Employment Contracts, Pay, and Worker Rights in Portugal
Contract types, the 14 salary payments, your payslip, hours, holidays, probation, notice, and severance for employees in Portugal.
Last verified: September 2026.
Who this is for
- You work for an employer in Portugal on a Portuguese contract, whether you are an EU or non-EU citizen.
- You have a job offer and want to compare the salary, contract type, and probation.
- Your job is ending and you want to know your notice and severance.
Not for you if: you invoice clients as a freelancer. Read "Registering as Self-Employed (Recibos Verdes) in Portugal" instead.
Updated September 2026. Parliament rejected the government's labour reform on 19 June 2026, so the current Labour Code still applies.
If you work for an employer in Portugal, the Labour Code (Código do Trabalho) sets the floor for your contract. Your employer can give you more, but not less. You are paid 14 times a year, not 12. Your employer takes 11% for social security and withholds income tax each month. You get at least 22 working days of paid holiday. Your job is fully protected once probation ends, which takes 90 days for most people. Nothing here costs you money, and your rights apply from your first day.
Which contract you have and why it matters
Your notice period, your probation, and your severance all depend on the contract type. Check the heading of your contract first.
- Permanent contract (contrato sem termo). No end date. This is the default and gives you the most protection.
- Fixed-term contract (contrato a termo certo). Has an end date. It is only lawful for a temporary need, such as a seasonal peak or covering an absent colleague. It must be in writing and must state the reason.
- Uncertain-term contract (contrato a termo incerto). Ends when a task finishes or an absent worker returns, not on a set date.
- Very short contract (contrato de muito curta duração). For seasonal farm work or tourism events. Each contract lasts at most 35 days, with a total of 70 days a year with the same employer.
- Temporary agency work (trabalho temporário). You are employed by an agency and placed with a client. You have the same core rights as staff doing the same work.
- Part-time work (tempo parcial). Fewer hours than a comparable full-time colleague. Pay, holiday pay, and Christmas pay are pro rata.
Remote work (teletrabalho) is an arrangement, not a contract type. It must be agreed in writing. Your employer must pay the extra costs it causes you, such as higher electricity and internet bills.
Limits on fixed-term contracts
The law limits how long an employer can keep you on temporary contracts.
- A fixed-term contract can last at most two years, including renewals.
- It can be renewed at most three times, and the renewals together cannot last longer than the first contract.
- An uncertain-term contract can last at most four years.
If your employer breaks these limits, or gives no valid reason in writing, the law treats your contract as permanent. Keep a record of every contract and renewal date.
How the 14 salary payments work
Portuguese salaries are paid 14 times a year. On top of 12 monthly salaries, you get two extra payments, each worth one month's pay.
- Holiday pay (subsídio de férias). Paid before you take your holiday, unless you agree otherwise.
- Christmas pay (subsídio de Natal). Paid by 15 December.
A salary of €1,500 a month is €21,000 a year (€1,500 x 14). When you compare offers, check whether the monthly figure is based on 12 or 14 payments. The difference is about 17%.
Some employers split the two extra payments into twelfths (duodécimos) and add one to each monthly payslip. You receive the same total, but there is no lump sum in summer or December. Your payslip shows which method your employer uses.
The national minimum wage for 2026 is €920 a month for full-time work, paid 14 times. Your employer cannot pay you less, and a collective agreement for your sector may set a higher minimum.
Reading your payslip
Your employer must give you a payslip (recibo de vencimento) every month. It shows your gross pay (salário bruto), the deductions, and your net pay (salário líquido). Keep every payslip. You need them for loans, residence permit renewals, and your tax return.
Social security
If you are an employee, 11% of your gross pay goes to Segurança Social (social security). Your employer pays a further 23.75% on top, which you do not see on the payslip. These contributions build your pension and your right to sick pay, parental pay, and unemployment benefit. You need a NISS (social security number) before you start work.
Income tax withholding
Your employer withholds income tax (IRS) from each payslip, using official tables. The rate depends on your pay, whether you are married, and how many dependants you have. This is only a payment on account. The next spring you file your annual IRS return and get a refund or pay the difference.
For income earned in 2026, IRS rates run from 12.5% on the first €8,342 of taxable income to 48% on income above €86,634. Your tax residence status affects how you are taxed, so confirm it before your first payslip.
