Employ in Portugal with ease.
Remote makes employment in Portugal easy. With our localized contracts, easy invoice management, and best-in-class compliance, you can grow your global team with confidence.
Capital city
Lisbon
Currency
Euro
(€, EUR)Languages spoken
Portuguese
Services available:
Facts & Stats
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country located mostly on the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost sovereign state of mainland Europe, being bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain. Its territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments.
Capital city
Lisbon
Currency
Euro
(€, EUR)Languages spoken
Portuguese
Population size
10,276,617 (2018 est.)
Ease of doing business
Very easy
Cost of living index
$$$ (56 of 139 nations)
Payroll frequency
Monthly
VAT - standard rate
23%
GDP - real growth rate
2.145% (2018 est.)
Grow your team in Portugal with Remote
Looking to employ workers in Portugal? Companies hiring in Portugal must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.
Remote can employ your team in Portugal on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Portugal team. You can also pay contractors now in Portugal with Remote.
Employing in Portugal
Portuguese labour law is not contained under a single law. The main sources are the Portuguese Constitution which sets forth fundamental rights and principles regarding both employees and employers, European legislation, the Portuguese Employment Code and the Regulation of the Employment Code. Furthermore, collective bargaining agreements as well as individual agreements also play a role.
The vast majority of rules stipulated by the Portuguese Employment Code are mandatory and cannot be modified either by collective bargaining or agreement of the parties. All workers in Portugal are protected by Portuguese employment law.
Minimum Wage
Minimum Wage: €760 per month in 14 payments for all employees.
Payroll Cycle
For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.
In Portugal, employees get 14 months of salary payments each year:
- 12 months of work
- 1 Holiday allowance
- 1 Christmas allowance
The allowances are paid with the same amount as a full month's salary.
Both the Subsídio de Férias (Holiday Allowance) and the Subsídio de Natal (Christmas Allowance) get taxed the same as any other payment for IRS & Social Security.
Employees can choose to earn their salary in 14 payments, with the holiday allowance being paid during Summer and the Christmas allowance being paid around the Christmas period.
Conversely, workers can elect to be paid 12 times, with those two extra payments being pro-rated throughout the year (“duodécimos”). At Remote we follow an internal policy of accommodating this change for all employees that ask for a review once per year, usually during the start of the year.
The payments have to be paid at least once a month and by the last working day. At Remote, this payment is usually made on the 25th of the month.
Onboarding Time
We can help you get a new employee started in Portugal fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 2 working days.
Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.
For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.
Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.
Competitive benefits package in Portugal
Remote supports our clients by offering competitive benefits packages that will help you attract and retain the best talent across the globe! Our benefits specialists have done the research on norms and requirements in each local market and have crafted packages that will allow your employees to thrive, no matter what country they live in.
Our benefits packages in Portugal are tailored to fulfil the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Mental Health Support
- Pension or 401(K)
- Life and Disability Insurance
Local market insights
- In Portugal, 90%* of employers offer supplemental health insurance to their workforce. (*based on 3rd-party market research from our partners)
- Although the country has a public health system, supplemental health insurance provides employees with access to a wider range of options for providers and specialists, as well as significantly shorter wait times. Our plans also offer global coverage (excluding the US) to protect your employees when they are traveling outside their home country. Meal cards are a common and expected benefit in Portugal. They are used to cover the cost of employee meals during work days. They also offer tax benefits to employers and employees. Meal cards are tax-free up to € 7.63 EUR per working day.
Our core benefits (which often include things like healthcare) are required in most countries where we hire. Because Remote is the employer of record, it’s important for us to offer the same core benefits to all employees in a country to ensure fair equity and non-discriminatory hiring practices, which protects your business and ours. Note that we do not add a markup on any benefits premiums or administration costs.
If you'd like specific information about our benefits packages in Portugal, start onboarding your first employee with Remote today.
For more insight into fair equity and benefits best practices, download our Global Benefits Guide and share with the rest of your hiring team.
Calculate the cost to hire an employee
in Portugal
Taxes in Portugal
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Portugal.
Employer
23.75% - Social Security (with no upper ceiling)
0.50% - Work Accident Insurance
€600.00 - Mandatory work from home allowance (Calculated on top of the base monthly salary at €50.00 per month)
€30.00 - Mandatory Health check calculated on top of the base annual salary.
€14.40 - Work Medicine (Calculated on top of the base monthly salary at €1.20 per month)
Employee
11% - Social Security
14.5% - Up to 7,479
21.0% - 7,479 to 11,284
26.5% - 11,284 to 15,992
28.5% - 15,992 to 20,700
35.0% - 20,700 to 26,355
37.0% - 26,355 to 38,632
43.5% - 38,632 to 50,483
45.0% - 50,483 to 78,834
48.0% - 78,834 and above
Portugal collects an additional solidarity rate between 2.5-5% on income that exceeds €80,000.
Types of leave
Statutory leave
By law, full-time workers in Portugal are entitled to 22 days of holiday leave per year.
Pregnancy and maternity leave
Expecting mothers are entitled to up to 30 days of pregnancy leave before the birth and at least 6 weeks mandatory weeks after the birth of the child, between 17 and 21 weeks, for which the first 6 weeks after the birth are mandatory for the mother. The remaining 11 or 15 weeks can be shared between the parents.
Parental/paternal leave
Partner/paternity leave is up to 20 days, of which 10 days are compulsory within 30 days of the birth of the child and 5 days mandatory immediately after birth.
