Unused holidays in Portugal: how much you get paid when you leave (2026)

The rule in one sentence

When the contract ends, your employer must pay you in cash all the holiday days you did not take — both vested and pro-rata — plus the matching holiday bonus (Art. 245 n.º 1). It does not matter why you are leaving: your own resignation, fixed-term contract ending, mutual agreement, dismissal with or without just cause. Same rule.

The 3 holiday balances on departure

To get the calculation right, separate the days into three buckets. Your employer must pay all of them.

1) Holidays vested on 1 January and not yet taken

On 1 January of every year, you earn the right to 22 working days of holiday for the work you performed in the previous year (Art. 237 n.º 1 and 238 n.º 1). If you leave mid-year without having taken them all, the missing days are paid in cash.

2) Pro-rata holidays for the year of departure

For the time worked in the year you are leaving, you earn 2 working days per full month, capped at 22 per year (Art. 239 n.º 1). These days cannot be taken if the contract ends within the same calendar year — they are paid in cash on departure.

3) Holiday bonus matching each balance

For every day in points 1 and 2, you receive the daily rate doubled. One amount as holiday pay (the salary you would have earned during the holiday) and another as holiday bonus (the traditional Portuguese "13th-month-style" payment for holidays). This is set out in Art. 264 n.º 1 and Art. 245 n.º 1 a) and b).

How to do the calculation — step by step

Three simple steps. Same logic for any type of departure.

Step 1 — Calculate the daily holiday rate. Divide your monthly base salary by 22 working days. If you have seniority bonuses (a fixed allowance for years of service), add them to the base before dividing. Do not include meal allowance, commissions or variable bonuses.

Step 2 — Count the unused days. Add up the vested unused days (from the previous year) and the pro-rata days for the current year. Rule of thumb: 2 days per full month worked in the year you leave.

Step 3 — Multiply and double. Total days × daily rate × 2. The "× 2" is because you receive both the holiday day and its matching holiday bonus.

3 examples with real numbers

Leaving in January with everything still to take

Pedro left on 31 January 2026. He had 22 vested days from the previous year still untaken, and had only worked 1 full month in 2026 (2 more pro-rata days). Base salary €1,100.

• Days to be paid: 22 + 2 = 24 days
• Daily rate: 1,100 ÷ 22 = €50
• Total: 24 × €50 × 2 = €2,400

Leaving mid-year with holidays partially taken

Sofia left on 30 June 2026. She had already taken 15 of the 22 days from the previous year — 7 left. She worked 6 full months in 2026 (12 pro-rata days). Base salary €1,320.

• Days to be paid: 7 + 12 = 19 days
• Daily rate: 1,320 ÷ 22 = €60
• Total: 19 × €60 × 2 = €2,280

Leaving at year-end with all holidays taken

Rui left on 31 December 2026. He had taken all 22 days from the previous year. He worked 12 full months — maximum pro-rata: 22 days. Base salary €1,800.

• Days to be paid: 0 + 22 = 22 days
• Daily rate: 1,800 ÷ 22 = €81.82
• Total: 22 × €81.82 × 2 ≈ €3,600

Common mistakes that cost you money

These are the traps you see most often in final settlements.

• The employer forgets the pro-rata for the year of departure. Always check — 2 days per full month worked, up to 22.
• Dividing the salary by 30 instead of 22. The divisor for holidays is 22 working days, not 30 calendar days. Dividing by 30 lowers the daily rate by ~36% — one of the most common errors in payslips.
• Paying the holiday day but not the holiday bonus. Each day must be doubled. If the payslip shows only one line per unused day, half of it is missing.
• Deducting more days than you took in excess. The employer can only deduct if you took more days than you earned that year. They cannot deduct below the pro-rata you have earned.
• Not including seniority bonuses. If you have fixed seniority bonuses, they count in the base. If the employer uses only the "raw" base salary, the figure comes out below the legal amount.

When the departure is by dismissal or just-cause resignation

Same formula. It does not matter whether you leave on your own initiative (Art. 400), by mutual agreement, by dismissal without just cause, by job extinction, or by just-cause resignation (Art. 394). In all cases, holiday credits and the holiday bonus are paid by the same rule under Art. 245.

The difference lies in what comes on top — severance pay, missing notice period, eligibility for unemployment benefits. Holidays are a separate credit and do not get mixed up with severance.

What to do if your employer does not pay

Holiday credits expire 1 year after termination (Art. 337 n.º 1). Do not wait. Practical 3-step path:

1. Written demand with an 8-day deadline for payment. Registered post with acknowledgement of receipt or email with confirmation. Attach the termination payslip and your own count of the days.
2. Complaint to the ACT if your employer ignores it. Failure to pay termination credits is a serious offence (Art. 245 + Art. 323).
3. Labour court claim if the amount is significant. You recover the principal, late interest at 4% per year and — in case of bad faith — a daily fine on the employer.