Unpaid Salary in Portugal: Employee Rights, Suspension and What to Do

If your employer in Portugal has not paid your salary on time, you do not have to treat the situation as an informal promise that will eventually be fixed.

Portuguese labour law gives employees specific remedies for late salary.

Depending on the facts, those remedies can include:

• default interest;
• formal confirmation of the unpaid amount;
• suspension of the employment contract;
• termination by the worker for just cause;
• recovery of unpaid employment credits;
• a complaint or legal action.

The correct route depends on how long the salary has been unpaid, whether the employer accepts the debt and whether the employee wants to preserve or end the employment relationship.

Start by documenting exactly what is unpaid

Create a simple record for each missing amount:

• salary month;
• contractual due date;
• amount due;
• amount actually paid;
• date any partial payment was received;
• payslip;
• bank statement;
• employer explanation.

Also record:

• unpaid holiday subsidy;
• Christmas subsidy;
• overtime;
• commissions;
• variable pay;
• expenses;
• other contractual credits.

Do not rely only on verbal promises from payroll or management.

Late salary can produce default interest

Article 323 of the Portuguese Labour Code provides that an employer culpably failing to perform monetary obligations is responsible for the resulting damage and owes default interest on the unpaid monetary amount at the legal rate, or a higher rate if an applicable collective instrument or agreement provides one.

The same article expressly recognises that late salary can allow the worker to suspend or terminate the employment contract under the Labour Code.

Suspension after 15 days of non-payment

Article 325 provides a specific suspension mechanism.

Where salary has remained unpaid for 15 days after its due date, the worker may suspend the employment contract.

The worker must communicate the suspension in writing to:

• the employer; and
• the labour inspection service,

with at least eight days' notice before the suspension begins.

This is a formal legal step.

Do not simply stop attending work because the employer has not paid.

An unauthorised absence can create a different employment problem.

Can suspension happen before 15 days?

Yes, in a specific situation.

If the employer declares in writing that it expects not to pay the outstanding salary by the end of the 15-day period, the law allows suspension before those 15 days have elapsed.

The written record matters.

Confirming the unpaid amount

Article 325 also provides a mechanism to obtain a declaration of the late payment.

At the worker's request, the employer should issue a declaration identifying:

• the unpaid amount; and
• the period to which it relates.

If the employer refuses, the competent labour inspection service can issue the relevant declaration under the statutory process.

This can become useful evidence.

Does suspension cancel the unpaid salary?

No.

Suspension is not a waiver.

The employment relationship remains subject to the legal suspension framework, and salary already due before suspension remains a debt.

The purpose of the mechanism is not to give the employer a free period without paying old amounts.

Can an employee terminate the contract because salary is unpaid?

Potentially, yes.

Article 394 includes culpable failure to pay salary on time as an example of just cause for termination by the worker.

Where just cause exists, the worker can terminate the employment contract immediately rather than give ordinary resignation notice.

But this is not a step to improvise.

The worker must follow the legal procedure and state the facts relied on.

Do I have to wait 60 days before terminating?

Not necessarily.

Article 394 contains an important 60-day rule: salary non-payment lasting 60 days is treated as culpable, as is the employer's written declaration that it will remain unpaid until that point.

But current Portuguese case law confirms that this does not mean every worker must wait 60 days before just cause can exist.

A shorter period of non-payment can still be legally serious enough, depending on the circumstances.

The difficulty is evidence and legal classification.

Do not resign impulsively and assume compensation will automatically follow.

The written termination notice matters

Article 395 requires the worker to communicate termination to the employer in writing and briefly identify the facts justifying it.

The general rule requires communication within 30 days after the worker learns of the relevant facts.

For the special 60-day salary non-payment situation, the Labour Code contains a specific rule for when that period begins.

If you are considering just-cause termination, calculate the procedural period before sending the letter.

Compensation after worker termination for employer fault

Where the employee validly terminates based on culpable employer conduct within Article 394(2), Article 396 provides a compensation framework.

The normal statutory range is 15 to 45 days of base salary plus seniority payments for each full year of service, with proportional calculation for part of a year.

The compensation cannot normally be lower than three months of base salary plus seniority payments.

Special rules apply, including for fixed-term contracts and cases involving greater proven damage.

This compensation is not automatic merely because the worker writes "just cause" in the letter.

