Portuguese Employer Rates and Thresholds 2026

Portuguese employers pay social security (taxa social única, TSU) at 23.75% of all remuneration, including holiday and Christmas allowances, with no upper limit. The employee pays 11%.

Employers must also insure workplace accidents with an authorised insurer, priced by activity risk, and provide occupational health and safety services. Neither has an official rate, so neither is in the table.

Employer amounts for a full year at 2026 rates, using the contributions above:

The national minimum wage is €920 a month in 2026, paid 14 times a year (€12,880).

• Employees receive two extra payments a year: a Christmas allowance of one month's pay and a holiday allowance covering the minimum annual leave.
• Normal working time is up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.
• At least 22 working days of paid leave a year, plus public holidays.
• 13 mandatory national public holidays. Carnival Tuesday and the municipal holiday can be added by collective agreement or employment contract.
• Sickness benefit is paid by Social Security, not by the employer, after a 3-day waiting period for employees.
• Initial parental leave is 120 or 150 consecutive days, which parents can share after the birth.
• Employees are entitled to at least 40 hours of continuous training a year.
• For telework, the employer must provide the equipment needed or agree its purchase, and fully compensate proven extra costs, including energy and internet.

• Open-ended contracts are the default. A fixed-term contract is allowed only for a temporary need, and the reason must be written into the contract.
• On open-ended contracts: 90 days for most employees, 180 days for complex, high-responsibility or trust roles (and first-job seekers or the long-term unemployed), and 240 days for directors and senior management.
• Dismissal requires just cause (serious misconduct) or an objective ground: collective dismissal, extinction of the post or unsuitability. Each has a formal procedure.
• Employees on open-ended contracts give 30 days' written notice (up to two years' service) or 60 days' (more than two years).