Meal allowance
Most employees also get a daily meal allowance (subsídio de refeição) for each day worked. In the private sector it is not a legal right. It comes from your contract or your sector's collective agreement, but most employers pay it.
In 2026, the meal allowance is free of income tax and social security up to these daily limits:
- €6.15 a day if paid in cash with your salary.
- €10.46 a day if paid on a meal card.
Anything above those limits is taxed like salary.
Hours, overtime, and the right to disconnect
If you work full time, your normal limits are eight hours a day and 40 hours a week. You must have at least 11 hours of rest between working days and at least one rest day a week. Collective agreements often set better terms, so check whether one covers your sector.
Overtime (trabalho suplementar) is capped. You can work at most two extra hours on a normal working day. The yearly cap is 175 hours in companies with fewer than 50 staff and 150 hours in larger companies.
Overtime is paid at a premium:
| Overtime | First 100 hours in the year | After 100 hours in the year |
|---|---|---|
| First hour on a working day | +25% | +50% |
| Each further hour on a working day | +37.5% | +75% |
| Each hour on a rest day or public holiday | +50% | +100% |
Your employer must not contact you during your rest time, except in cases of force majeure. This right to disconnect applies to all employees, not only remote workers.
Holidays, sick days, and parental leave
Annual leave
If you work full time, you are entitled to at least 22 working days of paid holiday (férias) a year. In your first year, you earn two working days per full month of work, up to 20 days, and you can take them after six months. You can split your holiday, but at least 10 working days must be taken in a row.
Portugal also has 13 national public holidays, plus one municipal holiday in most areas. Our guide "Public Holidays in Portugal" lists the dates.
Sick days
For a short illness, you can self-certify through the SNS 24 line or app. This covers up to three days in a row, at most twice a year. These days are excused but unpaid.
For longer illness, you need a sick note from a doctor. Social security pays sick pay from the fourth day, not your employer:
- Days 4 to 30: 55% of your reference pay.
- Days 31 to 90: 60%.
- Days 91 to 365: 70%.
- After 365 days: 75%.
Some collective agreements pay the first three days.
Parental leave
Parents can take 120 days of initial parental leave paid at 100%, or 150 days paid at 80%. If both parents share the leave, the 150 days are paid at 100%. The father must take 28 days of leave within 42 days of the birth, including seven days in a row straight after it. Our guide "Child Benefits and Parental Leave in Portugal" explains how to apply.
Probation: how long your job is not yet secure
Every new contract starts with a trial period (período experimental). During it, either side can end the contract without a reason and without compensation. If the trial has run for more than 60 days, the employer must give you seven days' notice. After 120 days, the notice is 15 days.
For permanent contracts, the trial lasts:
- 90 days for most jobs.
- 180 days for jobs with technical complexity, responsibility, or trust.
- 180 days if you are looking for your first job or have been unemployed for a long time.
- 240 days for senior managers and directors.
For fixed-term contracts, the trial lasts 30 days if the contract runs six months or more, and 15 days if it is shorter.
If you worked for the same employer before, in the same role, on a fixed-term contract, agency placement, or internship, that time is deducted from your trial period.
When the job ends: notice and severance
What you are owed depends on how the job ends. In every case, you are paid for holiday you earned but did not take, plus the pro rata share of holiday pay and Christmas pay.
If you resign
You must give written notice. You get no severance.
| Your contract | How long you have worked | Notice you must give |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent | Up to two years | 30 days |
| Permanent | More than two years | 60 days |
| Fixed-term | Less than six months | 15 days |
| Fixed-term | Six months or more | 30 days |
If you leave without notice, your employer can claim pay for the days you did not work.
If your fixed-term contract ends
Your employer must tell you in writing that the contract will end. On a fixed-term contract, it must give you at least 15 days' notice. On an uncertain-term contract, the notice is 7, 30, or 60 days, depending on how long the contract has run. You are owed 24 days of base pay and seniority pay for each full year worked, pro rata for part years.
If you are made redundant
Collective dismissal (despedimento coletivo) and elimination of your post (extinção do posto de trabalho) are lawful only for real economic, market, or structural reasons. The employer must follow a formal procedure. You are owed 14 days of base pay and seniority pay for each full year of service. Older service can count at different rates, and the law caps severance for high earners. The labour inspectorate (ACT) has an online calculator.
