Employment law.in Portugal

It is the power the employer has to direct and oversee the worker's activity, giving instructions on how, when and where the work is done. It is the feature that distinguishes an employment contract from a contract for services and underlies the definition in art.º 11.º do Código do Trabalho.

It is the fixed part of the remuneration corresponding to the contracted activity for the normal working period, not including allowances, bonuses or other variable payments. It serves as a reference for calculations such as the compensation for termination of the contract.

It is the set of rules governing employment relations in a sector or company, as a rule resulting from collective bargaining, such as a collective agreement or a company agreement. It may set more favourable conditions than those of the general law.

They are additions to pay granted for the worker's length of service, as a rule provided for in a collective labour regulation instrument. They are added to basic pay and, as a rule, count towards holiday pay and towards the calculation of the hourly rate used as the basis for paying supplementary work (art.º 271.º do Código do Trabalho).

It is the time the worker undertakes to work, measured in hours per day and per week. As a rule it may not exceed eight hours a day or forty hours a week (art.º 203.º do Código do Trabalho), save for special arrangements such as the hours-bank scheme or a working-time adaptability scheme.

It is work performed outside the work schedule, that is, outside the hours the worker is required to work. It entitles the worker to a pay supplement under art.º 268.º do Código do Trabalho and, in certain cases, to compensatory rest.

It is the set of duties that defines the worker's position in the company and their status, determining rights such as the minimum pay for the role. The employer may only assign related or functionally connected duties within limits (art.º 118.º do Código do Trabalho).

It is the time of service counted from the start of the employment relationship. It matters for the probationary period, for seniority-based pay increments, for calculating the compensation on termination of the contract, for the notice period and, in certain cases, for the length of holiday.

It is advance notice of the intention to end the contract, given as far in advance as the law requires. It applies, for example, to termination of the contract by the worker (art.º 400.º do Código do Trabalho) and to the expiry of a fixed-term contract.

It is the sum owed to the worker in certain forms of termination of the contract, such as the abolition of the post, collective dismissal or the expiry of a fixed-term contract. On abolition of the post and in collective dismissal it is, as a rule, 14 days of basic pay and seniority-based pay increments for each full year of length of service, counting the fraction of a year proportionally (art.º 366.º do Código do Trabalho). Older contracts may yield higher amounts, because service prior to the 2012 and 2013 reforms counts, as a rule, at 20 or 30 days a year, by force of the transitional regimes. The expiry of a fixed-term contract, in turn, has its own rule, of 24 days of basic pay and seniority-based pay increments for each full year of length of service, likewise counting the fraction of a year proportionally (art.º 344.º).

It is the document the employer must provide at the end of the contract, stating the start and end dates of the employment and the role held (art.º 341.º do Código do Trabalho). It may only mention an assessment of performance if the worker requests it.

The label given to the contract is not decisive. What counts is the way the work is actually performed. The law lists indicators, such as the place and the schedule being set by the person the work is done for, the equipment belonging to that person and the regular payment of a fixed sum. Where some of these indicators are present, the existence of an employment contract is presumed (art.º 12.º do Código do Trabalho).

As a rule, only if it was made in writing, stating the specific and genuine reason that justifies it. Without that, or with a false reason, it is treated as an open-ended contract. There are limited exceptions, such as the very short-term contract (art.º 142.º do Código do Trabalho), which does not require written form.

Two years in total at most, adding the initial term of the contract and the renewals (art.º 148.º do Código do Trabalho). It may be renewed up to three times, but since 2019 the renewals, all together, may not last longer than the initial term (art.º 149.º). Once the limit passes, the worker becomes permanent. In practice, a contract with an initial term of six months can be renewed for at most a further six months, reaching one year in total. One with an initial term of one year may reach two.

It is a contract that lasts while the situation that gave rise to it continues, for example to replace someone on sick leave. It ends when that need no longer exists, with prior notice.

In an open-ended contract, as a rule 90 days, 180 for duties of special complexity or trust and for those seeking a first job or in long-term unemployment, and 240 for management posts. In fixed-term contracts, 30 days for those lasting six months or more and 15 days for shorter ones (art.º 112.º do Código do Trabalho).

