Work Compensation Fund Portugal: Do You Still Pay in 2026?

If you run a company in Portugal, you probably spent years paying a slice of each worker's salary every month into the Work Compensation Fund (FCT). The good news: you no longer pay. The news almost nobody told you: that money is yours and you can take it back, but only until 31 December 2026.

This guide explains what changed, why you no longer pay, and how to get your balance back before it reverts to the state.

What the Work Compensation Fund was

The FCT was created by Law 70/2013 and started working on 1 October 2013. The idea was simple: to make sure a worker always receives at least half of the compensation they are entitled to when a contract ends, even if the company later closes or has no money.

For that, each company paid a slice every month for each worker hired after October 2013. It was two funds at once:

• FCT (Work Compensation Fund): 0.925% of base salary and seniority payments.
• FGCT (Work Compensation Guarantee Fund): 0.075%.

Together, that was 1% of the base salary per worker, 12 times a year.

The FCT money did not vanish: it sat in an account in the company's name, invested, and could be withdrawn when a worker left to help pay the compensation. The worker's share was guaranteed by the FGCT.

Do I still have to pay in 2026? No

Here is the change many people missed. It happened in two steps.

Step 1, the suspension (Law 13/2023). The Decent Work Agenda, published on 3 April 2023, suspended, in its Art. 32, the FCT and FGCT obligations from 1 May 2023: joining, payments, and payment methods. Even the April 2023 payment was suspended. This suspension is tied to the Medium-Term Agreement signed in 2022 and lasts while that agreement is in force (until the end of 2026).

Step 2, the closure of the FCT (Decree-Law 115/2023). In force since 1 January 2024, this law went further for the FCT. It ended the duty to contribute for good, closed the fund to new money, and wiped out companies' debts to the FCT.

The result, in 2026, is clear:

In practice, it is the same for your cash flow: today you pay nothing to either fund. The difference is legal. The FCT is over; the FGCT is only suspended.

The money you paid is still yours

This is the part that matters to your pocket. Decree-Law 115/2023 states expressly that the money paid into the FCT remains the property of the companies that paid it.

What changed is how that money is organised. Before, there was one account per worker. Now, all those accounts were merged into a single global account per company. Any debts the company had to the FGCT were deducted from that global balance.

Your account value is now represented by participation units of a fund, whose value is updated once a month. You can check the number of units and the value in euro on the fundoscompensacao.pt website, in your company area.

How to withdraw the FCT balance (deadline: 31 December 2026)

You can request reimbursement of part or all of the balance until 31 December 2026, as long as it is for one of the four purposes in the law (Art. 2 of Decree-Law 115/2023):

1. Pay up to half of the compensation for termination of a worker who was included in the FCT.
2. Support housing costs and investments for workers.
3. Finance certified training for workers.
4. Support investments agreed with worker representatives, such as daycare centres and canteens.

There is a limit on how many times you can withdraw, depending on the size of the balance:

The request is made on fundoscompensacao.pt, stating the amount and the purpose. For housing and training, the company declares that it consulted the workers (or gave them 10 days' notice when there is no workers' committee). Reimbursements are now processed once a month.

What if I do not withdraw before the deadline?

The FCT is now a closed fund, heading towards extinction. The extinction is foreseen in the law, but it has no set date yet. That is why the practical deadline to keep in mind is 31 December 2026 to submit the reimbursement request.

What happens to money left unclaimed:

• If you reach the maximum number of reimbursements (2 or 4), you can no longer request more, even if there is balance left.
• Whatever is left, or whatever cannot be transferred, passes to the FGCT when the FCT is wound up.

In short: money that was yours stops being available. It is worth checking the balance and deciding in good time.

And you, the worker? What this changes for you

If you are an employee, this change is the employers' problem, not yours. But there is one thing worth knowing: your dismissal compensation is still guaranteed.

The FGCT is not over. If your contract ends and you are entitled to compensation (for example, in a collective redundancy or a job position being abolished), the company pays it. If the company does not pay, the FGCT guarantees you half of the amount calculated under Art. 366 of the Labour Code.

How to claim from the FGCT, if the company fails:

• You send a request to the FGCT with your identification and the company's (names and NISS).
• If the company has already paid you half or more of the compensation, the FGCT pays nothing (you do not get paid twice).
• The other half of the compensation remains a claim you hold against the company, which you can pursue.

To understand how much you are owed when a contract ends, see the guide on termination of the employment contract and on final pay at the end of a contract. For the exact compensation figure, use the severance calculator.

Who was covered

The regime applied to employment contracts signed after 1 October 2013 under the Labour Code. Left out, among others:

• Very short contracts, or contracts lasting two months or less (Art. 142 CT).
• Public administration work.
• Domestic service, which has its own law.
• Fishermen and football players, with their own regimes.

If you run a company and never joined because you only have workers hired before October 2013, you probably have no balance to withdraw. Check anyway on the website, at no cost.

This guide is general information, not legal advice for your specific case. For the exact figure of your balance, check your company area at fundoscompensacao.pt.