Dismissed From Your Job in Portugal: What to Do, Deadlines and Employee Rights

If your employer has dismissed you in Portugal, the first question is not simply how much severance you should receive.

You need to identify exactly how the employment relationship is ending.

A disciplinary dismissal, collective dismissal, extinction of a position, expiry of a fixed-term contract, termination during a probation period and a mutual termination agreement are not the same legal route.

The deadlines, procedure and money can be very different.

If you believe the dismissal may be unlawful, act quickly. Portuguese labour law contains short procedural deadlines, including a five-working-day period for an urgent preventive suspension request and a 60-day period that applies to the normal judicial challenge of a dismissal.

First: do not confuse a dismissal with a termination agreement

An employer may tell you that your employment is "ending" and hand you a document to sign.

Before signing, identify whether the document is:

• a dismissal decision;
• a proposal for termination by mutual agreement;
• notice that a fixed-term contract will expire;
• a redundancy or position-elimination process;
• a disciplinary decision;
• or another form of termination.

This distinction matters.

A dismissal is an employer decision.

A termination agreement is a contract between the employer and employee. By signing it, you can materially change your legal position.

If you have been given an agreement rather than a dismissal decision, read our guide on a termination agreement in Portugal before signing.

Preserve the documents immediately

Keep copies of:

• employment contract and amendments;
• dismissal letter or termination proposal;
• payslips;
• salary and bonus records;
• holiday records;
• performance reviews;
• disciplinary communications;
• emails and messages about the termination;
• collective bargaining agreement information where relevant;
• company policies relied on by the employer.

Do not rely on continued access to the employer's systems.

After an account is disabled, important evidence can be much harder to recover.

The five-working-day urgent deadline

Portuguese labour law allows a worker to request preventive suspension of a dismissal through a precautionary court procedure.

The statutory period is five working days from receipt of the dismissal communication.

This is not the same thing as the ordinary 60-day period for challenging the dismissal.

If immediate suspension is potentially important in your case, five working days is a very short window. Get advice before that window expires.

The 60-day dismissal challenge period

Under Article 387 of the Portuguese Labour Code, a worker can oppose a dismissal through the competent court within 60 days.

The period runs from:

• receipt of the dismissal communication; or
• the date the employment contract ends, if that date is later.

Do not wait for negotiations with HR to finish before checking the court deadline.

Negotiations do not automatically suspend a statutory limitation period.

What reason did the employer give?

The written dismissal decision matters.

In the judicial action reviewing the dismissal, the employer is limited to the facts and grounds contained in the dismissal decision communicated to the worker.

That is why the actual letter should be reviewed, rather than relying only on what HR said verbally.

Ask:

• What legal route is the employer using?
• What facts are alleged?
• What dates are relied on?
• What procedure was followed?
• What compensation and employment credits are listed?
• Is the reason consistent with the events that actually occurred?

"Performance reasons" are not a universal dismissal category

Foreign employees are sometimes told that they are being dismissed because of "performance", "restructuring" or "business needs".

Those phrases do not, by themselves, determine whether the dismissal is lawful.

Portuguese law uses defined termination routes with specific substantive and procedural requirements.

A company cannot simply create a new legal category by using a broad HR label.

The actual facts and the procedure have to fit the route being used.

Severance is not one universal formula

There is no single Portuguese severance calculation that applies to every employment exit.

You must distinguish between:

• statutory compensation on a lawful objective dismissal route;
• compensation for expiry of certain fixed-term contracts;
• a negotiated amount in a mutual termination agreement;
• employment credits already earned;
• compensation or indemnity if a dismissal is later declared unlawful.

For example, current law provides a statutory 14-day-per-year framework for compensation in collective dismissal and related objective routes, subject to the applicable rules and transition provisions.

That is not a universal "14 days per year" rule for every termination.

Do not sign a settlement simply because HR calls a figure the legal minimum.

What other money may be due when employment ends?

Depending on the situation, the final account can involve more than termination compensation.

Check:

• unpaid salary;
• unused holiday rights;
• holiday subsidy;
• Christmas subsidy proportions;
• variable remuneration that has already accrued;
• overtime or other unpaid employment credits;
• contractual benefits;
• expenses or reimbursements;
• statutory termination compensation where applicable.

