Illness Caused by Harassment at a Bank and the B91 Work-Injury Benefit

This page is a translation of the original Portuguese text, provided for convenience. It deals with Brazilian law. If there is any discrepancy, the Portuguese version prevails. Read the original in Portuguese

A bank employee who becomes ill because of workplace bullying and abusive pressure to hit targets is entitled to the work-injury version of the disability benefit, known as B91, rather than the ordinary version. Once a link between the illness and the workplace is established, INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute) must grant the work-injury benefit. It guarantees FGTS (Brazil’s Severance Indemnity Fund) deposits throughout the leave and twelve months of job security after you are discharged to return to work, without changing the formula used to calculate the monthly amount.

Why a bank employee’s illness counts as a work-related injury

Brazilian social security law treats an occupational illness the same way it treats a workplace accident. Article 20 of Law 8.213/91 puts on equal legal footing the worker who suffers a physical injury and the worker whose health is quietly worn down by the conditions in which the job is performed. Disorders such as depression, generalized anxiety and burnout fall into this category when they originate in the workplace.

Banking is fertile ground for this kind of illness. Aggressive demands for results, public performance rankings, veiled threats of dismissal and organizational bullying produce psychological distress that occupational medicine has recognized for decades. When an illness grows out of these dynamics, it stops being a personal matter and becomes a hazard of the job itself.

The practical difference is decisive. The ordinary temporary disability benefit carries the code B31. When the illness is connected to work, the same benefit carries the code B91 and comes with a set of protections that B31 does not offer. That is why the correct classification is not a bureaucratic detail. It is what separates the insured worker who is protected from the one who is left without support.

How to prove the link between the illness and the bank

The link can be recognized in two ways. The first is the Epidemiological Technical Link (Nexo Técnico Epidemiológico), provided for in Article 21-A of Law 8.213/91. It presumes a connection to work when the illness is statistically common in the employer’s line of business. Once that presumption applies, the burden of proving there was no connection shifts to INSS and the employer, not to the worker.

The second is the individual link, determined by the medical examiner based on the insured person’s history. Reports from your psychiatrist and psychologist carry weight here, along with how your condition has progressed, any earlier leaves of absence, and a concrete description of your daily routine of targets and demands. The more detailed your documentation, the less room the agency has to classify the illness as ordinary.

A key document is the Work Accident Report, known as the CAT (Comunicação de Acidente de Trabalho). Many banks refuse to issue it so they will not have to acknowledge that the problem is work-related. That refusal does not close the door: under Article 22 of Law 8.213/91, the insured worker, the union, the treating physician or a dependent can issue the CAT. The document is important evidence of the link and should be filed from the very beginning.

It is also worth gathering messages demanding results, target spreadsheets, internal communications and statements from coworkers. This material shows the pressure in the workplace and supports the argument that the illness was caused by work, not by something outside it.

Your employment record at the institution also carries weight, including transfers, changes in role, performance reviews and records of short, repeated absences. Together, these show a pattern of declining health over time and help the medical examiner see the occupational origin of your condition, rather than an isolated episode unrelated to work.

Classifying the benefit correctly is not a bureaucratic detail: it is what separates the protected insured worker from the worker left without support.

Once you have built this body of evidence, the next step is to understand exactly what recognition of B91 adds to the life of a worker on leave.

What changes with B91: FGTS and job security

The first advantage is the Severance Fund. During an ordinary leave, the employer does not make FGTS deposits. During a work-injury leave, deposits remain mandatory for the entire period, under Article 15, paragraph 5, of Law 8.036/90. For someone who is away from work for months or years, this makes a significant difference in the account balance.

The second advantage is job security. Article 118 of Law 8.213/91 guarantees a worker who returns from a work-injury benefit that the employment contract will be maintained for at least twelve months after discharge. During that period, dismissal without cause is prohibited. This protects the most vulnerable moment, when you are still getting back into the rhythm of work.

Keep in mind that these guarantees apply both to private-sector bank employees governed by the CLT (Brazil’s Consolidated Labor Laws) and to employees of public financial institutions governed by the CLT. What defines the protection is the work-injury nature of the leave, established by the link to work, not the size or type of the employer.

It is important to dispel a common concern. Choosing the work-injury category does not reduce the amount of the benefit. The initial monthly amount follows the same calculation formula, whether it is B31 or B91. What changes are the additional protections, FGTS deposits and job security, which are added to the benefit without any reduction in the amount you receive.

There is also a relevant effect if your condition worsens. If the disability becomes permanent, the work-injury classification carries over to the permanent disability retirement, preserving the record that your illness was linked to work.

Step by step to secure the work-injury benefit

The first step is to seek treatment and document everything. Appointments, medical reports, prescriptions and statements form the backbone of your claim. The medical report should describe the diagnosis, the disability and, whenever possible, the connection to your work at the bank.

The second step is to have the CAT filed, even if your employer refuses. When it is issued by any of the people the law authorizes, it signals to INSS that the illness is work-related and guides the medical examination in that direction.

The third step is to apply for the benefit and attend the medical examination well prepared. Bringing your complete set of documents, explaining your routine of targets and pressure, and expressly asking for classification as a work-injury benefit greatly increases the chance of receiving the B91 code from the start.

If INSS grants the benefit as ordinary, you can file an administrative appeal with the Social Security Appeals Council (Conselho de Recursos da Previdência Social) to change the category. If the denial stands, a lawsuit allows you to contest the link and secure all the work-injury protections, including retroactively.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do depression and anxiety qualify for B91?

Yes, as long as the illness originates in the workplace. Mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and burnout are treated as occupational illnesses when they result from the conditions of the job, such as pressure to meet targets and bullying at the bank. Once that link is established, the benefit must be granted as a work-injury benefit.

Is the bank required to issue the CAT?

The employer has a legal duty to issue the Work Accident Report. If it fails to do so, the law allows the insured worker, the union, the treating physician or a dependent to issue it. The company’s refusal does not prevent recognition of the work-injury nature of the illness, nor does it harm your right to the benefit.

Does receiving B91 pay less than B31?

No. The monthly amount of the benefit is calculated using the same formula regardless of the category. B91 simply adds protections that B31 does not have, such as FGTS deposits during the leave and twelve months of job security after discharge, with no reduction in the amount you receive.

As informações deste artigo são de caráter informativo e não substituem consulta jurídica individualizada. Cada caso possui particularidades que exigem análise específica.