A celebração de acordos na seara trabalhista: análise do procedimento sob enfoque da autonomia da vontade das partes e do papel do magistrado na proteção do trabalhador hipossuficiente

Abstract

This paper seeks to examine the tension between the autonomy of the parties’ will and the nonwaivable nature of labor rights, highlighting the role of the judge in validating agreements in the labor law context as an essential mechanism to ensure bargaining equity and prevent harm to the disadvantaged party. For this paper, which adopts a qualitative approach, bibliographic research on the subject is carried out, also utilizing recent scientific productions that analyze the issue discussed herein, as well as a documentary analysis of a concrete case to better understand the nuances involved. The analysis shows that the asymmetry between the poles of the employment relationship is the focal point upon which the labor legal framework is built. From this structural inequality, the need for a normative system that establishes safeguards for the worker, traditionally considered the disadvantaged party in the employment relationship, becomes evident. Therefore, labor law emerges as an instrument of social rebalancing, mitigating the effects of this disparity and ensuring a minimum level of protection for the worker, without, however, hindering free enterprise and the organization of economic activity. As a result, it is understood that, in the context of negotiating an agreement, the employer holds the means of production and the ability to dictate the terms of the agreement, while the employee, in most cases, is in a position of economic and technical vulnerability. This reveals the Judiciary as a predominant element in resolving conflicts through consensual adjustments, and it should assume a supervisory role, capable of intervening in the negotiated agreement to ensure a balance of interests.