As a rule either party may end the contract freely, with no reason given and no compensation. But it may not be abusive or discriminatory, and beyond a certain duration it requires prior notice.

As a rule, it does not start again from scratch. The time already worked there in the same activity is deducted from the new probationary period (art.º 112.º, n.º 4 do Código do Trabalho). For example, in a 90-day probationary period, someone who has already worked 60 may only have to serve the remaining 30. Someone who has already worked 90 or more may have no new probationary period. This also applies to a previous fixed-term contract, temporary work, contract for services or internship. For duties different from those already performed at the company, the employer is allowed to set a full probationary period.

This is called a falso recibo verde (a bogus self-employment arrangement): a contract for services that conceals a genuine employment contract. It is identified by the indicators in art.º 12.º do Código do Trabalho: place and schedule set by the beneficiary, the beneficiary's equipment and a fixed sum paid regularly, not depending solely on the result. Where some of these are present, an employment contract is presumed. You can report it to the ACT, which notifies the employer to regularise the situation and refers the matter to the public prosecutor (Ministério Público) if the employer does not comply. In that case, it is the public prosecutor that brings the action to recognise the existence of an employment contract (Lei n.º 63/2013). The worker may also seek recognition of the employment relationship on their own, through ordinary declaratory proceedings.

Within limits. The employer may assign duties not covered by the contracted activity when the company's interest justifies it and on a temporary basis, without prejudice to pay and category (art.º 120.º do Código do Trabalho).

As a rule, the employer cannot lower your category. A downgrade is only allowed in exceptional cases and always with the worker's agreement, and it further requires authorisation from the ACT when it entails a reduction in pay (art.º 119.º do Código do Trabalho). A demotion imposed outside those cases is unlawful.

A transfer is possible in certain cases, permanent or temporary, under art.º 194.º do Código do Trabalho. The worker is entitled to have the employer bear the additional expenses. In a permanent transfer, where there is serious harm, they may also terminate the contract with the right to compensation (art.º 194.º, n.º 5).

The schedule can be changed by the employer within the legal limits and with prior consultation. There are specific protections, for example for those with family responsibilities, which constrain changes that affect work-life balance.

It is an arrangement for organising working time that allows the normal period to be increased on certain days, to be offset by a reduction on others or by days off. It must respect the limits and the form of establishment provided for by law.

A working-time adaptability scheme only binds the worker if it results from a collective labour regulation instrument or from an agreement, within the legal terms. Without that basis, the unilateral imposition of variable hours does not bind them, so, as a rule, they can refuse it and keep the schedule they had.

As a rule, not without your agreement. Moving to part-time usually presupposes the worker's consent. There are specific situations, such as balancing family life, in which there is a right to request it.

Remote work requires a written agreement and has its own regime, including the reimbursement of additional expenses and the right to disconnect. The worker keeps the same rights as those who work on the company's premises (art.º 165.º e seguintes do Código do Trabalho).

It is the arrangement for holding management posts or roles of supervision and trust, which either party may end with prior notice. When the arrangement ends, the worker may return to the previous role, as agreed.

It is the temporary provision of a worker to another company, on conditions defined by law (art.º 288.º e seguintes do Código do Trabalho). It requires specific conditions and the worker's agreement, and the employment relationship with the original employer is maintained.

On the transfer of a company or business, the employer's position passes to the acquirer and the contracts continue with the workers' rights intact (art.º 285.º do Código do Trabalho). The transfer, on its own, is not grounds for dismissal.

As a rule, it does not directly force it, but it can make the commute very burdensome. As for the additional expenses, the serious harm and the possibility of terminating the contract with compensation, what is explained in the question 'Can I be transferred to another workplace?' applies.

The employer. The duty to ensure health and safety conditions in every aspect of the work rests on the employer, based on the prevention of risks (art.º 281.º do Código do Trabalho). It is an obligation that cannot be transferred to the worker.

