European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
12 and 12-A, 360 (6), 361(6), 363 (6), 381, 389 (1 and 2), 390, 391, 392, 396, 554 and 555
The Authority for Working Conditions (Autoridade para as Condições de Trabalho - [ACT] (http://www.act.gov.pt/%28pt-PT%29/Paginas/default.aspx)) is an administrative structure operating within the Ministry of Employment which investigates compliance with employment legislation. Companies that do not comply with regulations are sanctioned. Sanctions take the form of financial penalties that vary in accordance with the type of offence and company.
With Law No. 13/2023 of 3 April (amending the Law 107/2009 of 14 September) the ACT was granted expanded powers allowing inspectors to notify companies in cases where there is evidence of an employment irregularity involving workers under a contract within the scope of a digital platform (Article 12-A of the Labour Code), an open-ended contract (Article 147 of the Labour Code) or a temporary contract (Article 175 of the Labour Code). The ACT will issue a report and set a deadline for regularisation. Employers then have ten days to regularise the worker’s situation. If they fail to comply, the ACT must refer the case to the Public Prosecutor’s Office within a maximum of five days. Failure to rectify the situation within the stipulated period now constitutes a very serious administrative offence, which expedites the judicial process and strengthens the protection of labour rights.
In the event of an unlawful dismissal, the employer is obliged to compensate the worker and reinstate him/her in the same department of the company, keeping the previous category and tenure of the worker. The worker may choose compensation instead of reinstatement. In the event of minor procedural irregularities the compensation amounts to half of the compensation defined by law (between 15 and 45 days of salary, with an additional amount based on years of service).
Dismissal is considered unlawful if it is due to political, ideological, ethnic or religious reasons or if there was no previous consultation of the Commission for Equality in Labour and Employment (Comissão para a Igualdade no Trabalho e no Emprego - CITE) in case of a worker who is pregnant, recently gave birth or breast feeding or of a worker who is enjoying initial parental leave. According to the Law 23/2023 of 3 April, amending Labour Code, the dismissal of caregiver employees must be preceded by a prior opinion from CITE, the governmental body responsible for ensuring compliance with equality and non-discrimination standards. When the termination is based on alleged just cause for disciplinary reasons, the law establishes a rebuttable presumption that such dismissal is unlawful.
If the worker chooses the compensation instead the reinstatement it is up to the court to establish the amount of the compensation, within the above-mentioned range. The amount of the compensation must not be lower than the equivalent to three months of basic salary and seniority payments.
In case of micro enterprises or of worker with a management position the employer may require the court to exclude reinstatement. In this situation the worker has the right to compensation between 30 and 60 days of basic salary and seniority payments. This amount can not be lower than the equivalent of six months of basic salary and seniority payments.
The Labour Code states that a variable fine is applied in conformity with the scale of seriousness of the administrative offences in the field of labour and according to the firm’s volume of business and the degree of the law-breaker’s culpability. The fine may vary between 2 to 600 Units of Account (UC).The Unit of Account has been maintained at €102 since 2009.
Law No. 13/2023 of 3 April, reinforced the penalties for repeated infringements: supplementary sanctions for repeated serious or very serious administrative breaches are foreseen. The non-compliance with employment regulations may result, in addition to financial penalties, in further restrictions such as being barred from participating in public tenders, accessing state support, incentives or subsidies, and even from receiving benefits from European programmes for up to two years (Article 12 and 12-A of Labour Code).
No additional information available.
Eurofound (2015), Portugal: Effects of non-compliance with dismissal regulations, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/effects-of-non-compliance-with-dismissal-regulations/portugal
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