Notice period
in Portugal.

SALARY PAYMENT IN Euro (EUR, €)

CONTRACT LANGUAGES Portuguese / English

PAYROLL TAX 26.50%

PAYROLL CYCLE Monthly

TIME TO HIRE 12 hours
Get Started

Horizons-owned entity with local country experts in Lisbon.

We offer fair, scalable, and transparent pricing on Portugal PEO service. Contact us for a cost breakdown

End service in Portugal with no additional penalties or fees.

Horizons is enrolled in the Portugal Tech Visa Program.

Hire and pay talents
with Horizons in
180+ countries

Get started

Portugal

What is the minimum notice period when resigning in Portugal?

Notice periods for resignations vary depending on length of service. These figures apply to employees on indefinite-term employment contracts. The notice periods vary slightly for workers on fixed-term contracts:

During probation:

<60 days → no notice
60-120 days → seven days of notice
>120 days → 14 days of notice

After probation:

<2 years employment → min. 30 days
>2 years employment → min. 60 days
Standard → Statutory minimum. There is no expectation to give additional notice than what is required by law.

Video: Ending employment in Portugal

What are the consequences of an insufficient notice period in Portugal?

From the employer side, payment can be submitted in lieu of notice in Portugal, and in all cases of termination with reason, it is required to provide notice or payment. Insufficient notice period would require payment to the employee for the days they are entitled to notice.

If neither notice period nor payment in lieu are provided, the employer has committed a “serious administrative infraction”, and the dismissal is then considered unlawful. Such a situation opens the employer to liabilities including:

Compensation for damages to the employee, including payment for salary not received since the dismissal AND
Mandated reinstatement of the employee or compensation in place of the reinstatement (upon employee’s request) of the amount equal to 15 – 45 days of compensation. The total number of days owed would be determined by a judge

Note that in dismissals as part of disciplinary actions for contract-breaching employee behavior, notice period nor payment are required.

From the employee side, not honoring the contractual and legal notice period could cause the employee to owe money to the employer; generally payment in lieu of notice paid from the employee to the employer is acceptable in Portugal. In cases of an employee providing insufficient notice period in Portugal, an employee would need to pay:

Salary amount for the days included in the mandatory notice period AND
Any damages caused as a result of non-compliance

Is it possible to reduce the notice period in Portugal under exceptional circumstances?

The notice period in Portugal can be reduced with payment in lieu of notice.

In force majeure cases, employees and employers should always refer to their contracts; but in general, all parties are released from obligations until the event stops.

Note that in cases where a business runs out of capital, they would still be responsible for providing appropriate notice or payment in lieu of notice.

Hiring in Portugal, Made Easy

Your business can easily hire employees in Portugal without opening a local entity.

We handle local employment law, complex tax regulations, and international payroll in 180+ countries worldwide. All you need to do is focus on your business.

FAQs

How much notice must employees give before resigning in Portugal?

After the probation period, employees in Portugal must provide the following notice before resigning, depending on amount of service:

15 days notice (if employed less than 6 months)
30 days notice (if employed more than 6 months)

How much notice must employers give before terminating employment in Portugal?

After the probation period, employers in Portugal must give the following notice before terminating employment, depending on the amount of service:

30 days (if employed less than 2 years)
60 days (if employed more than 2 years)

Success stories from businesses we’ve helped enter and grow in new markets.

Client Testimonials

"As a seed-stage, London-based startup, we were initially hesitant to expand internationally due to the administrative workload involved. Horizons took the headache out of the process, allowing us to hire a team of software engineers in Germany."

Gabor SzedlakCo-founder & COO at MindLabs (UK)

"I truly appreciated the thoroughness and the professionalism of Horizons personnel while we hired internationally with them. They were knowledgable on all subject matters pertaining to international employment."

Gary PaskyVP Software Development, PICS ITech (USA)

"On deciding to begin commercial activities in Asia Pacific, we needed a provider to handle the employment and remuneration of our workforce. With Horizons the result was fast, efficient, and fit-for-purpose. We recommend Horizons as an EOR provider.”

Chris MorrellManaging Director, Schaeffler Group (Germany)

"The collaboration with the Horizons team is excellent. Both our local employee as well as our HQ in Germany are more than pleased with the support provided and the simplicity of the service. We can highly recommend the Horizons solution to anyone."

Christoph EngelbertCo-Founder & CTO, Clevabit (Germany)

"We needed an EOR that could provide expert support for payroll in APAC. We are pleased with Horizons’ expertise and the fact that they are flexible, responsive, and easily accessible from Belgium. They were able to provide services within the short timeline we required."

Katia FlamandHuman Resources, Devian Chemicals (Belgium)

Global Benefits

Global Immigration

Talent Acquisition

About Horizons

Success Stories

Partner Program

Global Hubs

Careers

Insight

Inside Horizons

Help Center

Support

Global Payroll Calculator

Employee Misclassification Calculator

Notice period
in Portugal.

What is the minimum notice period when resigning in Portugal?

Video: Ending employment in Portugal

What are the consequences of an insufficient notice period in Portugal?

Is it possible to reduce the notice period in Portugal under exceptional circumstances?

Hiring in Portugal, Made Easy

FAQs

Success stories from businesses we’ve helped enter and grow in new markets.

Client Testimonials

Hire Anywhere. Today.

Hire Anywhere. Today.

180+

3K+

1 day

100%

Europe

Americas

Notice period in Portugal.

What is the minimum notice period when resigning in Portugal?

Video: Ending employment in Portugal

What are the consequences of an insufficient notice period in Portugal?

Is it possible to reduce the notice period in Portugal under exceptional circumstances?

Hiring in Portugal, Made Easy

FAQs

Success stories from businesses we’ve helped enter and grow in new markets.

Client Testimonials

Hire Anywhere. Today.

Hire Anywhere. Today.

180+

3K+

1 day

100%

Europe

Americas

Notice period
in Portugal.