Yes. The worker may stop working or leave the site when there is serious and imminent danger to their safety or health, and may not be penalised for it, provided they acted in good faith.

Yes. The employer is required to provide health examinations, at its own expense, carried out by the occupational physician. There is an examination at the start (on hiring), periodic examinations over time and occasional examinations when a reason arises. They serve to confirm that you are fit for the role and that the work is not affecting your health. After each examination, the doctor issues a fitness-for-work certificate, without disclosing clinical data to the employer.

It is, as a rule, one that occurs at the workplace and during working time and causes injury, impairment or illness that affects earning capacity. This area has its own regime and is dealt with on our page devoted to workplace accidents.

It can count. An accident occurring on the normal route to or from home and the workplace is, as a rule, treated as a workplace accident, within the applicable legal conditions.

Report the accident to the employer, seek medical assistance and keep all clinical documents. It is with those materials that the accident is reported to the insurer and that the compensation you may be entitled to is substantiated.

In principle, yes. The compensation regime applies to remote work. The workplace is then the one the worker chose, and working time is any period in which they were demonstrably working for the employer (art.º 170.º-A, n.º 5 do Código do Trabalho). The difficulty lies in proving that the event did not occur during a personal break.

Unlike an accident, which happens at a precise moment, an occupational disease sets in gradually, through prolonged exposure to risk factors of the activity. As a rule it appears on the official list, but a disease outside the list may still be compensated where it is proven to result directly and necessarily from the activity performed. The compensation may be handled through Social Security.

Yes. The employer must provide appropriate training on health and safety, above all on hiring, on a change of duties and when new equipment or technologies are introduced.

The employer. The personal protective equipment needed for the activity must be provided to the worker free of charge and kept in good condition, and its cost may not be charged to them.

They represent the workers before the employer on health and safety matters and are elected for that purpose. They follow the risk assessment, receive relevant information and take part in the consultation on prevention measures.

You may not be penalised for it. Retaliation against someone who exercises rights or reports irregularities on safety matters is prohibited. A dismissal resting on that ground is unlawful because it is based on a prohibited cause. If the report was made to the ACT, see also, in the block on entitlements, working time and harassment, the answer on retaliation after a report, which explains the two-year presumption in the worker's favour provided for in Lei n.º 93/2021.

The labour inspectorate (ACT). It oversees compliance with labour and safety rules, can bring proceedings for administrative offences under labour law, impose the corresponding fines and order the correction of hazardous situations at workplaces.

As a rule, 120 or 150 consecutive days, at the parents' choice, with the possibility of an increase when it is shared between the two of them (art.º 40.º do Código do Trabalho). The corresponding allowance is paid by Social Security according to the option chosen.

Yes. The father has the right and the duty to take exclusive parental leave, with a mandatory period in the days following the birth, under art.º 43.º do Código do Trabalho. At present it is 28 mandatory days, seven of them immediately after the birth, plus seven optional days taken at the same time as the mother's leave.

During parental leave the contract cannot be terminated freely. The post is kept for you and you have the right to return to your duties, on the conditions you would have had if you had not been absent. A dismissal in this period requires a prior opinion from the equality-at-work commission (CITE). If it rests on a fact attributable to you, it is presumed to be without just cause.

It is the female worker's right to daily time off to breastfeed for as long as breastfeeding lasts. In the case of bottle-feeding, either parent is entitled to the time off until the child turns one, provided both are in work. As a rule it is taken in two periods a day (art.º 47.º do Código do Trabalho), with no loss of pay.

A worker with a child under 12 or with a disability or chronic illness may request flexible working hours or part-time work. The employer may only refuse with a reason and a prior opinion from the CITE.

Yes. The law provides for time off to care for a child, up to 30 days a year for a child under 12 and up to 15 days a year from that age (art.º 49.º do Código do Trabalho). Some of that time off gives the right to an allowance from Social Security.

Yes. A pregnant worker is entitled to time off to attend antenatal appointments, as often and for as long as needed, with no loss of pay. The father is entitled to three periods of time off work to accompany the worker to those appointments (art.º 46.º).

