Rights and duties of remote workers

27 de May, 2025

According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), 21.5% of the total employed population in Portugal worked remotely in the last quarter of 2024. These figures represent an increase of 7% over the previous quarter and demonstrate the importance of remote and hybrid working arrangements in the Portuguese labor market.

In fact, remote working is no longer a trend associated with the pandemic and is here to stay in many organizations. Greater flexibility and a better balance between personal, family and professional life are the main aspects that lead employees to value the possibility of working from home.

In recent years, the widespread use of remote working has led to legislative changes to regulate it. But what does the law say about the rights and duties of teleworkers? Find out with us.

Remote working and face-to-face work with the same rights and duties

Article 169, no. 1 of Código do Trabalho (CT) states that a remote worker has the same rights and duties as a worker doing their job on a normal basis. The principle of equal treatment between the company’s employees must be ensured, which means that remote or hybrid workers continue to have access:

• Professional training;
• Career progression;
• Respect for the limits of normal working hours and the right to rest;
• Occupational accident insurance and occupational health and safety measures.

The Labor Code also establishes that the company must implement other ways of guaranteeing equal treatment between workers, namely by promoting regular contact between professionals and the company and their colleagues, in order to avoid isolation. These contacts must take place at least once every two months.

In these situations, the company must give employees at least 24 hours’ notice and they are obliged to attend.

Who is entitled to remote working?

Remote working can take place whenever there is an express agreement between the employer and the employee.

However, in some circumstances, workers have the right to remote work even if the company objects, as long as remote working is compatible with their duties and the employer has the means to implement it. This is the case for

• Workers with children or dependents up to the age of 3;
• Workers with children or dependents up to the age of 8, in the case of a single-parent family (except for employees of companies with up to 10 employees);
• Workers with children or dependents with a disability, chronic illness or cancer, regardless of their age;
• Victims of domestic violence who have filed a complaint against the aggressor and need to be removed;
• Informal non-main caregivers who have this status recognized by Social Security.

In the latter case, the remote working regime can be practiced for a maximum period of four years, consecutive or not. As well as having to prove the status of non-main informal caregiver, this must be compatible with the activity carried out and the employer must have the resources to enable remote working.

Who can’t work remotly?

In the case of workers whose jobs require physical presence – such as in customer service or production positions in factories, for example – remote working may not be feasible.

Can the company oppose remote working?

If the employer believes that there are no conditions for remote working, it must demonstrate this to the workers, proving that their duties are not compatible with remote working or that there are no conditions for it.

In turn, the employee can challenge this decision by asking the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT) for an assessment of the facts mentioned by the company. The ACT has five working days to share its opinion.

Compensation due to remote workers

The so-called Decent Work Agenda brought with it several changes to the Labor Code, particularly with regard to remote working.

Ministerial Order 292-A/2023 defines the maximum limits for exemption from IRS and Social Security for compensation for additional expenses that professionals may have as a result of working from home. These limits are:

• 10 cents/day for residential electricity consumption;
• 40 cents/day for personal internet consumption;
• 50 cents/day for the use of a personal computer or equivalent IT equipment.

If the employer provides the equipment needed to carry out the duties, the latter compensation does not apply.

If the amount of compensation exceeds these daily limits, the remaining amount is considered income subject to taxes and contributions.

In addition, these rules on the payment of remote working compensation must be included in a written agreement between the employee and the employer.

Right to privacy and rest

Remote work is usually carried out from the employee’s home. Even so, they still have the right to their privacy. As such, the company is prevented from capturing any images, sounds or information that could jeopardize people’s privacy.

In addition, even when working remotely, professionals still have set working hours and should not be contacted by the company outside these hours, thus ensuring their rest period and right to disconnect.

Read also: Working time exemption: What it is and how it works

Right to occupational accident insurance

Remote workers must continue to be covered by occupational accident insurance. In other words, if they suffer an accident at work – an accident that occurs at the workplace and during working hours – they must be covered by insurance.

However, the employer must inform the insurer about the remote working scheme, providing the following information: the employee’s name, normal working hours, place of work (address) and prior authorization from the company.

Entitlement to meal allowance

Since remote workers must have the same rights as the rest of the company’s employees in the same category and function, the same also applies to the allocation of meal allowances.

This benefit is granted to employees to support them in their expenses with meals and food, which should happen even if the work is carried out remotely.

Thus, if the food allowance is provided for in the individual or collective employment contract, remote working professionals are still entitled to receive it.