Portugal: Termination of employment

Original authors: David Carvalho Martins, António Monteiro Fernandes, Nuno Abranches Pinto and Filipa Lopes Galvâo, Littler | Portugal

Updating authors: Tiago Sequeira Mousinho, Rui Rego Soares and Gabriela Plácido, Littler | Portugal

See the legal services provided by the author of International > Portugal, including any discounts/offers for subscribers.

Summary

• Employment contracts may be terminated in various ways. (See General)
• Mandatory notice periods apply to the employee and employer. (See Notice periods)
• There are three ways that an employment contract can expire. (See Termination by expiry)
• An employer may terminate an employee's contract with fair cause (ie due to gross and wilful misconduct). (See Disciplinary dismissal)
• The employer may terminate the employment contract due to grounds that are not related to the employee's performance or behaviour but related to the company itself (ie objective grounds). (See Dismissal on objective grounds)
• There are various rules regarding collective dismissals (redundancies). The law requires that the grounds of a collective dismissal be economic, technological or organisational. (See Collective dismissals)
• The employer and the employee can terminate the employment contract by mutual agreement. (See Termination by mutual consent)
• Constructive dismissal is a termination of the contract initiated by the employee based on fair cause attributable to the employer. (See Constructive dismissal)
• Termination of the employment contract due to an employee's retirement has its own specific rules. (See Retirement)
• Unfair dismissal refers to any termination of an employment contract by the employer that does not comply with the legal requirements for a valid dismissal. (See Unfair dismissal)
• When an employment contract is terminated, the employee may be entitled to indemnities or compensation depending on the type and reason for termination. (See Severance payments)
• Employers are under no obligation to provide a reference or recommendation letter when an employee leaves, but they must provide certain termination documentation including work certificates. (See Termination documentation)

• Post termination non-compete clauses are allowed but they must fulfil certain conditions to be valid. (See Post termination non-compete clauses)

• An employee who wishes to challenge a dismissal must first file a claim with the relevant public labour conciliation authorities. (See Contesting dismissals)