When you think of Portugal, you probably think of Fado music, port wine and Cristiano Ronaldo. We don’t blame you, but you might be surprised to know that it is also home to a strong, qualified workforce of over 5 million. Let us show you why and how you can hire and manage your remote team from this beautiful country.
If you’re considering hiring your next candidate in Portugal, you’ve landed in the right place. After helping hundreds of businesses onboard their remote hires, we have achieved excellent expertise in the country. Our team of experts and tech solutions will make this incredibly easy for you.
Fast-track your talent onboarding while ensuring 100% compliance with local regulations.
Receive process support by an experienced team of experts & pay your talent on time and in their local currency.
Calculate net salary in Spain post deductions and compare it with the salary in other countries instantly.
Send laptops and other devices to your remote employees in Portugal through our platform with just a few clicks.
Easily onboard your remote talent in Portugal through our Employer of Record (EOR) solution. Our subsidiaries and network partners make this process fast and 100% compliant.
UTC+0
22 days
€820
EUR
14 days
Monthly
The economy in Portugal has made a smooth recovery post-COVID19 and is continuing to strengthen. Portuguese workers are known for being hard working, adaptable and agile. While employment varies by region, nearly half work in service jobs. Salaries are on the rise, but are still below the EU average. The capital Lisbon is a tech hub and has a growing number of IT firms.
With an English Proficiency Index (EPI) of 614, there is a large number of English speakers in the country.
About 75% of Portuguese talent are employed in the service sector. This means that a majority of the workforce have professions in sales, food services, administrative support, education and healthcare. There’s also a strong focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.
Portugal’s workforce is becoming more qualified with time. This is due to younger and more highly-educated people entering the labour market. By 2025, the share of Portugal’s labour force with high-level qualifications will rise to 33% as compared to 24% right now.
Between 2000 and 2021, the share of 25-34 year-olds with tertiary educational qualifications in Portugal increased by 35%. Now, 47% of 25-34 year-olds have a tertiary qualification at the same level as the average across OECD countries.
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, lies along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost sovereign state of mainland Europe and is bordered by Spain. Its territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both of which are autonomous regions with their regional governments. Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the European Communities (EC) – now the European Unions (EU) – in 1986. *Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Portugal.
Lisbon
10.3 M
23%
Portugal has 13 mandatory holidays.
There is no substitute holiday system in Portugal, however, it is common to have a bridged weekend, so employees do not have to use their vacation days to enjoy a long weekend. Certain mandatory holidays can be observed on the Monday of the following week when declared by means of specific gazette legislation.
In addition to the mandatory holidays, the Tuesday of Carnival (March 1) and the municipal holiday of the locality can be observed as a holiday, declared by means of collective labor regulation or employment contract.
The holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2025.
National Holidays |
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National Holidays | ||
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Date | Holiday Name | Extra Information |
January 1 | New Year’s Day |
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April 18 | Good Friday |
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April 20 | Easter Sunday |
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April 25 | Liberation Day |
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May 1 | Labor Day |
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June 10 | Portugal Day |
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June 19 | Corpus Christi |
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August 15 | Assumption of Mary |
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October 5 | Republic Implantation Day |
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November 1 | All Saint’s Day |
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December 1 | Restoration of Independence |
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December 8 | Immaculate Conception Day |
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December 25 | Christmas Day |
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The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Portugal is 2 days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal or external review, directly leading to a time delay. If all talent data is available, the contract can be generated immediately.
Additional Information to be Provided to the Employees
The following information should be provided to employees:
The individual right to professional training;
Social protection regimes, including complementary and substitute benefits;
The parameters, rules and instructions in which the algorithms or other artificial intelligence systems that affect the employer decisions are based on, including the elaboration of profiles and the control of professional activity;
User identification in temporary work;
The annual number of hours worked, the annual number of full time work days, the period of work and the individual right to compensation during the period of inactivity, in case of intermittent work. ▪ The term stipulated on the contract;
In the event of termination of the employment contract, the formal requirements to be observed by the employer and the employee;
Method of remuneration payment, discriminating its constitutive elements;
Additional work regime, organization shift work regimes within the scope of normal daily and weekly working hours;
The designation of the celebrating entities of the collective bargaining agreement, if existent.
