Transparent and predictable working conditions in Portugal

Your duties, itemised pay, working hours, holidays, probation period: your employer must hand you all of it in writing, part by the 7th day and the rest within 1 month (Arts. 106 and 107 of the Portuguese Labour Code). It is not a favour, it is the law. Missing any item is a serious labour offence.

On 8 July 2026, the European Commission sent Portugal a letter of formal notice, arguing these rules are still not fully aligned with the EU directive. This guide shows what is already yours by right, and what to do if the paperwork never arrives.

What you must receive by day 7

Art. 107(2) defines a core set of information that must reach you by the 7th day after you start work, in a document signed by the employer:

• Full identification of the employer, including the corporate group and registered office if it is a company;
• Workplace, or a note that you work across several locations;
• Job category or a brief description of your duties;
• Date the contract was signed and the date it takes effect;
• Term and expected duration, for a fixed-term contract; in that case the contract itself must be written, with a concrete reason;
• Pay: amount, frequency and payment method, with every element itemised (base pay, allowances, bonuses);
• Normal daily and weekly working hours, including the overtime and shift work rules;
• Duration and conditions of the probation period, if there is one;
• For intermittent work, the specific information for that regime.

What can arrive within 1 month

The remaining information under Art. 106(3) has a deadline of 1 month from the start of the contract:

• Holidays: the duration or the rule used to calculate it;
• Notice periods for ending the contract, yours and the company's, or the rule to determine them;
• Work accident insurance: the policy number and the insurer;
• The applicable collective agreement, if any, and who signed it;
• The work compensation fund;
• Social protection regimes, including complementary benefits (a company health insurance plan, for example);
• Your individual right to continuous training, part of the employer's legal obligations;
• The parameters, criteria and rules of algorithms or artificial intelligence systems that affect decisions on hiring, keeping the job or working conditions, including profiling and monitoring. If an app assigns your shifts or scores your performance, you have the right to know how (AI and algorithms at work);
• For temporary agency work, the identity of the user company.

One legal shortcut: for holidays, notice periods, working hours, probation, training and social protection, the employer may point to the law, the collective agreement or the company rulebook instead of writing everything out (Art. 106(4)). The reference must name the concrete provisions; "the Labour Code applies" says nothing.

How the information can be delivered

• In one or several documents, signed by the employer; if several, one of them must gather the day 7 core items.
• On paper or in electronic format (Art. 107(4)). Email works, and it helps you, because it is dated.
• A written employment contract or a promissory contract fulfils the duty if it contains all the elements (Art. 107(3)).
• The employer must keep proof of delivery or receipt (Art. 107(5)) and show the documents to ACT whenever requested.
• Did something change: pay, schedule, duties? The change must be communicated in writing, at the latest by the date it takes effect (Art. 109), unless it comes from the law, a collective agreement or internal company rules.
• Going to work outside Portugal for more than one month? Before departure you must receive extra information: country and duration, currency and place of payment, repatriation and access to healthcare (Art. 108).

If the paperwork never arrives: three consequences, two steps

For the employer, missing paperwork has three consequences:

• A serious labour offence for each missing item (Arts. 106(5) and 107(7)); not one fine, one per item.
• The probation period is presumed excluded when its duration is not communicated in writing on time; the normal durations are in the probation period guide.
• Changes not communicated in writing are also a serious offence (Art. 109(4)).

For you, two practical steps:

1. Ask by email: "I request the information required by Arts. 106 and 107 of the Labour Code". A written request creates a date and proof; that is what Rita did.
2. If nothing arrives, file a complaint with ACT: online, free, and it can be anonymous. Attach your request and the lack of reply.

And remember: a permanent contract is valid even if verbal (Art. 110). Missing paperwork never plays against you; it plays against whoever should have delivered it.

Brussels notified Portugal: what it means

On 8 July 2026, the European Commission opened an infringement procedure against Portugal, a letter of formal notice with the reference INFR(2026)2122, for failing to fully align national legislation with Directive (EU) 2019/1152, the directive on transparent and predictable working conditions. Portugal is not alone: Czechia, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands and Finland received the same letter.

The directive guarantees three things to every worker in the EU: clear, upfront information about essential employment terms (working hours, pay, job stability), protection against abusive practices such as unpredictable schedules and last-minute assignments, and cost-free mandatory training.

The Commission's announcement does not detail which specific points are missing from Portuguese law. Portugal now has 2 months to respond and fix them; without a satisfactory answer, the Commission may issue a reasoned opinion, the next step before the EU Court of Justice.

For you, today, nothing changes: the rights in this guide have been in the Labour Code since Law 13/2023, which transposed the directive and rewrote Arts. 106 to 109. If the European procedure leads to changes in the law, we will update this guide.

Just arrived in Portugal? The starting work in Portugal guide walks you through the NIF, the NISS and your first steps. And if you are the one hiring: the employer's side is in how to hire an employee, from the day 7 paperwork to working time records.

This guide summarises Arts. 106 to 111 of the Portuguese Labour Code as of July 2026. The European infringement procedure is ongoing and may lead to changes in the law; collective agreements may set more favourable rules.