Firms Notify 479 Collective Dismissals by September, Up 15.7 Percent, but Fewer Workers Lose Their Jobs Than a Year Ago

Employers in mainland Portugal notified 479 collective dismissals from January to September, 15.7 percent more than the 414 of the same months last year. Lusa reported it as the highest figure for the period since 2020, when DGERT's report to 30 September counted 521. The numbers come from the monthly report of the Direção-Geral do Emprego e das Relações de Trabalho (DGERT, the labour ministry's directorate for employment and labour relations), with data to 30 September.

More processes have not meant more people out of work. The dismissals concluded so far this year covered 5,539 workers, almost the same as a year earlier (5,544), and 5,294 of them were actually dismissed, 2.2 percent fewer than the 5,412 of January to September 2025. The other 245 either agreed to end their contract or were kept on through other measures.

Small firms and Lisbon lead

Small firms (10 to 49 staff) notified 216 of the 479 processes, micro firms 141, medium firms 86 and large firms 36. By region, Lisbon and the Tagus Valley accounted for 268, the North 137, the Centre 47, the Algarve 14 and the Alentejo 13. The series excludes Madeira and the Azores.

September itself was heavy. Firms notified 72 new processes, against 55 in September 2025, and 61 employers let go 669 workers, more than three times the 200 of a year earlier. Medium-sized firms accounted for 367 of them, Lisbon and the Tagus Valley for 376 and manufacturing for about half. Employers cited a reduction in staff in 47 percent of cases, the closure of one or more sections in 34 percent and the closure of the whole business in 19 percent.

What the Labour Code guarantees you

Under article 359 of the Código do Trabalho (Labour Code), a collective dismissal is the ending of contracts by the employer, at once or within three months, of at least two workers in a firm with fewer than 50 staff or at least five in a larger one, for market, structural or technological reasons. The employer must first inform the workers' representatives and DGERT, which joins a negotiation phase meant to cut the number of job losses, for example through retraining, shorter hours or early retirement.

• Notice: at least 15 days with under a year's service, 30 days from one to five years, 60 days from five to ten and 75 days beyond ten. If a couple are both dismissed, each gets the next tier up.
• Time to look for work: during the notice period you are entitled to two paid days a week off, and you can leave with three working days' notice without losing your compensation.
• Compensation: on a permanent contract, 14 days' base pay and seniority allowances per full year worked since 1 May 2023, and 12 days for earlier years (older contracts keep transitional rules for the years before that), capped at 12 months' pay or 240 times the minimum wage. Fixed-term and temporary contracts get 24 days a year. It must be paid by the end of the notice period.
• Challenging it: if you accept the full compensation, the law presumes you accept the dismissal. To contest it, you must hand the money back.

Because the dismissal is the employer's decision, it counts as involuntary unemployment, so workers with enough Social Security contributions can claim unemployment benefit.

Not the same as lay-off

A collective dismissal ends the job. Lay-off, which covered 3,756 workers in September, only suspends contracts or cuts hours for a set period: the worker stays employed, receives at least two thirds of normal gross pay and is protected from dismissal while it lasts.

DGERT's year-to-date figures are provisional and can be revised as this year's processes are completed.