Do I have the right to remote work in Portugal in 2026? Who can ask and how

You may have a right to telework, but the conditions depend on your circumstances. Articles 165 to 171 of the Labour Code, amended by Laws 83/2021 and 13/2023, govern requests, agreements, expenses and the rights that continue to apply.

This guide distinguishes cases where the employer cannot oppose a request, the separate rules for carers, and requests that depend on agreement. It also explains how to document telework and respond to a refusal.

What is telework, in plain language

Art. 165 defines telework as employment performed in a location not determined by the employer, using information and communication technologies. In practice, you work for the company from home or another agreed location.

It can be:

• Full — every working day remotely.
• Partial or hybrid — alternating between office and remote work, as defined in the agreement.

The usual work location should be specified in the agreement. A worker changing that location needs the employer's written agreement (Art. 166(8)).

Who has a right to telework: Art. 166-A

The right depends on specific conditions. The refusal ground of imperative operational requirements available for carers does not apply indiscriminately to parents.

1. Parents with a child up to age 3, or a child with a disability, chronic illness or cancer.

Art. 166-A(2) covers a child up to age 3 and, regardless of age, a child with a disability, chronic illness or cancer. In these cases, the child must share the worker's household. The work must be compatible with telework and the employer must have the necessary resources and means. Once the conditions are met, the employer cannot oppose the request (paragraph 4).

2. Extension up to age 8.

The preceding conditions still apply, and one of these situations must also exist:

• Both parents qualify for telework and exercise the right in successive periods of equal length, within a maximum reference period of 12 months.
• It is a single-parent family, or only one parent demonstrably meets the conditions for telework.

This extension under paragraph 3 does not apply to workers in microenterprises. That exclusion does not cover the right under paragraph 2.

3. Victims of domestic violence.

Paragraph 1 refers to the conditions in Art. 195(1): filing a criminal complaint and leaving the family home when the change to the new arrangement takes effect. This does not mean having to leave home before making the request. Telework must also be compatible with the activity. Recognised victim status alone does not replace these conditions. When the requirements are met, the non-opposition rule in paragraph 4 applies.

4. Non-principal informal carers.

You must prove that this status has been recognised, the activity must be compatible, and the employer must have the necessary resources and means. The right can be used for up to 4 years, consecutively or in separate periods. Here, the employer may object if the conditions are not met or on grounds of imperative operational requirements, following Art. 57(3) to (10), with the necessary adaptations and CITE's involvement.

Other rights for this group are covered in the informal carer worker guide.

Written agreement: what must be in it (Art. 166)

The agreement may be part of the employment contract or a separate document. Writing is required only as evidence of the arrangement (paragraph 5). Its absence may make it harder to prove what was agreed, but does not mean telework is invalid or that the worker has lost the right to expense compensation.

Art. 166(3) and (4) require the agreement to identify and define, in particular:

Also define duration and expense compensation under Arts. 167 and 168. Privacy rules must be respected even if they are not repeated in the document.

How long does it last, and how does it end? Art. 167 distinguishes:

• Fixed duration: a maximum of 6 months, automatically renewed for equal periods. Preventing renewal requires a written declaration at least 15 days before the end.
• Open-ended: either party may end the agreement by written communication, taking effect on the 60th day afterwards.
• First 30 days of operation: either party may terminate the agreement.

These general rules must be read alongside any protected right under Art. 166-A. If the agreement ends while employment continues, the worker returns to office work without losing their category, seniority or other rights.

Who pays what: equipment and expenses (Art. 168)

The employer is responsible for providing the equipment and systems needed for the work. The agreement should state whether the employer supplies them directly or the worker buys them with the employer's agreement on specifications and price. Maintenance and repairs are also the employer's responsibility under Arts. 168 and 169-B.

Art. 168(2) provides for full compensation of proven additional expenses directly resulting from acquiring or using that equipment and those systems, including increased energy and communications network costs.

How is the amount set?

Paragraph 3 requires the individual contract and applicable collective instrument to set the compensation amount when the telework agreement is concluded. A fixed amount can be agreed.

Without agreement on a fixed amount, paragraph 4 covers purchases of goods or services the worker did not have before and comparison with corresponding expenses in the last month of office work. Keep invoices and calculations of the increases. Compensation under paragraph 2 is payable immediately after the worker incurs the expenses.

The article does not prescribe a universal monthly amount of €40, €50 or €60, or automatically require the employer to pay the entire household internet or electricity bill. In hybrid work, the agreed amount or the calculation of additional expenses matters.

How much is excluded from IRS and social security contributions? Ministerial Order 292-A/2023 sets limits per qualifying full day of telework:

Only goods or services not provided directly or indirectly by the employer qualify. The limits increase by 50% when compensation results from a negotiated collective instrument concluded by the employer.

The exclusion requires a written agreement and days actually worked remotely that meet the Order's definition: at least one sixth of weekly working hours. This tax requirement for writing is separate from the employment-law rule on evidence. These tax limits are not the maximum the employer may have to compensate.

Privacy: what the company can monitor

The company may organise work, set objectives and review results, but its procedures must be known to the worker, proportionate and respectful of privacy (Arts. 169-A and 170).

• Recording working start and finish times is different from continuously monitoring performance.
• Requiring a permanent video or audio connection is prohibited.
• Personal communications remain protected. Telework does not authorise reading private messages.
• Employer visits to the home under Art. 170 require consent, 24 hours' notice and the worker's presence during the agreed working hours. They must be limited to work activities and equipment. Health and safety access also has specific rules under Art. 170-A.

