Pregnant or on parental leave with a fixed-term contract: can they refuse to renew?

Yes, the employer can refuse to renew a fixed-term contract for a pregnant worker, someone on parental leave or a carer worker. It is not a dismissal: the contract expires (ends on its own at the end date) and the CITE prior opinion does not come into play. But the employer must report the reason to CITE at least 5 working days before giving you notice (Art. 144(3) of the Portuguese Labour Code). Failing to do so is a serious offence. And if the real reason is the pregnancy or the leave, it is discrimination, and the employer has to prove it was not.

Non-renewal is not dismissal: the difference that changes everything

Marta has a 12-month fixed-term contract ending on 31 October. She is 5 months pregnant. On 10 October she receives a letter: "the contract will not be renewed". She immediately thinks of Art. 63, which forces the employer to ask CITE for an opinion before dismissing a pregnant worker. But that article does not apply to her case.

The reason is in the word. Dismissal is the employer ending a contract that would otherwise continue. Expiry is the contract ending on its own because it had an end date (Art. 344(1)). On expiry the employer only has to do one thing: give written notice 15 days before the end date. Without notice in time, the contract renews automatically.

Art. 63 protects against dismissal: disciplinary, collective, job extinction or unsuitability (Art. 63(3)). In those cases the employer must send the file to CITE and wait for an opinion. On non-renewal, there is no opinion. There is only the report under Art. 144(3), explained below.

This applies to everyone the law protects here: pregnant workers, postpartum workers (in the 120 days after the birth), breastfeeding workers, workers on parental leave and, since Law 13/2023, carer workers. To count as pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding you must have informed the employer in writing, with a medical certificate or a birth certificate (Art. 36(1)). If the employer knows about the situation some other way, the protection still applies (Art. 36(2)).

For the general rules on expiry (notice, renewals, the 2-year limit), read the guide on fixed-term contract non-renewal.

What the employer really has to do: report the reason to CITE

Back to Marta. The employer wants to give her notice on 10 October. The law says it must report the reason for non-renewal to CITE at least 5 working days before the date of that notice (Art. 144(3)). In other words, the report to CITE had to be sent by 3 October (5 working days before 10 October, not counting the weekend).

What the law says, point by point:

• Who reports: the employer.
• To whom: CITE, the Commission for Equality in Labour and Employment. CITE accepts reports by email (geral@cite.pt).
• What: the reason for non-renewal. "The contract ended" is not enough. The employer must say why: the project finished, the replaced worker came back, the peak in workload is over, and so on.
• When: 5 working days before the date of the notice to the worker.
• If it fails: serious offence (Art. 144(5)). Fine between 6 and 95 UC (procedural unit of account) depending on the company's turnover and degree of fault (Art. 554(3)).

CITE also advises attaching: a copy of the notice of non-renewal sent to the worker, a copy of the contract with any amendments and renewals, and a statement of whether the worker will be replaced by someone else. That last point is the most important one. If the employer does not renew a pregnant worker and hires someone else for the same position the next day, the reason "the work ended" falls apart.

The report is not a request for permission. CITE records it, reviews it and can refer it to ACT (the labour inspectorate) if it sees signs of discrimination. But it does not block the expiry. That is why the 2025 figures show 1,777 non-renewal reports involving pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding workers and people on parental leave. They are mandatory reports, not proven cases of discrimination. Between 2020 and 2024, 8,299 non-renewals, 534 dismissals and 544 probation terminations in this situation were reported to CITE.

What you receive when the contract expires

Marta's contract ends on 31 October. It lasted 12 months and her base pay (base salary without allowances) was 1,100 euros. What she receives:

• Expiry compensation: 24 days of base pay and seniority payments for each full year, plus the proportional fraction (Art. 344(2)). 1,100 divided by 30, times 24 = 880 euros for 12 months.
• Final pay: untaken holidays, holiday allowance and Christmas allowance, pro rata. See the guide on final pay at the end of a contract.
• Unemployment benefit: expiry counts as involuntary unemployment. Ask the employer for the unemployment declaration (form RP-5044) on the last day.
• Parental allowance: if you are on parental leave when the contract ends, the Social Security allowance continues until the end of the leave. The end of the contract does not cut the allowance, because it is paid by Social Security, not by the employer.

