Portugal
Make employment in Portugal easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Portugal, all in one easy-to-use platform.
- Capital City
Lisbon
- Currency
Euro (€, EUR)
- Languages
Portuguese
- Population size
10,276,617
Facts & Stats
- Capital City
Lisbon
- Currency
Euro (€, EUR)
- Languages
Portuguese
- Population size
10,276,617
- 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.)
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.
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.
Risks of misclassification
Portugal, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Portugal may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.
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: €820 per month in 14 payments for all employees, payable across 12 months.
Mandatory Training Hours
In Portugal, employers have to provide 40 hours of professional training per year to all employees with an indefinite contract. If these hours are not provided and duly registered, they will have to be paid upon termination according to Portuguese legal requirements.
Payroll Cycle
For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly instalments 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.
13 Public holidays
Want to see and manage all holidays? Sign up for our free HRIS!
Effortless HR in Portugal: Take the Tour
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 travelling 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.
Fair Pricing in Portugal
Employer of Record
Hire and pay your global team
Starting at £479/month
for annual plans
Top features
Satisfaction guaranteed
No deposits or hidden fees
Zero onboarding or offboarding fees
Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting
Built-in security and compliance
Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)
Flexible, localised benefits
Contractor Management
Compliantly onboard and pay contractors
£23
per contractor/month
Top features
Only pay for contractors you actively work with
Work with contractors in 200+ countries
Create, edit, and sign tailored, localised contracts
Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay
Transparent payments with complete visibility
Payroll
Consolidate your multi-country payroll
£24
per employee/month
Top features
Simplify: Comprehensive platform that integrates all payroll functions
Support: Personalised assistance with a dedicated team and specialists
Accuracy: Test runs and parallel pay runs before implementation
Compliance: Adhere to local labour laws in every country
Timeliness: Accurate and on-time payroll with labour authority reporting handled
Experience: Seamless payroll with easy access to payslips and expenses
Top features
Guided onboarding and offboarding
Employee profile and document management
Time and attendance (time off and tracking)
Expense management and reimbursement
Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app