Portugal

The default and most common employment relationship in Portugal is the open-ended/permanent contract (contrato de trabalho sem termo), with no end date. Employers must justify use of a fixed-term contract instead. Ending an indefinite contract requires just cause, a valid objective/fair ground, or mutual agreement, and generally entitles the employee to statutory notice and, in many cases, severance.

Fixed-term contracts may only be used for a temporary, objectively justified business need (e.g., seasonal work, a specific project, replacing an absent employee) and must be in writing stating the justification. Contrato a termo certo: maximum total duration of 2 years including up to 3 renewals. Contrato a termo incerto (tied to an uncertain event, e.g. a specific project): maximum 4 years. Exceeding these duration or renewal limits automatically converts the contract into a permanent one.

Statutory limit is 8 hours/day and 40 hours/week (many collective agreements set 35-40 hours). At least 11 consecutive hours of daily rest and a weekly rest day are required. Overtime is capped (generally around 150 hours/year, more for smaller companies or if a CBA allows) and paid at a premium: +25% for the first overtime hour on a normal workday, +37.5% for subsequent hours, and +50% for overtime on a weekly rest day or public holiday.

Probation length depends on contract type and role complexity: 90 days is standard for open-ended contracts, extending to 180 days for technically complex functions and 240 days for management/senior roles. Fixed-term contracts have shorter probation: 15 days (contracts of up to 6 months) or 30 days (longer contracts). During probation either party may end the contract without cause and without severance; once probation has run more than 60 days, limited advance notice (7-30 days depending on elapsed probation time) is required.

Employees are legally entitled to two extra full-month payments per year on top of their 12 monthly salaries: the Subsídio de Férias (holiday subsidy), paid before annual leave (commonly in June), and the Subsídio de Natal (Christmas subsidy), which must be paid by December 15. Each equals one month's base salary plus regular allowances, bringing total statutory annual pay to the equivalent of 14 months.

Portugal has no general government registry of job titles. The employee's professional category (categoria profissional) is typically defined by the applicable sector collective bargaining agreement (CCT), which can set minimum pay bands, duties, and career-progression rules tied to that category. Certain regulated professions (lawyers, doctors, engineers, accountants, architects, etc.) require registration with the relevant professional Order (Ordem) to use the corresponding title and practice.