A Síndrome de Burnout como doença ocupacional: a responsabilidade civil do empregador em decisões de 1° grau do TRT-21

Abstract

The increased incidence of mental disorders in the workplace lends legal relevance to Burnout Syndrome, particularly with the update of Regulatory Standard No. 1 (NR-1) and the syndrome's inclusion in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) under a specific code (QB85), which frames the clinical condition as an issue associated with employment or unemployment, in other words, an occupational phenomenon. This article aims to understand the recognition of Burnout as an occupational disease and its legal implications, such as the employer's civil liability, based on first-instance judgments within the Labor Courts of the Tribunal Regional do Trabalho (TRT-21). Methodologically, this is descriptive research with a qualitative approach, grounded in the deductive method. The procedure consisted of a literature review and documentary research in the TRT-21 jurisprudence repository. Data collection utilized the keywords “burnout” and “civil liability,” limited to the time frame from January 2024 to September 2025, resulting in a sample of 19 judgments submitted for analysis. The results indicated that, of the sample analyzed, only 26.3% (5 cases) were ruled in favor of recognizing the occupational disease. Expert evidence was the indispensable factor for the legal basis of the magistrate's decision in proving the causal link, due to the multifactorial nature of the disease. Therefore, a mere allegation or the existence of risk factors is not sufficient to hold the employer liable, for although the Brazilian legal system possesses a protectionist view, the judiciary requires a robust body of evidence.