The information provided to the employee must be in written or electronic format. The employer must keep proof of transmission or reception until the seventh day following the beginning of the contract, in case of information contained in a) to e), h), i), o) and q) of article 106 of the Labor Code, or in case of other information within a month from the beginning of the contract.
The Right to Training
Employees are entitled to training. The employer must create a training plan based on the diagnosis for training needs of the employees. The training plan should be annual or multi-annual. The plan must specify the objectives, the training entity, the training actions, and the location and schedule of the training. It should also include the minimum number of annual training hours for each employee (40 hours per year), either through programs carried out in-house or allowing time-off to attend training programs outside on their own initiative.
NOTE: If the employer does not provide the training, the employee is entitled to receive the proportional amount corresponding to the non-taken training.
Portugal offers both fixed-term and permanent contracts (Law No . 7/2009, Article 139-192). The employment contracts in Portugal are quite unique in that there are two types of fixed-term contracts – one with a specified end date and the other with an unspecified end date. While fixed-term contracts must be in writing, permanent contracts can be written or verbal.
Fixed-term contracts can only be entered into for the satisfaction of temporary needs, objectively defined by the employer, and only for the period strictly necessary to satisfy those needs (Law No. 7/2009, Article 140).
NOTE: Companies with more than 250 employees can no longer contract fixed-term employees based on the reason for launching a new activity of uncertain duration or for starting up a company or establishment.
Fixed-term Contracts with End Date(Contrato de trabalho a termo certo)
This type of fixed-term contract is a temporary contract whose duration and time of termination are previously determined by the employer and/or worker depending on an event or deadline. The contract must be in writing (Law No . 7/2009, Article 141).
The duration of such contracts cannot exceed two years and can be renewed up to three times, with the total duration of the renewals not exceeding that of the initial period (Law No.93/2019, Article 148.1, 149.4).
If the maximum duration for such contracts exceeds two years or the number of renewals exceeds three times, the fixed-term contracts automatically convert to permanent contracts (Law No. 7/2009, Article 147.2A).
Expiry of Fixed-term Contracts with End Date
Fixed-term contracts with an end date (Contrato de trabalho a termo certo) expire at the end of their stipulated period or its renewal. However, the following prior notice must be given (Law No. 7/2009, Article 344.1):
Notice (By Employer) | Notice (By Employee) |
|---|---|
15 days | 8 days |
Fixed-term Contracts with No End Date(Contrato de trabalho a termo incerto)
This type of fixed-term contract is a temporary contract whose termination depends on an uncertain or unknown term at the outset. The contract must be in writing (Law No. 7/2009, Article 183).
The duration of such a contract cannot exceed four years (Law No.93/2019, Article 148.5).
If the maximum duration for such contracts exceeds four years, the fixed-term contracts automatically convert to permanent contracts.
NOTE: WorkMotion currently does not offer fixed-term contracts with no end dates.
Expiry of Fixed-term Contracts with No End Date
Fixed-term contracts without an end date (Contrato de trabalho a termo incerto) expire when the employer foresees an end to the term and notifies the employee of said expiration based on the following conditions (Law No. 7/2009, Article 345.1):
Contract Length | Notification Period |
|---|---|
Up to 6 months | At least 7 days |
Between 6 months and 2 years | At least 30 days |
Between 2 and 4 years | At least 60 days |
In the absence of any communication referred to above, the employer must pay the employee the amount of remuneration corresponding to the missing notice period (Law No. 7/2009, Article 345.3).
Temporary Work
Temporary fixed-term contracts can now be renewed up to four times. If the temporary employment agency does not have a license for the exercise of its activity, temporary work is considered to be provided under an employment contract without term. If the maximum possible duration of the contract for the use of temporary work has been reached, it is expressly forbidden the celebration of employment contracts, for the same workstation, of temporary employees or fixed-term employees before a period of 1/3 of the previous employment contract has elapsed, including renewals.