Other leave
- Adoption or foster leave: upon adoption of a child under the age of 15 or have taken in a foster child, employees are entitled to the same amount of leave as under parental/maternity/paternity/partner leave.
- Emergency and short absence leave: intended for unforeseen personal circumstances for which an employee has to take time off immediately. Examples include making arrangements for the care of a sick family member or in the event of a death in the family.
- Unpaid leave: the employee may take unpaid leave in consultation with the employer on a full-time or part-time basis. There is no legal requirements to unpaid leave.
- Special or extraordinary leave: may include leave for giving official notice of an intended marriage, marriage of a family member, moving house, funeral of a family member, a service or wedding anniversary, an interview or for consulting a doctor.
Employment termination
Termination process
Termination of the employment relationship can happen in the following ways:
- Voluntary termination by the employee (resignation);
- Retirement as per the employment contract;
- Non-renewal of the employment contract or expiry;
- Termination with just cause and no indemnity, for example in the case of theft or any other serious misconduct;
- Collective dismissal due to economic reasons (f.ex. bankruptcy, restructuring, etc.); or
- Termination by mutual consent.
Notice period
Notice periods for termination from the employee
- 15 days for employees with less than 6 months seniority, and 30 days for employees with 6 months or more seniority, when employees were hired through fixed term employment agreements
- 30 days for employees with up to 2 years of service and 60 days for employees with more than 2 years of service, on indefinite employment agreements
Probation periods
The duration of probation periods depends on the contract type. For contracts of indefinite duration, the statutory standard is 90 days. For positions that are technically complex, with high levels of responsibility, require special qualifications or in a position of trust it may be extended to 180 days. For fixed-term contracts probation periods are 30 days if contract duration is longer than 30 days and 15 days if shorter than six months.
Visa & Immigration
Visa Options
Depending on your employee's situation, we may be able to sponsor their visa application. Talk with our team today.
If Remote visa sponsorship isn't the best route for your employee, below are other possible visas they could apply for. We can also help with the visa application process.
These visa options should not be considered legal advice and are subject to change. The estimated time will vary per case.
Other visa options
Temporary Stay Visa (Service Providers)
This Temporary Stay Visa is intended to allow the holder to carry out a provision of services to a client in Portugal. It is valid for up to 12 months, with multiple entries. The applicant must have worked for the sending entity for at least 12 months.
Time until employee can start work: 1 to 6 months
Temporary Stay Visa (Highly Qualified Activities)
This Temporary Stay Visa is intended to allow highly qualified activities in Portugal; it can also be used for temporary or scientific research activity in a scientific research centre; or to carry out teaching activities in a higher education institution. A minimum salary level is applicable to qualify for this process.
Time until employee can start work: 1 to 6 months
Blue Card (Cartão Azul)
The Blue Card, introduced in June 2011 and implemented in Portugal from October 2012, is an EU-wide (with some exceptions) immigration process for highly skilled employees with a local job offer and a salary at least 1.5 times the gross national average salary. The Blue Card offers some concrete benefits to the applicant.
Time until employee can start work: 3 to 8 months
Temporary Stay Visa (Intra-Company Transfer)
This process is available for employees who are intra-company transferees, who have been with the sending entity in a senior or specialised role for at least 12 months and will remain on home payroll. It is only available for nationals of WTO member countries. The visa is issued in line with the duration of the assignment and up to one year, with multiple entries.
Time until employee can start work: 2 to 5 months
Residence Visa (Highly Qualified)
The Residence Visa for highly qualified applicants is available for highly skilled employees with local contracts in Portugal or for highly skilled service providers who will be in Portugal for at least one year. Residence visa holders must apply for residence permits after arrival in Portugal.
Time until employee can start work: 2 to 10 months
Van der Elst (Assignment from Within the EEA)
A type of visa or work permit available to non-EEA/EFTA citizens employed by and working for a company in an EU/EEA/EFTA country, that allows them to work for that company in another EEA/EFTA member state, subject to meeting certain eligibility conditions.
Time until employee can start work: 2 to 4 months
Intra-Corporate Transferee Permit (EU Directive 2014/66)
This process is the residence permit, according to Directive 2014/66/EU, and includes intra-EU mobility provisions. It is only applicable to assignees falling into management/specialist or trainee categories sent to Portugal for over 90 days from outside the EU and has a maximum total duration of stay of three years for managers/specialists and one year for trainees, after which time the assignee must exit Portugal.
Time until employee can start work: 3 to 10 months
Net Migration
In 2020, Portugal experienced a net migration of -6,000.
Best Destinations for Remote Work
From our Best Destinations for Remote Work report, the following made the top 100 list:
- Lisbon
- Porto
- Amadora
- Tomar
- Braga
- Madeira
Discover the rest of highly ranked cities for remote working and create your own custom list. Report
Tax Treaties
Portugal has a tax treaty with Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Austria , Bahrain, Barbados , Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Malta, Mexico, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this site is for general guidance on matters of interest only. The application and impact of laws can vary widely based on the specific facts involved. Given the changing nature of laws, rules and regulations, and the inherent hazards of electronic communication, there may be delays, omissions or inaccuracies in information contained in this site. Accordingly, the information on this site is provided with the understanding that the authors and publishers are not herein engaged in rendering legal, accounting, tax, or other professional advice and services. As such, it should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional accounting, tax, legal or other competent advisors.
While we have made every attempt to ensure that the information contained in this site has been obtained from reliable sources, Remote is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information in this site is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will Remote or employees thereof be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this site or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised on the possibility of such damages.
