Marriage leave in Portugal: 15 paid days in a row (2026)

If you get married in Portugal, you have the right to 15 consecutive days of justified absence, around the time of the marriage, on full pay (Arts. 249(2)(a) and 255(1) of the Labour Code). This is known as marriage leave (licença de casamento). You only need to tell your employer 5 days in advance and state the reason (Art. 253(1)).

How many days in practice

Ana works in a shop in Braga, Monday to Friday. She earns 1,100€ a month. She gets married on a Saturday.

The 15 days are consecutive: every calendar day counts, including weekends and public holidays. Ana can choose how to fit them around the date:

The numbers are for a Monday to Friday schedule with no public holidays in between. If a public holiday falls on a weekday during the leave, that day was already a day off and does not count as a working day missed.

[Interpretação corrente:] the law says "around the time of the marriage" and does not require you to start on the wedding day itself. Starting on a working day, before or right after the date, gives you more days away from work. You choose the dates and state them in the notice.

At the end of the month, Ana receives the full 1,100€. Check your net pay with the net salary calculator.

How to ask: notice, proof and deadlines

A wedding is planned in advance. So it is a foreseeable absence. The rule is in Art. 253(1): you tell your employer at least 5 days in advance and state the reason.

Sample notice by email:

I hereby notify you, under Arts. 249(2)(a) and 253(1) of the Labour Code, that I will be absent from [DD/MM/YYYY] to [DD/MM/YYYY], 15 consecutive days, because of my marriage, scheduled for [DD/MM/YYYY].

Three points to watch:

1. Give notice in writing and keep proof that you sent it. The law does not require writing, but this way you have proof. Without notice, the absence is unjustified (Art. 253(5)). You lose the pay for those days and the absence counts as a breach of the duty of attendance (Art. 256(1)).
2. Hand in proof if asked. The employer can ask for it within 15 days of your notice, and you have a reasonable time to provide it (Art. 254(1)). [Interpretação corrente:] the marriage certificate is the usual proof; before the ceremony, the booking confirmation from the civil registry office works.
3. The employer cannot refuse or move the dates to another time. It is an absence justified by law, not a favour.

All the rules on notifying and proving an absence are in foreseeable absence: how to notify your employer.

Pay, holidays, meal allowance and probation period

Art. 255(1) says a justified absence does not affect any right of the worker. The exceptions are in paragraph 2: illness covered by Social Security, a work accident covered by insurance, care for a household member, some absences above 30 days a year and absences authorised by the employer. Marriage is not there.

Meal allowance. The law treats it like expense allowances, not as salary (Art. 260(2)). [Depende do caso:] in most companies it is only paid per day worked; some collective agreements and internal rules also pay it on justified absences. Check your case in meal allowance 2026.

Probation period. Days of absence, even justified, do not count towards the probation period (Art. 113(2)). If you get married at the start of the contract, your probation period ends later. [Interpretação corrente:] the law does not say whether only the working days missed are left out or all 15 consecutive days; expect a delay of 10 to 15 days. See the rules in probation period.

Fixed-term or part-time contract. Art. 249 does not distinguish between types of contract. You get the same 15 days.

Cases that raise questions

I want more days for the honeymoon. The collective agreement and the contract cannot change the length of justified absences (Art. 250); the only exception is the absence of a workers' representative, and only in the worker's favour. For more time, add holidays to the 15 days. Holidays are scheduled by agreement (Art. 241(1)); ask well in advance. You can also ask the employer for extra days, but an authorised absence (Art. 249(2)(k)) is unpaid (Art. 255(2)(e)).

We are both getting married and work for the same company. Each of you has the right to your own 15 days. And spouses who work for the same company have the right to take their holidays at the same time, unless this causes serious harm to the company (Art. 241(7)). See how holidays are scheduled in can my employer schedule my holidays?.

The wedding falls during my holidays. The law does not deal with this case. Art. 244(1) only suspends holidays for illness or another fact "not attributable" to the worker. [Interpretação corrente:] the wedding is your choice, so it does not suspend holidays already booked. Avoid the problem: book the leave and put your holidays right before or after it, by agreement.

We live in a civil union. A civil union (união de facto) exists when two people have lived as a couple for more than 2 years (Law 7/2001, Art. 1(2)). The law gives them the same rules as married people for absences and leave (Art. 3(c)). [Interpretação corrente:] even so, the absence in Art. 249(2)(a) is given around the time of the marriage, and a civil union has no wedding date. Moving in together does not give you 15 days. Getting married does.

It is my second marriage. [Interpretação corrente:] the law does not limit the number of marriages. Each marriage gives the right to 15 days.

Civil, Catholic or same-sex marriage. [Interpretação corrente:] Art. 249 only says "marriage", with no distinction. Any marriage that is valid in Portugal gives the same 15 days.

If your employer deducts pay or refuses

Pedro gave 3 weeks' notice and handed in the certificate. On the next payslip, the company deducted 11 days "for absence". This is illegal: the absence is justified and paid (Arts. 249 and 255(1)).

1. Write to HR with the dates, the notice you sent and the certificate. Quote Arts. 249(2)(a), 253(1) and 255(1). Ask for the correction on the next payslip.
2. If they do not correct it, file a complaint with the ACT. We explain how in how to file a complaint with the ACT.
3. Keep everything: the notice email, the employer's reply, the certificate and the payslips.

All other justified absences, with the days and proof for each one, are in justified and unjustified absences.

For employers: marriage leave is an absence justified by law and paid by you: 15 consecutive days, around the time of the marriage (Arts. 249(2)(a) and 255(1)). You cannot refuse it, move it to another time or reduce it by contract (Art. 250). You may ask for proof within 15 days of the notice (Art. 254(1)). If the worker does not give 5 days' notice, the absence is unjustified (Art. 253(5)), but check whether notice was given by other means before deducting pay.

This guide explains the law in plain language and does not replace legal advice for complex or disputed cases.