Work: Lay off news in Portugal

Parliament backs 100% lay-off pay; PSD threatens challenge

Parliament approved an amendment — pushed by the Left Bloc (BE) — guaranteeing simplified storm-related lay-offs at 100% of gross pay up to three times the national minimum wage, reversing the government's two-thirds formula. The PSD, led in Parliament by Hugo Soares, said it may appeal to the Constitutional Court if it believes the change breaks the law; PSD and Iniciativa Liberal voted against the measure. Workers in affected sectors should check employer notices and official guidance about eligibility and pay levels.

Francisco Sá Carneiro was a Portuguese politician who co‑founded the Social Democratic Party (Social Democratic Party (Partido Social Democrata or PSD) in 1974 and served as prime minister in 1980. He died in a plane crash on 4 December 1980; his name is widely recognised in Portugal and is used for Porto’s main airport, which expats commonly encounter when travelling.

Hugo Soares is the PSD parliamentary leader, as noted during a recent biweekly debate. He warned the PSD will pursue all available measures if it believes an amendment to the lay-off decree-law approved by the opposition violates the law, which matters for workers and employers following labour-rule changes.

6 sources →4 Mar

Parliament backs 100% lay-off pay; PSD threatens challenge

Left parties demand 100% storm lay-off pay

💼 Work 🏛️ Government#labour-law+3 more

Livre, PCP and Bloco de Esquerda (BE) have asked parliament to review the government's decree on the simplified lay-off scheme, demanding that salaries for workers affected by the storm be paid at 100% rather than the two-thirds the decree guarantees, Expresso, ECO and Correio da Manhã report. The Socialist deputies also support 100% pay, leaving Chega as a potential swing vote on any change. If parliament presses for full pay, affected firms and dismissed workers could see higher costs or faster government intervention. Workers in storm-hit areas and employers should monitor parliamentary action for changes to compensation rules.

Update: Left parties file review seeking full lay-off pay

Livre, PCP and BE formally submitted a parliamentary review request to force debate, ECO reports, with the petition signed by the minimum ten deputies needed to trigger consideration. Observador and Correio da Manhã corroborate the submission and say the parties seek 100% salary coverage for storm-affected workers instead of the two-thirds laid out in the government's decree; no date for a parliamentary vote has been set.

Layoff simplificado is a temporary labour scheme that allows employers to suspend contracts or reduce hours while workers receive state-supported pay. Recent reporting (4 Feb 2026) says this simplified layoff can secure 100% of gross salary up to a limit of €2,760, so employees affected should check official rules on eligibility and duration.

Chega ("Enough") is a Portuguese far-right populist party founded in 2019 by André Ventura. It positions itself as an anti-establishment movement against what it calls a "rotten and corrupt system" of PS-PSD dominance. The party surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest force with 60 seats. Chega's core platform emphasizes strict immigration control—ending automatic CPLP residency, deporting non-independent immigrants, implementing job-market quotas, and requiring five-year social security contributions before benefit access. It advocates radical constitutional reform, including reducing parliament to 100 members, abolishing the prime minister position for a presidential system, and dismantling public healthcare. Law-and-order policies include life imprisonment and chemical castration proposals.

The party is defined by inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric, with Ventura convicted multiple times for discrimination. Chega maintains international alignments with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen, Santiago Abascal, and Matteo Salvini. Mainstream Portuguese parties, including Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's government, have imposed a cordon sanitaire, refusing coalition with Chega despite its parliamentary strength.

Leader: Rui Tavares
Ideology: Green left-wing politics, libertarian socialism

LIVRE (meaning "Free") is a green left-wing party founded in 2014 by historian and former MEP Rui Tavares. The party struggled for years before finally electing Tavares as its first MP in 2022, then grew to 4 seats in 2024 and 6 seats in 2025—making it the only progressive party to gain ground in recent elections. LIVRE focuses on environmental protection, human rights, and progressive social policies while maintaining a pro-European stance.

The Portuguese Communist Party (PCP or Partido Comunista Português) is a Marxist‑Leninist party founded in 1921 out of the revolutionary trade‑union and anarcho‑syndicalist movement, becoming the Portuguese section of the Comintern in 1923. Banned after the 1926 coup, it went underground and became a central force of resistance to the Estado Novo dictatorship, organizing clandestine unions, anti‑fascist struggle and supporting the colonial liberation movements. After the 1974 Carnation Revolution, the PCP was pivotal in land reform, nationalisations and embedding social rights in the 1976 Constitution, especially in the Alentejo and Setúbal regions where it has long been very strong.

Today the PCP is a smaller but still influential party rooted in the CGTP trade‑union confederation and local government, holding a handful of Assembly seats and one MEP in the Left group. It advocates a “patriotic and left‑wing alternative”: defence of workers’ rights, public services and national sovereignty, strong criticism of EU and NATO constraints, and support for socialist countries and anti‑imperialist causes.

4 sources →18 Feb

Left parties demand 100% storm lay-off pay

PCP says that 100% 'lay-off' will be "easily resolved" and calls on the Government to learn lessons

💼 Work 🏛️ Government 🏖️ Daily Life#lay-off+3 more

The PCP emphasizes the need for the government to advance with the simplified 100% 'lay-off' scheme, asserting that the current issues can be resolved easily. Paulo Raimundo highlights the urgency for the government to address ongoing problems, particularly in the aftermath of Storm Kristin.

Correio da Manhã25 Feb

PCP says that 100% 'lay-off' will be "easily resolved" and calls on the Government to learn lessons

Salary cuts above 920 euros: Government bill does not provide for 100% compensation

💼 Work 🏛️ Government#lay-off+2 more

The government bill addressing salary cuts for workers in disaster-stricken municipalities does not guarantee full compensation for those on lay-off, leaving many without adequate financial support during this challenging time.

Correio da Manhã8 Feb

Salary cuts above 920 euros: Government bill does not provide for 100% compensation

Workers covered by simplified lay-off to receive 100% pay up to €2,760

💼 Work 🏛️ Government#lay-off+3 more

The Government confirmed that workers placed on the simplified lay-off because of Kristin will receive 100% of their normal net pay, capped at three times the national minimum wage (€2,760). The guarantee strengthens immediate income protection for affected employees, though its fiscal and administrative implications will depend on eligibility rules, duration and how costs are shared between employers and public funds.

RTP Notícias2 Feb