fund).

Employment contract and onboarding

Formalize the employment contract with the agreed conditions and provide the applicable internal policies. If there is a probationary contract, observe the limit in the sole paragraph of Article 445 of the CLT: it may not exceed 90 days.

Organize first-day onboarding: team introductions, system access, equipment handover and safety guidance. A well-run hiring process improves the new employee's experience from day one and reduces early turnover.

Common hiring mistakes

Many payroll and HR administration problems originate at hiring and only surface months later, in payroll, vacations or termination. Reviewing the points below before completing the process avoids rework and corrections in eSocial.

• Allowing the worker to start before the pre-employment examination
• Submitting the S-2200 after the worker has started providing services
• Recording personal data that differs from the documents
• Reporting a position, salary or working hours different from the signed contract
• Requiring documents or examinations prohibited by law, such as those relating to pregnancy

Final hiring checklist

• Documents received and verified
• Pre-employment ASO issued before work begins
• Employee registration completed
• S-2200 (or S-2190) event submitted to eSocial on time
• Contract signed and internal policies provided
• Data checked for the first payroll