The CNPD guidance of 17 April 2020 rejects performance surveillance tools that monitor mouse and keyboard use or capture the screen because they collect excessive data. Announcing that such software will be used does not make it permissible. The current Labour Code also prohibits monitoring methods that interfere with worker privacy.

Equal treatment (Art. 169)

You have the same rights and duties as workers in the company with the same category or an equivalent role, particularly regarding:

• Remuneration at least equivalent to what you would receive working on site.
• Training and career progression.
• Working time limits, rest and holidays.
• Health and safety and compensation for work accidents.
• Participation in, and information from, worker representative bodies.

Meal allowance: if you are entitled to it under your contract, collective instrument or another applicable source, working from home alone does not justify its removal. Equal treatment does not itself create a compulsory meal allowance for everyone in the private sector.

→ Meal allowance Portugal 2026 — values and obligations

Right to disconnect (Art. 199-A)

The employer must refrain from contacting the worker during rest periods, except in cases of force majeure. Working from home does not mean being constantly available.

Check your schedule: a late-afternoon meeting may still be within it. Remote meetings should take place within working hours and preferably be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance (Art. 169-A). Rest periods should not be confused with a situation where overtime can lawfully be required.

If you are pressured to remain permanently available, keep the messages, raise the issue in writing and seek ACT intervention. Terminating employment with just cause has its own conditions and deadlines; it does not follow automatically from any contact or breach.

Reform proposals do not themselves change the law in force. See the telework reform guide.

How to ask for telework in practice

1. Identify the legal basis. If relying on Art. 166-A, cite the relevant paragraph and provide the necessary evidence. Explain why the duties are compatible and, where required, what resources are available. Propose a start date, duration, location and full or hybrid arrangement.

2. Send the request in writing and keep proof of receipt. Ask for a written response. In protected cases under paragraphs 1 to 3, the employer cannot oppose a request that meets the conditions. Art. 166-A does not set a universal 30-day response period for all requests.

3. If you are a carer, follow the specific procedure. Paragraph 6 refers to Art. 57(3) to (10): the employer communicates its decision within 20 days of receiving the request. If it intends to refuse, you have 5 days to respond; the employer sends the file to CITE within the next 5 days after that response period ends. CITE has 30 days to issue its opinion; if none is issued in time, the opinion is deemed to favour the intended refusal. If the opinion opposes refusal, the employer may refuse only after a court decision recognising a valid reason. Art. 57(8) provides for deemed acceptance in specified cases where the employer misses deadlines. This procedure should not be presented as applying indiscriminately to all parents.

4. If you are not in a protected group, propose an agreement. When the activity is compatible considering the company's operation and resources, refusal must be in writing and give reasons (Art. 166(7)). You can propose hybrid work and check whether the applicable collective instrument provides more favourable conditions.

5. Document the agreed terms. Include the schedule, in-person contact, equipment and expenses. If you already work remotely with verbal permission, ask for written confirmation and keep evidence of the arrangement: the lack of a document does not automatically remove legal protection.

Special cases

Workers with a disability or chronic illness. Art. 86 requires appropriate adjustments unless they involve disproportionate burdens under the legal rules. Telework may be a solution depending on the duties and specific needs; it does not automatically follow from every disability.

Incompatible duties. Customer service requiring physical presence, operating machinery or direct care may prevent telework. Assess the actual tasks, not just the job title. Having a computer alone does not establish the compatibility required by Art. 166-A.

Fixed-term employment contracts. Telework rules also apply. The telework agreement can last less than 6 months: this is the initial maximum for a fixed-duration agreement, not a minimum. The telework agreement does not itself extend the employment contract.

What if the employer refuses without justification?

Ask it to identify its reasons, and keep the request, supporting evidence and response. The appropriate route depends on whether you are exercising a right under Art. 166-A or proposing an agreement under Art. 166.

ACT: you can request information and make a complaint for enforcement of employment obligations. Follow the requirements of the channel used; confidentiality of a complaint's source is not the same as anonymity.

→ How to file an ACT complaint in 10 minutes

CITE: it can provide information about equality and work-life balance. For carers, it has the specific role described above.

Labour court: proceedings may be needed to establish the right, assess a refusal or consider resulting losses. Evidence and the grounds of each claim require an individual assessment; a refusal does not automatically guarantee compensation.

Common mistakes

Leaving everything verbal. You do not automatically lose your rights, but proof becomes harder. Document the arrangement and expenses; a written agreement is also a condition of the tax exclusion under the Ministerial Order.

Confusing the tax limit with the payment due. The amount excluded from IRS and contributions does not, by itself, determine the expense compensation owed under employment law.

Accepting cuts solely because you work remotely. Telework does not justify reducing equivalent remuneration, excluding you from training or removing benefits owed to comparable workers.

Treating 60 days as the rule for every return to the office. Distinguish fixed duration, open-ended duration, the first 30 days and any protected right. Keep any return instruction so the applicable rules can be checked.

Next steps

Before applying, identify the legal basis, the arrangement you want and the expenses you will bear. Keep proof that your request was received and retain the agreement.

→ Net salary calculator 2026 (Portugal) — see what you take home today.

→ How to file an ACT complaint in 10 minutes

→ Mutual agreement in Portugal — your rights — if you are also under pressure to leave the company.

Correction note — 19 September 2026: corrected the conditions for parents and carers, the evidential purpose of the written agreement, the maximum 6-month term and termination rules, reasons for refusal, and expense compensation and tax limits.