Sick leave by country / Portugal
Sick leave and sick pay in Portugal
Who pays when someone is ill, how much, for how long, and what the certificate rules are — in plain English, whether you run a team in Portugal or work on one.
Portugal has no employer-paid sick leave: the employment contract is suspended and Social Security pays a sickness benefit (subsídio de doença) after three unpaid waiting days, at 55% of the reference salary up to day 30, 60% from day 31 to 90, 70% from day 91 to 365 and 75% beyond a year, for up to 1,095 days. The employee needs a Certificado de Incapacidade Temporária from a health service doctor from the first day, sent electronically to Social Security and the employer.
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How it works
Under the Código do Trabalho an employee’s contract is suspended during certified illness, keeping the job and seniority but not the salary; unlike most of Europe there is no statutory employer period, and any top-up comes from a collective agreement or company policy. Social Security’s subsídio de doença requires six months of registered earnings and twelve days of work in the four months before the illness. It starts after a waiting period of three days for employees (none for hospitalisation, outpatient surgery or tuberculosis) at 55% of the reference remuneration for the first 30 days, 60% from day 31 to 90, 70% from day 91 to 365 and 75% thereafter, up to 1,095 days for the same illness, with a minimum linked to the social support index and a higher rate for tuberculosis. The CIT is issued by the SNS doctor and transmitted electronically; since 2023 employees can also self-declare up to three days of illness twice a year through the SNS 24 service, which still carries the waiting period.
Worth knowing: Because the benefit is 55% for a full month and the first three days are unpaid, Portuguese employees on statutory terms lose a larger share of income in a short illness than almost anywhere else in Western Europe; collective agreements in banking, insurance and the public sector fill the gap, most private-sector contracts do not.
If you run a team in Portugal
You owe no salary by law during certified illness — but check your collective agreement for a top-up obligation. Receive the electronic CIT, keep the position open, and record the suspension; it counts for seniority and holiday accrual within limits. You may request a check by Social Security’s medical board if you doubt the incapacity.
If you work in Portugal
See an SNS doctor on the first day to get the CIT; it reaches Social Security and your employer electronically. Expect no income for three days and then 55% for the first month unless your agreement is better. For short illnesses you can self-declare up to three days through SNS 24, twice a year, but the waiting days still apply.
Sickness and annual leave
Illness before holiday starts postpones the holiday; illness during holiday suspends it if the employer is informed and it is certified. Holiday accrues during suspension for illness, though a suspension covering the whole year reduces the following year’s entitlement under the Code.
The annual leave entitlement itself is covered on our Portugal annual leave page — 22 working days minimum.
Keeping the record straight
Sick pay rules turn on dates: the day the illness started, the day the certificate was due, the day the employer's obligation ends and the benefit takes over. In Portugal those dates decide who pays and how much, and they have to be provable months later — to a payroll auditor, an insurer, or the employee. A shared spreadsheet rarely survives that; a tracker like Leavo records each absence with its dates and approvals alongside annual leave, so the record exists before anyone asks for it. We compare the options in our leave management software guide, and the policy side — carryover, payout, accrual — in our guides.
Sick leave in Portugal: common questions
Does my employer pay anything while I am sick?
Not by law. The contract is suspended and Social Security pays the benefit after three waiting days. Some collective agreements and employers top the benefit up to full salary; most do not.
What is the benefit worth?
55% of your reference salary for the first 30 days, 60% for days 31 to 90, 70% for days 91 to 365 and 75% after a year, subject to a minimum, for up to 1,095 days.
Can I self-certify a short illness?
Yes — up to three days, twice a year, through the SNS 24 self-declaration, which is sent to your employer. It does not remove the three waiting days, so a self-declared absence is normally unpaid.
What happens if I fall ill during my annual leave in Portugal?
Illness before holiday starts postpones the holiday; illness during holiday suspends it if the employer is informed and it is certified. Holiday accrues during suspension for illness, though a suspension covering the whole year reduces the following year’s entitlement under the Code.
Source
Primary source: Código do Trabalho arts. 294–297 (suspension for illness); Decreto-Lei 28/2004 (subsídio de doença). Rates and caps change — often every January or April — and collective agreements frequently improve on the statutory scheme. Confirm against the current text before acting. See our methodology.