Holidays, Vacations and Absences The Portuguese Labour Law states there are mandatory holidays including: New Year’s Day (1st January), Good Friday (which may be observed on another day with local significance during Easter), Easter Sunday, Liberation Day (25th April), Labour Day (1st May), Corpus Christi, National Day (10th June), Assumption (15th August), Republic Day (5th October), All Saints’ Day (1st November), Independence Restoration Day (1st December), Immaculate Conception (8th December), and Christmas Day (25th December). A national holiday that falls on a Sunday is not taken the following Monday. There is also one Municipal Holiday. Please note that administrative services will be closed on these days, as well as a significant number of shops and private services. The annual vacation period has a minimum duration of 22 working days. Workers have the right to a paid vacation period in each calendar year, and this must be carried out in such a way as to enable the physical and psychological recovery of the worker and ensure minimum conditions of personal availability, integration into family life, participation and culture. The right to vacation cannot be waived. Effective vacation time cannot be substituted, even with the employee’s consent, by any form of economic or other compensation, if a minimum of 20 business vacation days are not assured. In the admission year, the employee is entitled to two business days of vacation per each month of the labour contract’s duration, with 20 days limit, to be enjoyed after six months of work. If the calendar year ends before that six month period, vacation may be taken until 30th of June. The same rules apply in the event of an impediment that started in the previous year. Nevertheless, the employee shall never be entitled to more than 30 business days of vacation in the same calendar year. For employment contracts that last less than six months, the employee is entitled to two business days of vacation per each month of the contract’s duration. Employers may change vacation time already scheduled, or interrupt ongoing vacations, due to the imperative demands of the company, but employees will be entitled to be compensated for any losses shown to have been suffered.
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