A lump-sum offer can hide the fact that some of the amount is money you were already owed independently of any negotiated exit payment.

What happens if a dismissal is unlawful?

If a court declares the dismissal unlawful, Portuguese labour law provides a framework that can include:

• compensation for damage;
• reinstatement, subject to statutory exceptions;
• salary lost between dismissal and the final judgment, subject to statutory deductions.

The worker can also, within the applicable procedure, choose compensation instead of reinstatement.

For an indefinite contract, that compensation is generally determined by the court within a range of 15 to 45 days of base salary plus seniority payments for each complete year or fraction of service, with a statutory minimum of three months.

Fixed-term contracts have a different framework.

The correct remedy therefore depends on the contract and the dismissal route.

Do not assume a compensation payment proves the dismissal is lawful

Receiving money does not automatically mean the employer followed the correct dismissal procedure.

Equally, receiving a dismissal letter does not automatically mean the employee is entitled to a court award.

A legal review should separate:

• 1. the legal route;
• 2. procedural validity;
• 3. substantive grounds;
• 4. the money already owed;
• 5. possible remedies if the dismissal is unlawful.

If your residence permit is linked to employment

For a foreign employee, job loss can also raise an immigration question.

Do not assume that losing the job automatically cancels a Portuguese residence permit.

But do not ignore the immigration side either.

The effect depends on the residence basis, the stage of the process and the worker's current status.

If you originally moved through a Portuguese work route, review the immigration position separately from the labour dispute.

Should you negotiate before going to court?

Often, yes.

A strong legal position can be useful in negotiation.

Before negotiating, know:

• what the employer legally owes;
• what is genuinely negotiable;
• what deadline is running;
• whether the written dismissal can be challenged;
• what evidence supports your position.

THE-Ö has handled employment termination matters where a legal opinion materially changed the compensation offered by the employer.

Negotiation is most effective when it is built on a clear legal calculation rather than a general request for more money.

A practical checklist after dismissal

1. Identify the termination route

Do not rely on the employer's informal description.

2. Save all documents

Preserve the dismissal letter, contract, payslips and relevant communications.

3. Record the dates

Especially:

• when the dismissal communication was received;
• when the contract ends;
• when any agreement was signed.

4. Calculate employment credits separately

Do not mix already-earned money with negotiated compensation.

5. Check the five-working-day urgent remedy

If preventive suspension could matter, this requires immediate attention.

6. Check the 60-day judicial challenge deadline

Do not allow negotiations to make you miss it.

7. Review immigration consequences if applicable

Labour and immigration status are separate legal questions.

8. Decide on negotiation or litigation strategy

Not every dispute needs to reach a final court hearing.

Common mistakes

Signing the first document HR gives you

A termination agreement can have very different consequences from a dismissal.

Looking only at the headline compensation number

The final payment may include credits you were already owed.

Waiting several months because negotiations are ongoing

Dismissal deadlines can run while discussions continue.

Deleting work emails or losing account access

Evidence can disappear very quickly.

Assuming your foreign employment experience works the same way in Portugal

Portuguese termination procedures are formal and route-specific.

Treating immigration status as an afterthought

For some foreign employees, job loss creates a second legal problem that should be reviewed early.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to challenge a dismissal in Portugal?

The ordinary judicial challenge under Article 387 is generally 60 days from receipt of the dismissal communication or, if later, the contract termination date.

Is there any shorter deadline?

Yes. A preventive suspension request can have a five-working-day deadline from receipt of the dismissal communication.

Can my employer dismiss me verbally?

Portuguese dismissal procedures contain formal requirements. A verbal statement should not be treated as a substitute for the written legal process.

Am I always entitled to severance?

No. Entitlement and calculation depend on the termination route.

What if I was offered a mutual termination agreement?

Do not treat that as the same thing as being dismissed. Review the agreement, the compensation and the statutory withdrawal rules before signing.

What if I already received compensation?

Receiving a payment does not by itself resolve whether the dismissal or agreement was legally valid. The payment should be analysed together with the documents.

Have you been dismissed in Portugal?

Send us the employment contract, termination documents, latest payslips and the date you received the employer's decision.

Our lawyers can review the legal route, calculate the relevant employment credits, identify urgent deadlines and advise on negotiation or court action.