IPMA Adds Red Rain Warnings for Six Districts on Wednesday Afternoon: Can You Stay Off Work, and Will You Be Paid?

The weather institute IPMA has added a red warning for rain to its red warning for wind on Wednesday 11 November. Six mainland districts now have red rain from 12:00 to 18:00: Lisbon, Leiria, Santarém, Setúbal, Portalegre and Castelo Branco. Castelo Branco had no red warning at all at midday, so nine mainland districts now have a red warning of some kind.

IPMA's warnings describe the rain as "strong and persistent". The red wind warnings published on Tuesday morning still apply. They cover Faro, Setúbal and Beja from 09:00, and Lisbon, Leiria, Santarém, Évora and Portalegre from 12:00, all until 21:00, with gusts of up to 120 km/h and possibly 140 km/h in the most exposed places. Off Faro, IPMA now forecasts southwesterly waves of 5 to 7 metres, with individual waves of up to 13 metres. The heaviest rain falls around high tide, which the internal administration minister put at about 15:30. Madeira's red warnings run through Tuesday night until 06:00; the rest is in our morning report.

AIMA and the Brazilian consulates are shut

Under the state of alert (situação de alerta) declared for Wednesday, schools, nurseries and non-essential public services close across the mainland. The Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA, the immigration agency) said on social media that its offices will not open. Público reported that AIMA will rebook every appointment set for Wednesday as soon as it can, and that you do not need to make a new request: the new date will arrive by email. The Brazilian consulates in Lisbon and Faro have also cancelled Wednesday's appointments, and the Lisbon consulate will deal only with serious emergencies (hospitalisation, death or arrest). They say no one loses their slot.

If you cannot get to work

The state of alert does not give you a right to work from home. Unless you already have that right (for example, as a parent of a child under three in a job that can be done remotely), you need your employer's agreement.

If you cannot work at all, the Código do Trabalho (Labour Code) is the starting point. Article 249 treats as justified an absence caused by "the impossibility of working due to a fact not attributable to the worker". Article 255 lists the justified absences that lose pay, and that one is not on the list. Labour lawyers who spoke to ECO said that covers a worker who really cannot travel (cancelled transport, closed roads, real danger) and a parent who must stay home because the school or nursery is shut, with no loss of pay. That is their reading: no court or labour inspectorate has ruled on it.

The same rules set out what you must do:

• Tell your employer as soon as you can, ideally in writing, and say why (Article 253). If you do not tell them, the absence counts as unjustified.
• Keep proof. Your employer can ask for it within 15 days (Article 254). A school's closure notice, a transport cancellation or the IPMA warning for your district will help.
• Volunteer firefighters and Red Cross volunteers who are called out have their absence justified under the state of alert, ECO reported.

If an employer refuses to accept a properly justified absence, you can complain to the Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho (ACT, the labour inspectorate).

What to do tonight

Follow the civil protection authority's advice to the public (in Portuguese). Tie down or bring in anything on balconies, close and secure shutters, and move cars out of underground car parks and away from trees. On Wednesday, stay away from rivers and the coast, and never drive through floodwater. In an emergency call 112, and for health advice use SNS 24 (sns24.gov.pt or 808 24 24 24).