Altos empregados: iguais aos demais?

Abstract

The world today witnesses the arising of groups and classes, of economic categories and elites, which require specific rules. Labor Law, despite its specialty, does not escape this context and, as a consequence, the most attentive jurist is responsible for identifying the cases which are not suitable to the general rules set forth in the Brazilian Labor Statute. Naturally, in the labor context, no other category assumes a more prominent position than that of the senior employees. Such employees do not have their own space they cross the gray zone between the employer and the employees and their interests are not similar to those of the other employees, which means it is not appropriate to establish a parallel between them. Quite the opposite, this type of employee is considered a real alter ego of the employer, holder of expertise and financial brain-power, with large monthly gains and vast knowledge in the area. For that reason, they do not share the same vulnerability as other types of employees. In fact, senior employees experience a reality so distant from that of other employees that some consider them to be excluded from the working class. However, if that is so, the question arises: should they be submitted to the same legal regime applicable to ordinary employees (and take advantage from it)? In answer to this question, the present study is organized in four different axes: (i) the historic context in which senior employees emerge, their development and the sociological differences between them and ordinary employees; (ii) the evolution of the Labor Law until the emergence of such category of employees, in addition to the new rules and interactions with other branches of Law arising from this evolution; (iii) the challenges and the deficiency of the traditional labor laws and institutes to govern these special labor relationships and, finally; (iv) a possible response by the labor legal system to the new reality of senior employees.