Pregnancy or leave neither removes nor adds anything to these amounts. They are the rights of any fixed-term worker.

When non-renewal is discrimination

Rui's contract, while he is on 30 days of parental leave, ends on 15 September. The employer does not renew. On 20 September it posts a job ad for the same role, same hours. Rui has a case.

The law prohibits any discrimination for exercising maternity and paternity rights (Art. 35-A(1)). And it gives you a big advantage in court: the employer has to prove its case. If you claim discrimination and name the workers you compare yourself with, the employer must prove that the difference in treatment was not based on pregnancy or parenthood (Art. 25(5) and (6)). Paragraph 6 says expressly that this covers parenthood rights and carer worker rights.

Signs that point to discrimination [Common interpretation:]:

• The employer hired someone else for the same position right after.
• The reason reported to CITE does not match reality (it said "end of project" and the project continues).
• The employer did not report to CITE at all.
• Colleagues with identical fixed-term contracts, not pregnant and not on leave, were renewed.
• The non-renewal was decided right after you announced the pregnancy or requested the leave.

What you can get: compensation for financial and non-financial damage (Art. 28), and the employer faces a very serious offence (Art. 25(9)). There is also the preference in hiring: if the employer recruits for identical duties within 30 days after the end of your contract, you have preference for a permanent contract, and if they skip you they owe you 3 months of base pay (Art. 145).

Probation period: same rule, different deadline

Inês was hired on a permanent contract with a 90-day probation period. On day 40 she informs the employer in writing that she is pregnant. On day 55 the employer terminates the contract. Can it?

It can, because during probation either party can terminate without just cause (Art. 114(1)). But the employer must report that termination to CITE within 5 working days of the termination when the worker is pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding, on parental leave or a carer worker (Art. 114(5)). Here the report comes after, unlike non-renewal, where it comes before the notice. Failing is a serious offence (Art. 114(9)).

And there is a brake: a termination that amounts to an abuse of rights is unlawful (Art. 114(7)). Only a court can declare it, but if it does, it applies the effects of an unlawful dismissal, with reinstatement or compensation (Art. 114(8)). A termination 15 days after the worker announces her pregnancy, with no other reason, is the textbook case. Read more in the guide on the probation period.

Checklist for the worker

1. Check the notice: the employer must notify you in writing 15 days before the end of the term (Art. 344(1)). Without notice in time, the contract has renewed.
2. Ask in writing whether the employer reported the reason for non-renewal to CITE and request a copy. You can also ask CITE (geral@cite.pt) whether there is a record in your name.
3. Keep evidence: the non-renewal letter, the date you announced the pregnancy or requested the leave, job ads from the company for your position, messages.
4. Collect what is yours: compensation of 24 days per year, pro rata holidays and allowances, form RP-5044.
5. If the employer did not report to CITE: file a complaint with ACT. It is a serious offence.
6. If you believe it was because of the pregnancy or the leave: gather the evidence and bring a discrimination claim. The burden of proof is on the employer (Art. 25(5)). A union or a lawyer helps build the case, but the rights above do not depend on that.

For employers: how to comply with Art. 144(3) without mistakes

If you run the company, this is what you have to do when you decide not to renew a fixed-term contract for a pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding worker, someone on parental leave or a carer worker.

Step by step:

1. Fix the dates. Contract end (D). Notice to the worker: by D minus 15 days (Art. 344(1)). Report to CITE: at least 5 working days before the date of the notice (Art. 144(3)). Count working days Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
2. Write the true reason. The reason must be the one that justified the fixed term or the objective reason for not continuing: end of project, return of the replaced worker, end of the extra workload. Never "by management decision".
3. Attach the documents CITE advises: a copy of the notice you will hand to the worker, a copy of the contract with renewals and amendments, and say whether the position will be filled by someone else.
4. Send it to CITE by email (geral@cite.pt) and keep dated proof of sending. The employer is the one who must prove it reported.
5. Only then hand the notice to the worker, in writing and with proof of receipt.
6. Also report the end of the contract to the works council and the union within 5 working days (Art. 144(1)), as with any fixed-term contract.
7. Pay the compensation of 24 days per year with the final settlement (Art. 344(2)). Not paying is a serious offence (Art. 344(5)).

