Employment Contracts in Portugal: Which Type You Have and What It Gives You

What kinds of employment contract exist in Portugal?

Portuguese law has two main families: the open-ended contract (sem termo, or por tempo indeterminado) and the fixed-term contract (a termo). Everything else, such as part-time or agency work, is a variation on those two. The rules sit in the Código do Trabalho (Lei 7/2009), which applies to every employee in Portugal whatever their passport.

The default is the open-ended contract. A fixed-term contract is the exception: the employer must state in writing a real, temporary reason for it, and if they cannot, the contract is treated as open-ended (Articles 140, 141 and 147). That is the single most useful thing to know before you sign a second or third short contract in a row.

	Open-ended	Fixed-term (set end date)	Fixed-term (uncertain end date)
Maximum length	None	2 years	4 years
Renewals	Not applicable	Up to 3, total renewals no longer than the first period	Lasts as long as the need exists, within 4 years
Trial period	90 days (180 or 240 for some roles)	30 days if 6 months or more, 15 days if shorter	Same 30 or 15 days
When it ends by expiry	Only by dismissal, resignation or agreement	24 days of pay per full year of service	24 days per year, plus 7, 30 or 60 days’ employer notice
Your resignation notice	30 days (up to 2 years’ service) or 60 days	30 days if the contract is 6 months or more, 15 if shorter	Based on time already served

Sources for the table: Articles 112, 148, 149, 344, 345 and 400 of the Código do Trabalho.

Two variations are worth a line each. A part-time contract means weekly hours below a comparable full-time worker; it must be written, and if the hours are not stated, the law presumes full-time (Articles 150 and 153). Temporary-agency work (trabalho temporário) puts you on the payroll of an agency that places you with a client company. A fixed-term agency contract, renewals included, cannot exceed two years, or 6 or 12 months in two specific situations (Article 182).

Does my contract have to be in writing, and what must it say?

For a foreign worker, yes. Article 5 says a contract with a foreign or stateless worker must be written and must include the parties’ details, a reference to your work visa or residence title, the employer’s activity, your role and pay, workplace and hours, and the start date. It is made in duplicate and the employer hands you one copy. Breaking these rules is a “serious” administrative offence for the employer.

Article 5 does not apply to nationals of EEA countries. If you hold a US, UK or other non-EEA passport, expect the full list. Fixed-term contracts need a written form for everyone (Article 141), including the justification for the term and the start and end dates.

Even a verbal or thin contract does not leave you without protection. The employer must give you the main terms in writing: core items by the seventh day after you start, and the rest within one month (Articles 106 and 107). That includes your holiday entitlement, notice periods, pay, working hours and the trial period.

A job offer and a right to work are separate things. A signed contract does not by itself give you a visa or residence permit, and the contract must reference your visa or title, so the immigration side has to be settled through the official channels first. Our guide to spotting fake offers and job scams covers what to verify before you rely on an offer, and how to find a job in Portugal covers the search itself.

How long is the trial period, and can I be let go during it?

The trial period (período experimental) is 90 days for most open-ended contracts, 180 days for technically complex or trust roles, and 240 days for senior managers. Under Article 112, fixed-term contracts have 30 days if they run six months or more, and 15 days if shorter.

Some details that matter:

• The 180-day period also applies to people looking for a first job and the long-term unemployed.
• Earlier work for the same employer, such as a previous fixed-term contract, an agency placement in the same post or an internship, shortens or removes the trial period.
• The trial period can be shortened by written agreement or collective agreement (Article 112), and removed entirely by written agreement (Article 111).
• If your employer fails to send the written information described above on time, the law presumes the parties agreed to skip the trial period (Article 111).

Check the number in your contract against Article 112. A clause that quietly gives a 240-day trial to a regular employee is the sort of thing worth querying.

What happens when a fixed-term contract ends?

If the employer lets a fixed-term contract expire, you are entitled to 24 days of base pay plus seniority bonuses for each full year of service, and proportionally for part-years (Article 344). Lei 13/2023, the Agenda do Trabalho Digno, set that rate. The same 24 days apply to an uncertain-end-date contract (Article 345).

A worked example: you earn €1,500 a month on a two-year contract that expires. The daily rate is €1,500 divided by 30, so €50. Two full years at 24 days is 48 days, or €2,400, roughly $2,780 at 1.16 USD per euro. Seniority bonuses (diuturnidades), if you have any, are added to the base. The payment does not apply if you are the one who gave notice not to renew.

