Annual leave in Portugal: 22 days, first-year rules and subsídio de férias

Under Portugal's Labour Code (Código do Trabalho), every employee gets at least 22 working days of paid annual leave a year, which vest on 1 January, plus a holiday allowance (subsídio de férias) worked out on that 22-day minimum. In the year you are hired you earn 2 working days per month of contract, up to 20 days, and you can start taking them once you have completed six months.

This guide walks through articles 237 to 246 of the Code (plus article 264 on holiday pay) as they stand in 2026, with worked examples for employers and for expats starting a job in Portugal.

How many days of annual leave do you get in Portugal?

Article 238(1) sets the floor: "O período anual de férias tem a duração mínima de 22 dias úteis", meaning a minimum of 22 working days.

"Working days" (dias úteis) are Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays (article 238(2)). So a public holiday that falls inside your week off does not use up a leave day. If your rest days fall on weekdays (shift and weekend workers), non-holiday Saturdays and Sundays count as working days for leave purposes instead (article 238(3)).

Rule	What the Code says	Article
Minimum leave	22 working days a year	238(1)
When it vests	1 January each year, for work done in the previous year	237(1)–(2)
Linked to attendance?	No, the right does not depend on attendance	237(2)
Swap leave for money	Not allowed, except days above 20	237(3), 238(5)
Holiday allowance	Base pay plus specific work-related supplements	264(2)

The right to leave cannot be waived and cannot be replaced by money, "even with the worker's agreement" (article 237(3)). The single exception is article 238(5): a worker may give up the days above 20, keeping their full holiday pay and allowance and being paid for the days worked on top. In practice, that means an employee can "sell" at most 2 of the 22 days.

Why do some people in Portugal get 25 days?

Between 2003 and 2012, article 238 gave up to 3 extra days to employees with few or no absences (the majoração por assiduidade). Lei 23/2012 removed that bonus, and the 2019 reform did not bring it back. The current wording of article 238 has applied since 1 August 2012.

Today, anyone on 25 days gets them from a collective agreement (CCT) or their individual contract, not from the law. Some older collective agreements copied the old attendance bonus into their own text and still apply it, so check which agreement covers your sector.

How much leave do you get in your first year?

Article 239(1): in the year of hiring, the employee earns two working days per month of contract, up to 20 days, and can take them after six full months of the contract. If the calendar year ends before those six months are up, the days must be taken by 30 June of the following year (article 239(2)). Combining first-year days with the next year's 22 cannot give more than 30 working days in one calendar year, unless a collective agreement says otherwise (article 239(3)).

Start date (example)	Days earned in year of hiring	Can take them from	Days available the following year
1 March 2026	10 months × 2 = 20 (cap)	1 September 2026	22 from 1 January 2027
1 September 2026	4 months × 2 = 8	1 March 2027 (take by 30 June 2027)	8 + 22 = 30, within the cap
1 October 2026	3 months × 2 = 6	1 April 2027 (take by 30 June 2027)	6 + 22 = 28

Short contracts: if a contract lasts less than six months, the worker earns two working days per complete month, and takes them immediately before the contract ends unless the parties agree otherwise (article 239(4)–(5)).

What is the subsídio de férias and when is it paid?

During their leave, employees are paid what they would have earned at work (article 264(1)). On top of that, they are entitled to a holiday allowance, the subsídio de férias. Under article 264(2) it covers base pay plus other payments tied to the specific way the work is done (shift supplements, for example), calculated on the minimum leave period.

Unless there is a written agreement saying otherwise, it must be paid before the leave starts. If leave is split into blocks, it is paid proportionally to each block (article 264(3)). A written agreement can change the timing, for example spreading it across monthly payments. Breaching article 264 is a very serious administrative offence (contra-ordenação muito grave).

Who decides when holidays are taken?

Article 241 sets the order:

1. Agreement first. Leave dates are set by agreement between employer and employee.
2. Employer decides if there is no agreement. The employer then sets the dates after consulting the workers' committee (or the union body). Leave cannot start on the employee's weekly rest day.
3. The 1 May to 31 October window. In small, medium and large companies, an employer setting dates without agreement can only place them between 1 May and 31 October, unless a collective agreement or the workers' representatives allow another period. In tourism businesses, the employer must place 25% of the leave in that window, taken consecutively.
4. Splitting leave. Leave can be split by agreement, as long as at least 10 consecutive working days are taken in one block.
5. Fair rotation. The most popular periods should be shared out, rotating based on what each person had in the previous two years. Spouses or partners working for the same employer are entitled to take leave at the same time, unless this seriously harms the company.
6. The holiday map. The employer must draw up the leave schedule (mapa de férias) by 15 April each year and keep it posted until 31 October.

Can you carry over unused leave in Portugal?

Only within limits. Article 240(1): leave is taken in the calendar year in which it vests. There are two exceptions:

• Until 30 April of the next year, if employer and employee agree, or if the employee wants to spend the time with a family member living abroad (article 240(2)).
• Half of last year's leave can be combined with the current year's, again by agreement (article 240(3)).

There is no automatic rollover beyond that. If the employer culpably prevents someone from taking their leave, the employee is owed three times the pay for the missed days, and must still take that leave by 30 April of the following year (article 246(1)). For how carry-over works in general, see our guide to holiday carry-over and leave accrual.

What happens to leave when the contract ends?

Under article 245(1), a departing employee is paid holiday pay and allowance for leave that has vested but not been taken, plus a proportional amount for the time worked in the year the contract ends. If the contract ends in the calendar year after hiring, or lasts 12 months or less, the total cannot exceed the share of the annual leave proportional to how long the contract lasted (article 245(3)). Compare this with other countries in paid for unused holiday when leaving a job.

Keeping track of Portuguese leave rules

Splitting rules, the 30 April deadline and first-year accrual are easy to lose in a spreadsheet. In Absenca, each office has its own work week, public holidays, leave year and leave types, and carry-over can be set with an expiry, so a Lisbon office can run on Portuguese rules next to an office elsewhere. The free plan covers up to 10 people. Absenca tracks the days; it does not calculate the subsídio de férias or any other pay.

To count working days between two dates, try the working days calculator, and compare Portugal with its neighbour in annual leave in Spain.

FAQ

Is it 22 working days or 22 calendar days?

Working days: Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays (article 238(2)). 22 working days is roughly four and a half weeks off.

Can I take holiday in my first six months in Portugal?

Under the Code, first-year leave can be taken once six full months of the contract have passed (article 239(1)). Your employer can agree to more generous terms, but the legal right starts at six months.

Can my employer pay me instead of giving me holiday?

No. Leave cannot be replaced by money, even if you agree (article 237(3)). The only exception: you can choose to give up days above 20 and keep your full holiday pay and allowance (article 238(5)).

Do public holidays count as annual leave in Portugal?

No. Public holidays are not working days for leave purposes (article 238(2)), so a public holiday inside your time off does not use up one of your 22 days.

Is there a deadline to use last year's leave?

Yes. Leave is taken in the year it vests, or by agreement until 30 April of the following year (article 240).

Rules are as of 2026 and can change, and collective agreements often add to them. Check the official consolidated Código do Trabalho on diariodarepublica.pt before acting.