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Temporary work is a triangular work relationship in which the employer's contractual position is maintained with the worker, who they contract, pay and exercise disciplinary authority over, and the Temporary Employment Company, the company which, in its turn, receives the work from the worker, who is not a member of its staff but over whom it exercises management and supervisory authority. It is an alternative way of contracting workers for companies which need manpower to complement the work of their employees, when there are exceptional work situations or to satisfy the temporary need to substitute a permanent member of staff due to holidays, maternity leave, sick leave etc.
Temporary work may be used to respond to an unusual increase of work such as peaks of sales or production, seasonal tasks, the launching of products, promotional campaigns, etc.
It is a fixed term contract signed by a temporary employment company and a worker, which binds the latter to undertake paid work temporarily for third parties in their area of activity, the company lending their temporary work to the service user, while maintaining the legal-labour connection to the temporary employment company.
Yes. The legal system for temporary work is laid down in Law no.07/2009, of 12 May, which approves a new legal regime of temporary work.
Yes. TEC activities must be authorised, and a numbered licence issued and publicly registered. The TEC which are authorized to operate are published in the 1st Series of the Boletim de Trabalho e Emprego (the Work and Employment Bulletim), as are those which have been sanctioned with the suspension of their operating authorisation and the temporary prohibition of the same.
A contract for the use of temporary work is permitted in the following situations:
- The duration of the temporary work contract cannot exceed the duration of the user contract;
- Temporary employment contracts for a fixed term are not subject to the duration limit of nº 2 of article 148.º and, as long as the justifying reason remains, may be renewed up to four times;
- Fixed-term temporary employment contracts entered into to replace an absent worker are not subject to the renewal limit referred to in the previous number, without their absence being attributable to the employer, namely in cases of illness, accident, parental leave and other situations analogues;
- The duration of the fixed-term temporary work contract, including renewals, cannot exceed 2 years, or six or 12 months when it is signed, respectively, in the event of a job vacancy when a recruitment process is underway to fill it out or an exceptional increase in the company's activity;
- Temporary work contract for an indefinite term last is during for the time necessary to satisfy the users temporary need, and cannot exceed the duration limits as mentioned in the previous point;
- Without prejudice to the foregoing, the duration of successive temporary work contracts for different users, entered into with the same employer or company that has a controlling or group relationship with the latter, or maintains common organizational structures, cannot exceed four years.
- A temporary employment contract that exceeds the limit, referred in the previous point, becomes an indefinite employment contract for temporary assignment.
Temporary workers must be paid:
Yes. Overtime more than the working hours stipulated is paid with the additions laid down by General Labour Law or by the collective agreements in force in the user company.
In the event of termination of Term Contract or Temporary Work, at the initiative of the employer, the employee is entitled to compensation corresponding to 18 days of basic remuneration and salary for each full year of seniority, for the first three years of contract. In the following years, the employee shall be compensated in the proportion corresponding to 12 days of basic remuneration and salary for each full year of seniority.
In the event of expiry of the worker's retirement, he is not entitled to any compensation.
No. The worker only stops receiving unemployment benefit during their placement but then takes it up again afterwards if they do not have a new placement.