The legal basis and facts must support it.

How long can unpaid salary be claimed?

This point is often misstated.

Under Article 337 of the Portuguese Labour Code, employment credits arising from the employment contract, its breach or termination generally prescribe one year from the day after the employment contract ends.

That is not the same as saying each unpaid monthly salary disappears one year after its original due date while the employment relationship continues.

Current Portuguese Supreme Court authority confirms the special employment-law structure.

There can still be other deadlines for specific procedures and claims, so do not delay action unnecessarily.

ACT complaint, demand letter or court claim?

The correct tool depends on the objective.

Labour inspection

The Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho can be relevant for labour-law breaches and for the statutory unpaid-salary suspension process.

Formal legal demand

A lawyer can set out the debt, legal basis, deadline and consequences in a structured written demand.

Negotiation

If the employer accepts the debt but has a cash-flow problem, a properly documented settlement can sometimes resolve the matter without litigation.

Court

Where the employer disputes the debt or fails to pay, court enforcement may be necessary.

These routes are not mutually exclusive in every case.

If the company appears insolvent

Repeated salary non-payment can be a warning sign that the employer has a larger financial problem.

Preserve evidence early.

Do not assume an internal promise of future payment protects you if the company later enters insolvency.

The legal strategy can change when the employer's solvency is in doubt.

If you are a foreign worker

For an employee whose residence in Portugal is connected to employment, unpaid salary can become both a labour problem and a practical immigration problem.

If you suspend or terminate the contract, review the residence position separately.

Do not remain in a non-paying employment relationship solely because you are afraid that any job change automatically destroys your immigration status.

Equally, do not terminate without checking the immigration consequences of your particular residence route.

A practical unpaid salary sequence

1. Build the payment record

List every unpaid amount and date.

2. Demand written confirmation

Keep employer responses.

3. Decide whether you want to continue working

Suspension and termination solve different problems.

4. Check the 15-day suspension rule

If suspension is appropriate, follow the written notice procedure.

5. Assess just cause before terminating

Do not treat resignation and just-cause termination as the same thing.

6. Calculate all employment credits

Include salary, subsidies and other accrued amounts.

7. Preserve the claim

Do not wait until documents or employer assets disappear.

Factual correction to a common misconception

It is incorrect to say that Portuguese unpaid salary claims generally expire one year after each salary payment was due.

The current Article 337 rule generally runs one year from the day after the employment contract ends for employment credits arising from the contract, its breach or termination.

That distinction is important for employees who remain employed while salary arrears accumulate.

Common mistakes

Simply stopping work after a missed salary

Use the statutory suspension procedure rather than creating an absence issue.

Waiting 60 days because you think nothing can be done earlier

The 60-day rule is important, but it is not a universal waiting period for every remedy.

Resigning without stating the legal facts

A normal resignation is different from termination for just cause.

Signing a settlement that does not identify the debt

Know exactly which salary months and credits are being settled.

Believing each salary claim expires after one year while you remain employed

That is not the general Article 337 prescription rule.

Ignoring immigration implications

Foreign workers should coordinate the employment and residence questions.

Frequently asked questions

How late must salary be before I can suspend work?

The statutory suspension mechanism normally becomes available after 15 days of non-payment from the due date, with the required written communications and at least eight days' notice before suspension.

Can I terminate my employment because salary is unpaid?

Potentially. Culpable late payment is a statutory just-cause ground, but the facts and formal termination procedure matter.

Must I wait 60 days?

No universal rule requires every employee to wait 60 days before any just-cause termination can be legally justified. The 60-day rule creates an important statutory treatment of culpability.

Can I recover interest?

Late monetary employment obligations can carry default interest under Article 323.

How long do I have to claim unpaid salary?

Employment credits generally prescribe one year from the day after the employment relationship ends under Article 337, rather than one year from each salary due date.

Should I complain to ACT?

ACT can be relevant, particularly for labour-law compliance and the formal salary-non-payment suspension mechanism. Legal recovery strategy should be chosen according to the case.

Is your employer not paying your salary?

Send us your employment contract, payslips, bank-payment history and any written explanations from the employer.

Our lawyers can calculate the unpaid credits, assess suspension or just-cause termination, prepare a formal demand and advise on recovery or litigation.