A direct warning: if you are going to hire someone else for the same position within the next 30 days, the worker who left has preference for a permanent contract (Art. 145) and the non-renewal starts to look like discrimination. In that scenario, the cheapest decision is to renew or to convert to a permanent contract.

Template: report to CITE of the reason for non-renewal

Copy it, fill in the fields in square brackets and email it to CITE before giving notice to the worker. The template is in Portuguese, as CITE works in Portuguese.

[NOME DA EMPRESA]
NIPC [NÚMERO]
[MORADA DA SEDE]

Exma. Senhora Presidente da
Comissão para a Igualdade no Trabalho e no Emprego (CITE)
geral@cite.pt

[LOCALIDADE], [DATA]

Assunto: Comunicação do motivo de não renovação de contrato de trabalho a termo
(Art. 144.º n.º 3 do Código do Trabalho)

1. Identificação da entidade empregadora
Denominação: [NOME DA EMPRESA]
NIPC: [NÚMERO]
Sede: [MORADA]
Atividade: [CAE / DESCRIÇÃO]
Número de trabalhadores: [NÚMERO]

2. Identificação do trabalhador
Nome: [NOME COMPLETO]
Função: [CATEGORIA / FUNÇÃO]
Situação protegida: [grávida / puérpera / lactante / em gozo de licença parental / trabalhador cuidador]
Data em que a empresa teve conhecimento da situação: [DATA]

3. Contrato de trabalho a termo
Data de início: [DATA]
Modalidade: termo certo, [DURAÇÃO] meses
Motivo justificativo do termo (cláusula do contrato): [MOTIVO, ex.: substituição da trabalhadora X em licença parental / acréscimo excecional de atividade / execução do projeto Y]
Renovações anteriores: [NENHUMA / N.º e datas]
Data prevista de caducidade: [DATA]

4. Motivo da não renovação
[Descreva o motivo concreto. Exemplo: "A trabalhadora substituída, X, regressa ao serviço a [DATA], cessando a necessidade temporária que justificou o contrato." Ou: "O projeto Y, que fundamentou o termo, termina a [DATA]."]

5. Substituição do trabalhador
O posto de trabalho [não será ocupado por outro trabalhador / será ocupado por: NOME, a título de: MOTIVO].

6. Aviso prévio ao trabalhador
A comunicação escrita de não renovação será entregue ao trabalhador em [DATA], com a antecedência de [N.º] dias sobre a data de caducidade, nos termos do Art. 344.º n.º 1 do Código do Trabalho.

Anexos:
a) Cópia do contrato de trabalho a termo [e respetivas renovações e aditamentos];
b) Cópia da comunicação de não renovação a entregar ao trabalhador;
c) [Outros documentos, se aplicável].

Com os melhores cumprimentos,

_____________________
[NOME DO REPRESENTANTE LEGAL]
[CARGO]
[CONTACTO: TELEFONE / E-MAIL]

What each section means: (1) your company details; (2) the worker and the protected situation; (3) the contract, its justification clause and renewals; (4) the concrete reason for not renewing; (5) whether the position will be filled again; (6) the date and notice period of the letter to the worker. Keep the sent email and any automatic reply from CITE. In an ACT inspection, that is the proof that you met the 5 working day deadline.

How it all connects

• General rules on expiry, renewals and the 2-year limit: fixed-term contract non-renewal.
• Protection against dismissal (what changes when it really is a dismissal): maternity leave and parental leave.
• Carer worker rights, including the CITE opinion on dismissal: informal carer worker rights.
• If the employer did not report to CITE or did not pay the compensation: how to file a complaint with ACT.