Yes, on safety and health grounds. A worker who is pregnant, who has recently given birth or who is breastfeeding is entitled to be relieved of harmful tasks or conditions and to be temporarily removed from the post when necessary, with no loss of pay.

It is suspended. Periods when the contract is suspended, such as certain types of leave, do not count towards the probationary period, which resumes when the worker returns.

It should not harm those rights. The leave period counts towards length of service and does not, in itself, cause any loss of holiday.

There is specific protection. A worker who is pregnant, who has recently given birth or who is breastfeeding is exempt from night work for 112 days, before and after the birth, at least half of them before the expected date of birth (art.º 60.º). At other stages of the pregnancy or during breastfeeding, the exemption depends on a medical certificate. Wherever possible, there is a right to a compatible daytime schedule.

Yes. The Código do Trabalho extends parental protection to adoption and to prospective adopters, as well as to guardians and to anyone with minors in their care, with adaptations specific to each case.

You have reinforced protection. Your dismissal always requires a prior opinion from the CITE (art.º 63.º do Código do Trabalho). If it rests on a fact attributable to you, it is presumed to be made without just cause. Without that opinion, the dismissal is unlawful.

No. Dismissal without just cause is prohibited. It may only occur in the forms provided for by law and by following the corresponding procedure.

Culpable conduct by the worker, so serious that it makes it impossible to maintain the employment relationship (art.º 351.º do Código do Trabalho). It always requires disciplinary proceedings, with a written statement of the disciplinary charges and the right to a defence.

Do not let the deadline pass. The worker, either personally or through someone appointed to defend them, may consult the file and reply to the statement of charges within 10 working days, setting out their version of the facts and requesting whatever evidence they see fit (art.º 355.º do Código do Trabalho). The reply shapes what follows, so it is worth preparing it with legal support.

It is, in substance, what an English-speaking reader would know as individual redundancy. It happens when the post is no longer needed for market, structural or technological reasons, with no compatible alternative post. The abolition has to be genuine. It gives the right to compensation and access to unemployment benefit, since it is involuntary unemployment.

Broadly the equivalent of a collective redundancy, it is the termination of several contracts at the same time, for the same reasons as the abolition of a post. It has its own procedure, with an information and negotiation stage. The compensation follows the same rules as the abolition of the post.

In cases where just cause is lacking or the reason relied on is not proven. Also when the procedure was carried out improperly or when the dismissal rests on a prohibited ground, such as discrimination, pregnancy or retaliation.

To back pay for the period up to the decision and to reinstatement in the post with your length of service, or to compensation in lieu of reinstatement (art.º 389.º e seguintes do Código do Trabalho). Unemployment benefit or other support you received in that period is deducted from that pay, as the two cannot be combined (art.º 390.º).

As a rule the choice is yours. In certain cases, such as micro-enterprises or management posts, the employer may ask the court to set aside reinstatement, by showing serious harm.

As a rule, 60 days from receipt of the dismissal notice (art.º 387.º do Código do Trabalho). In collective dismissal the deadline is six months (n.º 2 do art.º 388.º). These are strict time limits. Once they pass, the right to challenge the dismissal is lost.

A request is filed on a dedicated form at the labour court. From there the case proceeds to the review of the dismissal. Respond without delay, because the 60-day time limit for challenging the dismissal is strict and cannot be extended. The form, though it looks simple, shapes the rest of the case, so there is an advantage in preparing it with a lawyer from day one.

Assess it before signing, because the agreement usually includes a waiver that closes off future claims. If the signatures are not authenticated in person, as a rule you can withdraw from the agreement by written notice up to the seventh day after it is signed (art.º 350.º do Código do Trabalho). Also consider the effect on unemployment benefit. Faced with a proposal like this, it is worth having a lawyer look at the wording and the figures before replying to the company, to weigh the amount offered against what you would be giving up.

