Working in Portugal - Annual Leave

In each calendar year all employees are entitled to a period of paid annual leave. Entitlement to annual leave cannot be replaced by any economic or other compensation, is acquired by entering into a contract of employment and falls due on 1 January of each calendar year.

Duration of holiday period

The annual holiday period lasts for a minimum of 22 working days. After six full months of performing the contract of employment in the year they are taken on, employees are entitled to take two working days' holiday for each month's duration of their contract, up to a maximum of 20 working days. Contracts lasting less than six months entitle employees to two working days' holiday for each full month's duration of the contract.

Accumulation of annual leave: annual leave must be taken during the calendar year in which it falls due, and during the same year it is not permitted to accrue leave pertaining to two or more years. It may be taken in the first quarter of the following calendar year, however, either together with or separate from the leave accrued at the beginning of the latter, by agreement between employer and employee, or whenever the employee intends to take holidays with relatives who live abroad.

Scheduling of annual leave

Annual leave is scheduled by mutual agreement between employee and employer. The employer schedules the leave if such agreement is not reached, consulting the Workers' Commission accordingly. In this case the employer may only schedule the leave between 1 May and 31 October, unless alternative arrangements have been accepted by the Workers' Commission or have been provided for by an instrument of collective labour regulation. Annual leave may be taken in a single period or in separate periods, by agreement between employer and employee, provided that at least 10 consecutive working days are taken.

Alterations to annual leave

Once it has been fixed, annual leave may be altered only if the enterprise finds it necessary, in which case the employee is entitled to financial compensation and to take half the holiday period to which they are entitled. If employees fall ill during their annual leave it is suspended, provided the employer is informed of the fact, the remaining days' leave being taken after the employee returns to work.

Payment of holidays: employees are entitled to receive their normal wages and a holiday bonus.

Public holidays

The following are mandatory public holidays:

• 1 January
• Good Friday
• Easter Sunday
• 25 April
• 1 May
• Corpus Christi (movable feast)
• 10 June
• 15 August
• 5 October
• 1 November
• 1, 8 and 25 December

By means of special legislation, certain mandatory public holidays can be observed on the Monday of the following week. Besides the mandatory holidays, Shrove Tuesday and the local municipal holiday may also be observed.

Useful information:

• Código do Trabalho [Labour Code], Law No 99/2003 of 27 August
• IDICT – Instituto do Desenvolvimento e Inspecção das Condições de Trabalho [Institute for the Development and Inspection of Working Conditions]
  Praça de Alvalade, 1 - 1749-073 Lisbon
  Tel: 217 924 500
  Fax: 217 924 597

Text last edited on: 12/2004

Source: European Union
© European Communities, 1995-2007
Reproduction is authorised.