The duration of a succession of temporary employment contracts celebrated between different users and the same company or company that has a controlling or group relationship with it, or maintains common organizational structures, cannot exceed four years.
Permanent Contracts (Contrato de trabalho sem termo)
Also known as an indefinite employment contract, the permanent contract does not have a specific purpose, a fixed duration, or any pre-established term. Permanent contracts can be written or verbal.
The normal working period cannot exceed eight hours a day and 40 hours a week (Law No. 7/2009, Article 203).
Employers and employees may by agreement provide for an increase in the normal daily working period for up to two hours and the weekly working period for up to 50 hours, not counting the overtime work provided for reasons of force majeure. In a week whose working duration is less than 40 hours, the reduction may be up to two hours a day or, if agreed, in days or half days, without prejudice to the right to meal allowance (Law No. 7/2009, Article 205).
Exemptions from Working Hours
By written agreement, an employee who is in one of the following situations may be exempted from working hours (Law No. 7/2009, Article 218):
a) Exercise of an administrative or management position, or of functions of trust, supervision or support to the holder of these positions;
b) Execution of preparatory or complementary work which, by its nature, can only be carried out outside the limits of working hours;
c) Telework and other cases of regular activity outside the establishment, without immediate control by a hierarchical superior.
Rest Periods
The daily work period must be interrupted by a rest interval, lasting not less than one hour and not more than two, so that the worker does not perform more than five hours of consecutive work, or six hours of consecutive work if that period exceeds 10 hours (Law No. 7/2009, Article 213.1).
The worker is entitled to a daily rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours between two consecutive daily work periods (Law No. 7/2009, Article 214.1) and at least one day of weekly rest per week(Law No. 7/2009, Article 232). Exemptions from resting times can be found in Law No. 7/2009, Article 214.2-214.4. The period of 11 hours and weekly rest period must be taken continuously (Law No. 7/2009, Article 233).
Employers also have the duty to refrain from contacting the worker during the rest period, except in situations of force majeure (Law No. 7/2009, Article 199.A).
Overtime can only be provided when the company has to deal with an eventual and transitory increase in work and there is no justification for the admission of a worker. Overtime may also be provided in case of force majeure or when it is essential to prevent or repair serious damage to the company or its viability.
Overtime work is subject to the following limits, per worker:
Depending on the type of contract, the number of days vary. For a fixed-term contract, the probation period can be 15 days for a contract lasting less than six months or 30 days for a contract lasting six months or more. For a permanent contract, the probation period can last between 90 days to 240 days depending on the nature of the role.
The probation period may also be shortened by collective labor regulations or by a written agreement between the parties. It may even be excluded by written agreement between the parties.
Termination notice periods vary depending on the contract type, probation period length, contract length, and type of dismissal.
During Probation
Either party can terminate the contract during probation with the following notice periods:
Probation Period | Employer Minimum Notice | Employee Minimum Notice |
Up to 60 days | 0 days | 0 days |
More than 60 days and up to 120 days | 7 days | – |
More than 120 days | 30 days | – |
After Probation
Termination by employer
The employer can terminate the contract with just cause (i.e. job elimination, unsuitability) with the following statutory minimum notices:
Employees’ Seniority | Employer Minimum Notice |
Less than 1 year | 15 days |
At least 1 year and fewer than 5 years | 30 days |
At least 5 years and fewer than 10 years | 60 days |
At least 10 years | 75 days |
Termination by employee
The employee can terminate the contract immediately with just cause, or with the following statutory minimum notices without just cause:
Contract Types | Contract Length | Employee Minimum Notice |
Fixed-term | Less than 6 months | 15 days |
At least 6 months | 30 days | |
Permanent | Up to 2 years | 30 days |
More than 2 years | 60 days |
Every calendar year employees are entitled to 22 days of paid vacation. The period begins and ends on January 1, and vacations should be taken within this time slot, but they may be taken until April 30.