Keep the written statement of disciplinary charges and the dismissal decision. You have 60 days, from receipt of the decision, to challenge the dismissal in court (art.º 387.º do Código do Trabalho). If the court finds there was no just cause or that the procedure was invalid, the dismissal is unlawful. In addition, within the 5 working days following receipt of the decision you may ask the court for the interim suspension of the dismissal (art.º 386.º do Código do Trabalho, art.º 34.º e seguintes do Código de Processo do Trabalho), a measure that also covers disciplinary dismissal. Once the suspension is granted, as a rule you continue to receive pay while the action runs. As this 5-working-day deadline is short, it is advisable to speak to a lawyer as soon as you receive the decision.

It depends on the type of dismissal. If it is unlawful and you opt for compensation, the court sets between 15 and 45 days of basic pay and seniority-based pay increments for each full year or fraction of length of service, with a minimum of three months of that pay (art.º 391.º do Código do Trabalho). In the abolition of a post or in collective dismissal, what you receive is the compensation for termination of the contract, calculated under art.º 366.º do Código do Trabalho and explained in the answer about that compensation, in the essential definitions.

You can be, but not for being ill. Sick leave suspends the contract (art.º 296.º do Código do Trabalho). Illness, on its own, is not just cause for dismissal (STJ ruling on dismissal and illness). That does not give you complete immunity. The employer may end the contract on a separate and proven ground, such as a disciplinary reason or the abolition of the post, following the corresponding procedure (art.º 295.º). A dismissal driven by the illness, however, tends to be unlawful.

If you resign, no. Termination by the worker counts as voluntary unemployment and does not entitle you to the benefit. A termination by mutual agreement only gives the right to benefit in certain cases, when it invokes a ground that would allow collective dismissal or abolition of a post, and within a quota that the law sets per company every three years (art.º 10.º, n.º 4 do Decreto-Lei n.º 220/2006). Before signing, look carefully at the proposed termination by mutual agreement, and in particular at the ground it states.

Yes. When you resign, you must give written notice, 30 days in advance if you have up to two years of length of service or 60 days if you have more than two years (art.º 400.º do Código do Trabalho). If you do not, you owe the employer the basic pay and seniority-based pay increments for the notice period not given (art.º 401.º).

Keep everything in writing and do not sign anything under pressure. Ask for a copy of the letter and the dismissal decision, gather the contract, the payslips and the communications with the company, and note the dates. Do not return any property straight away. Respond within the deadlines, which are short. You have 60 days to challenge the dismissal in court (art.º 387.º do Código do Trabalho) and only 5 working days to apply for the interim suspension, which tends to keep the salary going while the action runs (art.º 386.º).

They are three different ways of ending the contract. Dismissal comes from the employer and must have a ground and a procedure. Resignation (denúncia) comes from the worker, who leaves on their own initiative, with prior notice and normally with no right to compensation. Termination with just cause, close to what many readers will know as constructive dismissal, also comes from the worker, but because the employer committed a serious breach, such as unpaid wages or harassment. Where that breach is proven, it may give the right to compensation (art.º 394.º e 396.º do Código do Trabalho). The deadline to do so is short and is explained in the question about the deadline to terminate the contract with just cause, in the block on entitlements, working time and harassment.

Sums the employer owes you by reason of the contract: wages, holiday and the holiday allowance, the Christmas allowance, overtime, commissions. They fall due mainly at the end of the contract.

One year from the day after the end of the contract (art.º 337.º do Código do Trabalho). Once that period passes, the claim becomes time-barred and the debtor can refuse to pay on that ground. Do not let it drag on.

Yes. Where the employer is declared insolvent or is in a special corporate recovery procedure (PER), the Fundo de Garantia Salarial (IGFSS) pays the overdue entitlements, up to six months of pay and with a ceiling of three times the minimum wage per month (art.º 3.º do regime anexo ao Decreto-Lei n.º 59/2015). The claim must be made within one year of the termination of the contract.

Within certain limits and situations, yes. But supplementary work, as a rule, gives the right to a pay supplement (art.º 268.º do Código do Trabalho) and sometimes to compensatory rest.

