Working in Portugal

Useful Information

Employment in Portugal

Qualification Recognition in Portugal

Starting a Business in Portugal

Income Tax in Portugal

Social Security in Portugal

(Segurança Social)

Helpful Information & Links in Portugal

Code of Work Practises in Portugal

(Codigo de Trabalho)

(Centro de Emprego)

If you are considering moving to Portugal and intend to find work it is important you consider the difference in salaries before making a life changing move.

Although the cost of living is significantly less in Portugal, it is proportional to the income. Many unskilled jobs in Portugal will be at the minimum wage rate, which is 475€ per month (as 2010).

An inability to speak or comprehend any Portuguese will also reduce your employment opportunities further in Portugal.

Getting Stressed about working in Portugal?

Our guides will help point you in the right direction

Although you may be able to find work in tourist areas such as the Algarve and Silver Coast without having to learn any Portuguese, there will be a high demand for these jobs, which do tend to be seasonal.

One option many foreigners choose to follow is opening up an accommodation or tourism based business. Although this may seem an easy route to achieving a regular income in Portugal, even this type of business has implications of licensing, regulations and of course registering the business/service enabling them to pay taxes on the income. 

If you are lucky enough to secure work in Portugal as a foreigner it is important to understand the different contracts of employment as well as your rights. Below we have outlined some of the basic information you will need to be aware of if you are working in Portugal.

Please note though any income generated in Portugal is subject to taxation in Portugal. At present the United Kingdom and Portugal enjoy a double taxation agreement which ensures you will not be taxed twice but will have to submit tax returns in the country in which the income was earned.

Working in Portugal you will be furnished with a contract of employment and this can be a fixed term contract, temporary or permanent contract depending up on the type of work you will be undertaking.

If you are on a fixed term contract (renewal up to three times with one given employer prior to being inducted into the permanent staff of the company). Your contract should include your job description, hours of work and the salary agreed.

When in Portugal though if you have any queries or questions your local representative at the Job centre (Centro de Emprego) should be well versed to inform you of your rights (codigo de trabalho).

First and foremost if you have been employed on a permanent contract basis in Portugal you will be delighted to know you are entitled to 22 days paid holiday per year. This is increased by a further three days in the tax year if you have taken only one days' sick leave. Employees who have employed on a fixed term contract are entitled to two days per month for every month they work, if the period of employment is less than 12 months.

By law the company which is employing you will also pay you holiday pay (one month extra, usually in August). In addition to this you will receive an additional months' pay in December.

Wages in Portugal are considerably lower than in other European countries. The minimum wage in Portugal is only 475€ per month as of 2010 and most unskilled workers will expect to receive this. However although 11% will be deducted at source by employers for Social Security contributions (Segurança Social) employers are bound by law to pay full time employees a food allowance each day (subsidio de alimentação), meaning the average take home pay for someone on minimum wage is around 550€ per month. The average income in Portugal is around 800€ per month.

In Portugal if you are employed on a full time basis then you will normally be expected to work 40 hours per week, generally starting at 9am and working through until 7pm with a two hour break for lunch. However this will vary depending upon where you are employed. Any overtime has to be scheduled and pre-booked up to two days prior and you are able to refuse without any consequences.

In addition to the paid holiday entitlement there are a further 13 statutory national holidays in Portugal and one local one, which employees are entitled to take. *see public holidays in Portugal

Maternity leave in Portugal is fairly generous with women entitled to take up to 120 days including up to six weeks prior to the birth if they need to. However fathers are not provided the same luxury and can legally only take up to five days following the birth.