01
Contract and records
Keep your contract, payslips, schedules, communications and evidence. Employment should not be treated as an informal favour.
TRABALHO
Working in Portugal means having rights and duties.
A foreign person working in Portugal has the same employment rights and duties as a Portuguese worker. Contract, hours, leave, pay and workplace safety do not disappear because someone is a migrant.
What you need to know
Start with the essentials
02
Working time
gov.pt states maximum normal working-time limits of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, subject to applicable legal and collective regimes.
03
Annual leave
gov.pt states a general minimum of 22 working days of paid annual leave, with specific rules in the year of admission and other situations.
04
Problems with an employer
ACT provides free information and accepts complaints about contracts, working time, safety, discrimination, undeclared work and migrant labour. The complainant's identity is protected.
Important: Do not accept the idea that “because you do not yet have a card” you have no employment rights. Migration status and employment rights are different issues; confirm a concrete case with ACT or legal support.
Confirm before acting
Working in Portugal — gov.pt ↗Ask ACT for information ↗
File an ACT complaint ↗
Requirements and channels can change. Check the official source at the time you act.
Continue from here
Common problems
Pay, contract, working time or abusive conditions
Organise the facts and evidence before asking for information or filing a complaint.
01
Late or unpaid salary
Keep your contract, payslips, bank records, schedules and messages. ACT provides information on employment relations, including pay and salary arrears.
Ask ACT for information ↗02
No contract or undeclared work
Do not delete messages, schedules, transfers, workplace photos or other material that may help show the employment relationship. ACT accepts complaints about undeclared or irregular work and migrant work.
03
Hours, leave or working conditions
Record the days and hours actually worked, rest days, instructions received and payments. If you need clarification before reporting a problem, use ACT's information service.
04
You want to report the employer
Anyone may file a complaint with ACT when there are signs that labour rules are being breached. The official service states that the complainant's identity is protected and the service is free.
File an ACT complaint ↗