Employees can receive sick leave benefits from the fourth day of sickness from Social Security for up to 1,095 days, and for unlimited time in the case of tuberculosis. The employer usually pays for the first three days of sick leave. Daily sick pay is between 55% to 75% of employees’ reference income depending on the length and nature of their sickness.
All the parental leaves mentioned below are covered by Social Security.
Eligible mothers and fathers are entitled to a total of 120 or 150 days of paid initial parental leave, at 100% or 80% of the salary, respectively. This leave is increased in certain conditions.
In the case of initial parental leave exclusively for the mother, up to 30 days’ leave can be taken prior to birth, and 42 days leave must be taken following the birth.
It is mandatory for the father to take a parental leave of 28 days, consecutive or interpolated periods of at least seven days, in the 42 days following the birth of the child, seven of which are taken consecutively immediately after this.
After taking the leave provided for in the previous number, the father is still entitled to seven days of leave, consecutive or interspersed, as long as they are taken simultaneously with the mother taking the initial parental leave.
Prospective adopters adopting a child under age 15 are entitled to adoption leave of up to 120 or 150 consecutive days, at 100% or 80% of the salary, respectively. This leave is increased in certain conditions.
Type of leave | Description |
Prenatal leave | Pregnant employees are entitled to leave from work for prenatal consultations, for the time and number of times necessary. |
Leave in a situation of clinical risk during Pregnancy | A pregnant employee who is in a situation of clinical risk for herself or for her unborn child, and whose employer does not provide her with compatible work with her status and professional category, is entitled to a paid leave as deemed necessary. |
Leave for termination of pregnancy | In case of termination of pregnancy, the worker is entitled to leave lasting between 14 and 30 days. |
Leave to care for a child with a disability, chronic illness or cancer | Parents are entitled to leave for a period of up to six months, extendable up to four years, for the care of a child with a disability, chronic illness, or oncological disease. |
Leave for assisting grandchildren | An employee may be absent for up to 30 consecutive days, following the birth of a grandchild who lives with him/her in a shared room and board and who is the child of an adolescent under the age of 16 years. |
Bereavement leave | An employee may be absent for up to 20 consecutive days of paid leave following the death of their child, stepchild or spouse. |
Marriage leave | Employees are entitled to 15 consecutive days of unpaid leave for marriage. |
An employee shall be entitled to unpaid leave from work to provide unavoidable and essential assistance, to a child under the age of 12 or, regardless of age, to a child with a disability or chronic illness, up to 30 days a year or throughout the period of eventual hospitalization.
After the extended parental leave is exhausted, parents are entitled to consecutive or in parts unpaid childcare leave, up to a limit of two years.
The public employee is entitled to leave without pay for more than 60 days for training purposes.
Social security contributions are made by both employers and employees and cover sickness, occupational diseases, maternity, paternity, adoption, unemployment, disability, pension, and death. Employers contribute up to 24.4%, while employees contribute 11%, broken down as follows:
Portugal has state-sponsored free universal healthcare (Serviço Nacional de Saúde, SNS). Employers do not need to contribute additionally to health insurance besides the comprehensive total of 23.75%.
The Labor Accident Insurance under Statutory Benefits covers all accident-related injury claims for employers.
Unemployment benefits (Subsídio de desemprego) are cash benefits awarded to unemployed beneficiaries to compensate for the lack of remuneration caused by the involuntary loss of employment. Due to Covid-19, unemployment benefits ending in 2021 are, exceptionally, extended for another six months.
In Portugal, old-age pension is paid to beneficiaries who have reached the state pension age. The age for retirement is 66 years and four months for both men and women. The pension amount is determined according to the beneficiary’s social security contribution record and registered earnings.
The following benefits are all covered by Portugal’s social security.
It is an amount paid monthly, intended to protect beneficiaries of the general Social Security regime in situations of permanent incapacity for work. Disability is considered to be any disabling situation, of non-professional cause, which determines permanent incapacity for work.
A one-time benefit, to compensate the applicant for the subsidy for expenses incurred with the funeral of any member of his household or any other person, including unborn children, as long as he resides in the national territory.
Benefit granted monthly to the widower or person who lived in a situation of de facto union with the social pension pensioner.
