Employer obligations in Portugal: the 2026 checklist

Do you employ staff in Portugal? Your duties fit into 4 rhythms: when hiring, every month, every year and permanent ones. This is the complete checklist for 2026. Each line gives the deadline, the legal basis and the detailed guide.

Use this page as a starting index and as an internal audit: go through the tables and tick off, line by line, what you already comply with. Almost everything that fails an ACT inspection is on this page.

When hiring: 6 steps before day one

Each step is covered in detail in the guide on how to hire an employee. In short:

1. The right contract. An open-ended contract is the default (and is valid even verbally); a fixed-term contract must be written, with a concrete reason. Set the probation period in writing: without paper, the law presumes it was excluded (Art. 111(4) of the Labour Code).
2. Written information under Arts. 106 and 107: the core within 7 days, the rest within 1 month. Each missing item is a serious offence.
3. Hire reported on Segurança Social Direta before the contract starts, with the NISS, contract type and permanent pay (Art. 29 of the Contributory Code).
4. Work accident insurance active from day one, with real salaries declared (Art. 79 of Law 98/2009).
5. Admission medical exam before the start, or within the next 15 days if the hire is urgent (Art. 108 of Law 102/2009). This presumes an organised health and safety service, even with a single employee.
6. Information about the risks of the job and safety training at admission (Arts. 19 and 20 of Law 102/2009; the first is a very serious offence).

Every month: 4 calendar lines

Since 2026, under the simplified contributory cycle, Social Security calculates contributions itself: in a month with no variable amounts you file nothing, and silence until day 20 counts as acceptance. Changes to the employment link (termination, suspension, a change in permanent pay) must be reported by day 10 of the following month (Art. 32).

Two warnings. Late salaries accrue interest and, after 60 days, give the worker just cause to resign with compensation; the guide on late wages shows what they see on their side. And if you pay a meal allowance, the tax-exempt limits for 2026 are 6.15€ per day in cash and 10.46€ per day on card.

Every year: the fixed calendar

The Relatório Único is the obligation that most often catches new companies by surprise: it is filed online, it is free, and it applies to any employer with at least 1 employee, covering staff structure, hires and exits, training, health and safety and strikes. Training hours have a memory too: hours not given within 2 years become the worker's credit and are paid out in cash when the contract ends.

Permanent: the records and postings the ACT checks first

• Staff register kept up to date at each establishment (Art. 127(1)(j) of the Labour Code).
• Working time records with start, end and breaks, in an accessible place, kept for 5 years (Art. 202). They cover everyone, including workers exempt from a fixed schedule.
• Overtime record filled in before the work starts and right after it ends (Art. 231). Failing it gives the worker 2 hours of overtime pay for each day worked outside the schedule.
• Working hours map posted at the workplace (Arts. 215 and 216).
• Parenthood legislation notice posted (Art. 127(4)).
• Code of good conduct against harassment, from 7 employees upwards (Art. 127(1)(k); the guide on workplace bullying explains what it must prevent).
• Internal whistleblowing channel, from 50 employees upwards (Law 93/2021).
• Work accident insurance always active and based on real salaries. As for the FCT, enrolment and payments are suspended, and old balances can be claimed back until 31/12/2026, as the guide on the Work Compensation Fund explains.

When someone leaves

Three duties close the cycle. Report the termination to Social Security by day 10 of the following month, with the reason (Art. 32 of the Contributory Code). Hand over the work certificate and the unemployment benefit paperwork (Art. 341 of the Labour Code). And pay the final settlement: accrued and pro-rata holidays, allowances and unpaid training hours. The full list is in the guide on final pay at the end of the contract, and the 6 legal dismissal routes are in how to dismiss an employee.

Are you the employee? This list is yours too

Every line in this checklist is one of your rights. No payslip? No holiday map posted in May? No Christmas allowance by 15 December? Those are breaches you can check against the ten basic rights of working in Portugal, and if talking to the company solves nothing, an ACT complaint takes 10 minutes online.

This guide summarises the general rules in the Portuguese Labour Code and related legislation. Collective agreements and regulated sectors may add obligations of their own. Check yours before closing the checklist.