Find an employment contract lawyer in Portugal who handles your case

Portugal in practice

How employment matters are handled in Portugal

Portugal is a civil-law country: employment relationships rest on written rules, principally the Labour Code (Código do Trabalho), and are applied by the courts rather than by binding precedent. In practice your case is argued on the text of the law, the contract and the evidence of how the relationship was actually performed. The points below explain the courts, the representation rules, the deadlines and the costs you should expect.

Written codes rather than binding precedent

Portugal follows the continental, Romano-Germanic model, in which private law rests on comprehensive written codes instead of binding judicial precedent. Alongside the Civil Code and the Civil Procedure Code, the Labour Code (Código do Trabalho) is a central source of private law. Judgments of the Supreme Court of Justice, and above all uniformising rulings of case law (acórdãos de uniformização de jurisprudência), guide how those rules are read.

Where employment cases are heard

Civil and criminal cases begin at first instance before the judicial courts (tribunais judiciais), organised into 23 comarcas, each subdivided into juízos by specialisation — including labour. Appeals (apelação) are heard by the five Courts of Appeal of Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Évora and Guimarães. Cassation and the uniformisation of case law belong to the Supreme Court of Justice, sitting in Lisbon.

Only Bar-registered lawyers may act for you

Membership of the Ordem dos Advogados is compulsory in order to practise law in Portugal under the Estatuto da Ordem dos Advogados (Law 145/2015, last amended by Law 6/2024). Performing the acts reserved to lawyers without registration is ‘procuradoria ilícita’, a criminal offence under Law 49/2004. EU lawyers may establish under their home professional title after registering, or be fully admitted after an aptitude exam.

When a lawyer is mandatory

Under Article 40 of the Civil Procedure Code, the parties must be represented by a lawyer in proceedings where representation is mandatory: in general actions and appeals above the first-instance court’s alçada of €5,000, and always in appeals before the Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Where representation is not mandatory, a party may appear in person or be represented by trainee lawyers or solicitors.

Deadlines that decide employment cases

Time limits are strict. A dismissal must be challenged within 60 days, and an appeal against a judgment within 30 days (15 days in urgent proceedings), running from notification. The ordinary limitation period is 20 years; five years apply to periodic payments such as rent, interest and fees; and certain claims fall under shorter presumptive periods of six months or two years.

Court costs, lawyers’ fees and legal aid

Court costs are governed by the Regulamento das Custas Processuais, which expresses the court fee (taxa de justiça) in Unidade de Conta — a unit of account updated annually with the social support index — and fixes it by reference to the value and complexity of the case. The losing party generally bears the costs. Lawyers’ fees are freely agreed, and legal aid under Law 34/2004 is available where economic insufficiency is confirmed.

Key time limit — Employment Law

Challenge to a dismissal — 60 days. The window for judicially challenging a dismissal under the Portuguese labour framework.

The country information on this page comes from official Portuguese and European sources — the Diário da República, the Ordem dos Advogados and the European e-Justice Portal — consulted in 2025.

• European e-Justice Portal — National justice systems: Portugal
• Ordem dos Advogados — Estatuto da Ordem dos Advogados (consolidated version)
• Diário da República — Prescrição (limitation periods)
• Diário da República — Dismissal challenge regime
• Diário da República — Código de Processo Civil (appeal deadlines)
• Diário da República — Time limit for challenging an administrative act
• Diário da República — Divorce by mutual consent
• Portal das Finanças — Reporting obligations after death
• Diário da República — Regulamento das Custas Processuais (Decree-Law 34/2008)
• Diário da República — Access to law and the courts (Law 34/2004)