An employee at the Assaí Atacadista chain in Piracicaba (SP) reported having been fired for going to the bathroom without authorization after waiting for 1h30 without receiving permission. The company Sendas Distribuidora S.A., responsible for the wholesale network, was ordered by the Labor Court to pay R$50,000 in compensation for collective moral damages. There is an appeal.
In sentencing, the Court cites the restriction on the use of bathrooms by employees, deviations from their duties, psychological violence, irregular working hours and days off.
The worker's dismissal was reported by the Regional Reference Center for Occupational Health (Cerest) to the Labor Court during the process.
"One of the workers was fired after waiting 1h30 to go to the bathroom and, because she couldn't stand it, put up a sign and left the station," said Cerest.
To EPTV, an affiliate of TV Globo, the company said this Friday (6) that it was notified of the court decision and that it is conducting an internal investigation to clarify the facts and evaluate the appropriate measures, in addition to adopting the relevant legal measures.
The network guaranteed that it does not condone any form of harassment, disrespectful approach or undue restriction of employees' rights.
During the process, Sendas Distribuidora even denied any irregularities in the work environment (see the end of the report).
Series of reports
The conviction occurred as a result of a public civil action filed by the Commercial Employees Union (Sincomerciários) of Piracicaba in 2025.
In the decision, handed down on October 28th, judge Bruno Furtado Silveira highlighted a series of reports from employees.
Among them is that of another employee who highlighted having urinated on her clothes, while working at the establishment's cashier, due to the time she had to wait to go to the bathroom.
See below what employees report:
Restricted bathroom use
At least 24 male and female workers stated that they had to wait for a long time when asking to go to the bathroom, in addition to the narratives that one worker urinated at the cash register, while another left the cash register after waiting for half an hour and was fired for doing so.
Function deviations
Around 25 male and female workers stated that they had to perform other duties at the end of the shift, such as cashiers being required to replace products abandoned by customers on the shelves, searching for carts scattered around the site and in the parking lot, and cleaning the shelves during replacement.
Psychological violence
Twenty male and female workers stated that they had suffered or witnessed harassment at work, pointing to direct managers, such as cash inspectors, as the perpetrators of this conduct. Others:
25 of them stated that there is different treatment, with a portion being protected/favored by bosses and HR;
23 stated that management is rarely available to welcome or resolve doubts;
19 said that there is no opening for dialogue with HR;
11 claim to have received unjustified penalties;
29 of them were unable to meet the goals set by the company and are pressured to achieve them, with insults and humiliation, especially by cashiers and in front of customers;
Irregular working hours and time off schedule
It appears that the manager uses a scale he calls "intelligent", with the worker activating at different times. They also claim that the scales are not respected.
Attestations, absences and dismissals
According to the report, the manager justifies the deviations in function and sudden changes in schedule, due to medical certificates and resignations.
Company denied irregularities
In court, the company responsible for the wholesale network stated that there was no irregularity in its working environment.
The company denied the allegations of restricting the use of bathrooms, highlighting that there is only control by employers in relation to replacement.
She also ruled out any harassment, stating that there are mechanisms to combat and prevent role deviations and unpredictable work schedules.
