Latest news and stories about working hours in Portugal for expats and residents.
With more than five million people employed, the Portuguese labour market currently has one of the highest weekly working hours in Europe, but salary levels below the EU average and one of the five highest rates of temporary contracts among the various countries of the Old Continent. The portrait is drawn by Pordata on the Day...
Portugal ranks among the European Union nations with the highest average weekly working hours.
Portugal ranks among the European Union countries with the longest average working hours.
While the average across the 27 European Union (EU) countries was 37 working hours per week in 2025, Portugal recorded an average of 39.7 hours, “one of the highest in the European Union.”
A study also shows that the average full-time adjusted salary in Portugal was 2,068.2 euros in 2024.
The UGT trade union is open to introducing a time bank system via direct agreement between employee and employer, provided it is within the scope of collective bargaining and includes new safeguards, such as additional pay and exemptions for parents of young children. The proposal, reported by ECO, suggests that individual time bank agreements would only be valid if permitted by a collective agreement, rejecting the government's push for a standalone individual model. The UGT also proposes a 50% pay premium for accumulated hours and specific protections for workers with family responsibilities, including those with children up to three years old or children with disabilities. Additionally, the union proposes that employees with children up to eight years old be granted the right to a continuous working day, allowing for a one-hour reduction in working hours without employer consent. Negotiations are now in their final stages as the matter moves to the Standing Committee for Social Concertation.
The trade union centre presents new conditions to accept the reintroduction of the individual bank of hours and proposes the right to a continuous working day for those with children up to 8 years old.
Salaries at Cimpor and Secil will increase by between 90 and 140 euros, and the working week will be reduced to 37.5 hours, according to a statement from the Federation of Construction, Ceramics and Glass. The Federation of Portuguese Construction, Ceramics and Glass Trade Unions (FEVICCOM/CGTP-IN) stated that the salary scale increase ranges from 90 to 140 euros, in addition to increases in seniority bonuses, meal allowances, shift premiums, and transport allowances. Working hours will decrease from 39 to 37.5 hours per week. The first Company Agreement for five companies within the Cimpor Group is in the final stages of negotiation, aiming to harmonise working conditions across the group. The annual review of these Company Agreements takes effect from 1 January. Cimpor is banking on the start of major public works projects to boost sales.
New legislation is expected to set 60 hours of work as the weekly limit. Modernisations to the tachograph are also expected, along with a new category of administrative offences — the most serious.
The Minister of Labour meets with UGT this Tuesday to resume negotiations on the new labour law. She has already made it clear: the Government is not willing to go back to square one, as suggested by the trade union. Employment contracts, dismissals, working hours, and outsourcing are some of the issues at stake.