As a rule, 22 working days a year, with no loss of pay, plus the holiday allowance. Special rules apply to how holiday accrues in the year you are hired.

Pay cannot, in principle, be reduced. It may only be lowered in the situations the law expressly allows. A reduction imposed outside those cases is unlawful.

Unwanted conduct, as a rule repeated, that disturbs the person, affects their dignity or creates a hostile or humiliating environment (art.º 29.º do Código do Trabalho). It is the pattern that counts, not just an isolated episode (STJ ruling on workplace harassment).

Evidence is the critical point. Gather messages, e-mails, written instructions, records of duties taken away and the names of anyone who can testify. The earlier you start, the better.

You can, where there are facts and sufficient evidence. Harassment is prohibited by law (art.º 29.º do Código do Trabalho) and may give the right to compensation, constitute a very serious administrative offence under labour law and be grounds for terminating the contract with just cause. Before proceeding, the most important thing is to gather the evidence: messages, e-mails, witnesses and medical reports where there is an impact on health. Then you weigh up the safest route, from an internal complaint and a report to the ACT through to court action.

Yes. It is prohibited to retaliate against someone who reports an infringement, a protection that has no time limit and that also covers anyone who assists them in the process (art.º 21.º da Lei n.º 93/2021, com o art.º 6.º, n.º 4). What the law sets at two years is a presumption in your favour. Any harmful act carried out in the two years following the report is presumed to be retaliatory, and it falls to the employer to prove it had another justification. After that period retaliation remains prohibited, but the automatic presumption no longer applies, so it then falls to the worker to show the link to the report.

The notice, in writing and setting out the facts, must be given within 30 days from becoming aware of the facts (art.º 395.º do Código do Trabalho). Special rules apply where wages are unpaid.

In the labour courts, with their own rules and often an initial hearing of the parties at which the judge seeks conciliation. Before that, many cases are settled by agreement.

As a rule, no. Labour proceedings were designed to be faster than ordinary ones, but a party cannot dictate the pace to the court and there is no application to expedite as there is in criminal proceedings. What is within your control is keeping the case well prepared (contract, payslips, communications) and responding quickly to whatever the court asks, so as not to add further delay. The same goes for the lawyer. Justice takes its own time and cannot be hurried.

You can, but it rarely helps and can prove costly. As that mechanism is not provided for in procedural law, an application merely demanding speed risks being held manifestly unfounded and giving rise to an exceptional penalty charge, a monetary penalty for those who use groundless procedural means (art.º 531.º do Código de Processo Civil, applicable to labour proceedings). As a rule, it is not worth it.

Yes. The right to a decision within a reasonable time is in the Constitution (art.º 20.º, n.º 4) and in the European Convention on Human Rights. An abnormal delay attributable to the justice system may give the right to compensation from the State (Lei n.º 67/2007). It does not speed up the case, but it compensates for the harm caused by the delay. It becomes time-barred after three years.

Preferably before signing anything or letting a deadline run. Having a lawyer alongside you helps you respond within the deadlines (such as the 60 days to challenge a dismissal) and gather the evidence that supports the claim.

The fees vary with the complexity of the case and the stage it is at. At NAA, the first consultation is 90 euros (VAT included), with no commitment to proceed. Anyone without the means to bear the costs may apply to Social Security for legal aid. On that route, however, they are assigned the lawyer that the Portuguese Bar Association appoints. How fees are set is developed in the article on how much a lawyer costs in Portugal.

Bring everything that helps make sense of the situation and work out the deadlines. As a rule, the employment contract, the payslips, the dismissal letter or the written statement of disciplinary charges, the messages and e-mails exchanged with the company, the schedule sheets and any agreement that has been proposed to you. The more complete the picture, the more concrete the advice can be.

There is no such title as the "best lawyer". What the Portuguese Bar Association recognises is a specialisation in Employment Law, with demanding requirements for registration and proven practice. In day-to-day terms, in a dismissal what counts is experience in challenges and a firm command of the deadlines, which are short and unforgiving. When choosing, weigh above all the concrete experience in cases similar to yours and the availability to act within those deadlines.