After a collective dismissal or the elimination of a post, the employer cannot outsource the same work for 12 months.
If you are dismissed for misconduct
Dismissal for just cause (justa causa) needs serious misconduct and a written disciplinary procedure. You get no severance. You can challenge the dismissal in the labour court. If the court finds it unlawful, you can choose to return to your job or take compensation.
If you agree to leave
A mutual agreement (revogação por mútuo acordo) ends the contract with a payment you negotiate. Be careful before you sign. It only gives you the right to unemployment benefit in limited cases, such as company restructuring within legal quotas. Our guide "Claiming Unemployment Benefit in Portugal" explains the rules.
Employee or self-employed
Everything in this guide applies to employees. If you invoice a company on green receipts (recibos verdes), you are self-employed. You get no 14 payments, no paid holiday, and no severance, and you pay your own social security.
If a company treats you like staff but asks you to invoice, it may be false self-employment (falsos recibos verdes). Signs include fixed hours, working at its premises, using its equipment, and taking orders from a manager. False self-employment is unlawful, and you can report it to ACT.
Getting help if your employer breaks the rules
- Raise the issue in writing with your employer and keep a copy.
- Check whether a collective agreement covers your sector. It may give you more than the legal minimum.
- If the problem continues, contact ACT, the labour inspectorate. You can file a complaint online, by phone, or at a local office.
- For a dismissal or a large claim, speak to an employment lawyer or a trade union. If you cannot afford a lawyer, you may qualify for legal aid.
Sources
- Código do Trabalho, Lei 7/2009 as amended, consolidated text on Diário da República: https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/legislacao-consolidada/lei/2009-34546475 (contract types, hours, holidays, probation, notice, dismissal rules)
- Lei 13/2023 (Agenda do Trabalho Digno), in force from 1 May 2023, summarised by ECO: https://eco.sapo.pt/2023/04/03/nova-lei-do-trabalho-entra-em-vigor-em-maio-saiba-as-principais-mudancas/ (24 and 14 days of severance, overtime rates after 100 hours, 28 days of father's leave, sickness self-declaration, teleworking costs, outsourcing ban)
- Government of Portugal, 2019 Labour Code changes (Lei 93/2019): https://www.portugal.gov.pt/pt/gc21/comunicacao/noticia?i=alteracoes-ao-codigo-do-trabalho-entram-em-vigor-no-dia-1-de-outubro (two-year limit on fixed-term contracts, four-year limit on uncertain-term contracts, 180-day probation for first-job seekers, 35 and 70 day limits on very short contracts)
- Government of Portugal, Trabalho XXI proposal: https://portugal.gov.pt/gc25/comunicacao/documentos/proposta-de-lei-trabalho-xxi (what the rejected reform proposed)
- Despacho, report on the vote of 19 June 2026: https://despacho.pt/guias/reforma-laboral-votacao-18-junho (rejection of the reform; current Labour Code still applies)
- CNN Portugal, 19 June 2026: https://cnnportugal.iol.pt/reforma-laboral/codigo-do-trabalho/parlamento-rejeita-reforma-laboral-proposta-pelo-governo/20260619/6a350747d34edcee7c657501 (corroborates the rejection)
- Lei 73-A/2025 (State Budget for 2026), IRS rates in article 68 of the IRS Code, as tabulated at https://calculoclaro.com/pt/tabelas/irs-2026/ (2026 IRS brackets)
- Montepio, meal allowance 2026: https://www.montepio.org/ei/mais-recentes/subsidio-de-alimentacao-os-valores/ (€6.15 and €10.46 exempt limits; not a legal right in the private sector)
- ComparaJá, meal allowance 2026: https://www.comparaja.pt/blog/noticias/isencao-subsidio-refeicao-sobe-em-2026 (corroborates the limits and the social security exemption)
- Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho (ACT): https://www.act.gov.pt (complaints, severance calculators)
- Segurança Social: https://www.seg-social.pt (contribution rates, sick pay, parental pay)
- Portal das Finanças: https://www.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt (IRS withholding tables)
Last verified September 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.