What’s it like to work in Portugal?

Portuguese employment law gives you some rights the UK doesn’t: two extra salary payments a year, a legal duty on employers not to contact you in your rest time, and a right to work from home in some cases. Days often run later, around a long lunch.

Hours and holiday

These rules are in the Labour Code (Código do Trabalho). In your first year you earn 2 working days’ holiday for each month worked, up to 20, and you can take them after 6 months. Holiday can’t be swapped for pay. Your collective agreement (contrato coletivo) may give you more, so ask which one applies.

The working day

• The daily break of at least an hour means the working day usually ends later than the hours alone suggest
• The 13 compulsory holidays are 1 January, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, 25 April, 1 May, Corpus Christi, 10 June, 15 August, 5 October, 1 November, and 1, 8 and 25 December
• Carnival Tuesday and your town’s municipal holiday are optional, given by agreement or contract. See How do public holidays and school holidays work?
• Employers must keep a record of your start and finish times

Pay in 14 instalments

You are entitled to a holiday payment (subsídio de férias), usually paid before your holiday, and a Christmas payment (subsídio de Natal) of one month’s pay by 15 December. In your first and last year they are paid pro rata. Offers are usually quoted as a gross monthly figure, so multiply by 14 for the yearly total. See Is my Portuguese job offer a good one?

Contracts and trial periods

A permanent contract (contrato sem termo) is the default. A fixed-term contract (contrato a termo) needs a valid reason, must be in writing, and becomes permanent if it breaks the rules. A fixed-term contract with an end date can last up to 2 years in total; one without a fixed date, up to 4 years. Trial periods (período experimental):

• 90 days for most permanent staff
• 180 days for technically complex or highly responsible jobs, positions of trust, first jobs and the long-term unemployed
• 240 days for directors and senior managers
• 30 days on fixed-term contracts of 6 months or more, and 15 days on shorter ones

The Government’s labour reform bill, Trabalho XXI (Proposta de Lei 77/XVII), would have changed some of these rules, for example allowing fixed-term contracts of up to 3 years. Parliament rejected it on 19 June 2026, so the current Labour Code applies. If a new version comes back, check the changes before you sign.

Meal allowance

Many employers pay a meal allowance (subsídio de alimentação) for each day worked, but it isn’t compulsory in the private sector unless your contract or collective agreement says so. In 2026 it is free of income tax and social security up to €6.15 a day paid in cash, or €10.46 a day on a meal card (about £5.20 and £8.90). It is not paid for holidays or sick days.

The right to disconnect

Law 83/2021 added a duty to the Labour Code: your employer must not contact you during your rest period, except in cases of force majeure. Treating you worse for using this right counts as discrimination, and breaking the rule is a serious offence. The UK has no equivalent law.

Remote work

• Teleworking (teletrabalho) needs a written agreement setting out where you work, your hours and who owns the equipment
• Your employer pays the extra costs it causes, such as higher energy and internet bills
• You have a right to work from home, where the job allows, if you have a child up to 3 (up to 8 in some cases) and your employer has the means
• Remote meetings should be in working hours and usually booked 24 hours ahead. Your employer can’t make you stay on camera or microphone all day