Notice works like this. To stop the contract renewing, the employer must tell you in writing at least 15 days before the end date, and you must tell them at least 8 days before (Article 344). Say nothing and it renews automatically for the same period, unless the contract rules out renewal (Article 149).

Before you accept a renewal, count the total time. Fixed-term contracts, agency placements in the same post and service contracts for the same work with the same employer or its group all count toward the two-year limit (Article 148). If they exceed it, or the contract is renewed more than allowed, the contract converts to open-ended, with your seniority counted from the first day of work (Article 147).

How much notice do I need to give to resign?

Resignation (denúncia) must be in writing. Under Article 400, you give 30 days if you have up to two years of service, and 60 days if you have more. For fixed-term contracts the notice is 30 days when the contract lasts at least six months, and 15 days when it is shorter. Employment contracts and collective agreements can raise notice for managers and similar senior roles, up to six months.

Because you can resign without giving a reason, a clean exit is mostly a matter of paperwork: sign a dated written notice and keep a copy. If you disappear for 10 consecutive working days without telling the employer why, the law presumes you abandoned the job, which counts as resignation and can make you liable for compensation (Article 403). Anyone recognised under the domestic-violence statute is exempt from notice (Article 400).

What rights come with any employment contract?

Regardless of the contract type, you have the following under the Código do Trabalho, and none of it depends on nationality:

• Pay floor. The 2026 national minimum monthly wage is €920, set by Decreto-Lei 139/2025 and in force from 1 January 2026. For salary context, see our minimum wage and average salary breakdown.
• Working time. The normal period is at most 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week (Article 203). An individual agreement can average hours so that a week reaches 50, so read any “adaptability” clause (Article 205).
• Holiday. At least 22 working days a year (Article 238). In the year you start, you earn two working days per month of contract, up to 20, usable after six months (Article 239).
• Christmas allowance. One month’s pay, due by 15 December, calculated proportionally in the year you join or leave (Article 263).
• Holiday allowance. A subsídio de férias on top of your normal holiday pay (Article 264).
• Social security. Your employer registers you and pays contributions; see Segurança Social for expats for how it works in practice.

What should I check before I sign?

If you only check one clause, check the end date and the reason for it. A fixed-term contract with a vague reason like “company needs” is a red flag, because the law requires the facts that justify it to be stated (Article 141).

A short checklist:

1. Your name, employer’s details and the signed date are correct, and you get a copy.
2. For non-EEA nationals, the contract refers to your visa or residence title.
3. The type is clear: open-ended, fixed-term with end date, or agency.
4. For fixed-term, the written reason and end date are there.
5. The trial period matches Article 112.
6. Gross monthly pay, number of payments and whether the allowances are included or added are written down.
7. Weekly hours, the workplace, and any average-hours or “adaptability” clause.
8. Holiday days and notice periods.
9. The collective agreement that applies, if any.

Seasonal and agricultural work often run on short fixed-term or agency contracts; our guide to farm and seasonal work lists the specific points to check there.

What if I am paid as a freelancer but work like an employee?

This is the “false recibos verdes” problem, and the law is on your side. Article 12 of the Código do Trabalho presumes an employment contract when some of the following exist: you work at the beneficiary’s premises or a place they set, you use their equipment, they set your start and end times, you receive a fixed amount at regular intervals, or you hold a management role. For the employer, using an apparently independent arrangement in those conditions is a very serious administrative offence.

You can ask the labour inspectorate (ACT, Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho) to step in using its online “pedido de intervenção inspetiva” form, attaching your evidence. Under Article 15-A of Lei 107/2009, if an inspector finds the features of an employment contract, the employer has 10 days to regularise or respond. If they do not, ACT sends the facts to the public prosecutor within five days so an action recognising the employment contract can be filed. Genuine freelancers should read our recibos verdes guide instead.

Is the labour reform in force?

No. The government approved its “Trabalho XXI” labour reform in the Council of Ministers on 14 May 2026 and sent it to parliament, which rejected it at the first (generality) vote on 19 June 2026. Because it failed at that stage, nothing in it became law.

You may still see older headlines about longer fixed-term contracts. Those were proposals, not rules. The limits described in this article are the ones in force under the current Código do Trabalho. If a new bill appears, check the parliament’s website before relying on it.

This article is general information based on the official text of the Código do Trabalho and is not legal advice. For a disputed dismissal or unpaid wages, talk to a labour lawyer, a union or ACT.