Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

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COVID-19 Updates (the Past and the New Future)

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: David Carvalho Martins, Partner and Head of Employment, and Tiago Sequeira Mousinho – DCM | Littler

The major concern has been focused on COVID-19 – which is why it has claimed the top spot. It is “safe” to say that the workplace is not immune to the virus. Therefore, some measures have been applied, since October, to this day and are still in force, in order to protect public health, including employees and other third (contracting) parties or partners. Some examples of “never-ending updates” may be provided in the workplace, such as (i) the mandatory usage of masks in public places, (ii) the adoption of a specific COVID-19 plan (preventive and repressive internal methods for contamination/infection outbursts, namely social distancing), and (iii) obligation to create de-phased schedules of work time and to reorganize work and minimize transmission risks.

From our perspective, the best prevention and repression of the virus is the almost-daily monitoring of the various enforcement and temporary measures that seem to have become part of our daily lives.

Telework and Duty to Refrain Contacts

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: David Carvalho Martins, Partner and Head of Employment, and Tiago Sequeira Mousinho – DCM | Littler

Newly enacted Law No. 83/2021, which becomes effective on January 1, 2022, provides for a new and broader concept of “teleworker” (e.g., remote workers). Among other things, the new regime provides for the reimbursement of expenses related to telework by the employer, and creates a “new” duty to refrain from contact with the employees during their rest periods. This new duty to refrain contact might not have the effect of limiting or eliminating existing contractual or regulatory situations (exemption from working hours, overtime work, work on-call, among others), in which employees have the obligation to remain available, outside the workplace and working hours, to be contacted for situations in which this is deemed necessary. On the other hand, the lawmaker does not seem to use the notion of work schedule to delimit the duty to refrain, having delimited this duty to rest periods, namely rest breaks, daily and weekly rests.

Employers must be aware of several implications of teleworking/ remote working. Mainly on the terms and conditions established in formal teleworking agreements. This referred formal agreement could determine the most disparate interpretations.

New Statute for Employees in the Cultural Area

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: David Carvalho Martins, Partner and Head of Employment, and Tiago Sequeira Mousinho – DCM | Littler

Decree-Law no. 105/2021 – which was published on October 29, 2021, and entered into force on January 1, 2022 – provides a new framework for professionals inserted in the cultural area. The main implications are with regard to (i) the new regime for fixed-term contracts, (ii) the broader concept of worktime and workplace (with seemingly a narrowed definition of the concept of mere travels), (iii) a rule of preference to choose an employment contract model instead of a contract for the provision of services, (iv) a new social protection regime based on registration, and (v) a new regime on professional requalification.

Employers ought to compare the different regimes (old vs. new law) since hiring processes have changed in this new framework based on restriction and less flexibility.

Whistleblowing Transposition and Employment Relations

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: David Carvalho Martins, Partner and Head of Employment, and Tiago Sequeira Mousinho – DCM | Littler

Law no. 93 /2021 – which was published on December 20, 2021, and becomes effective 180 days after publication – provides the general framework for the protection of whistleblowers. The referred law has several employment implications, such as (i) mandatory adoption of internal reporting channels, and (ii) nonretaliation rules towards employee-whistleblowers. The main concerns are centered on the short time provided by the Portuguese legislator in order to comply with all formal obligations. Right now, less than 180 days and still counting.

Employers should become aware of their obligations under the regimes of whistleblowing and the protection of trade secrets in order to mitigate future contingencies.

New Regime on Justified Absences and Parental Grief

Proposed Bill or Initiative

Authors: David Carvalho Martins, Partner and Head of Employment, and Tiago Sequeira Mousinho – DCM | Littler

The Law 1/2022 was approved on November 26, 2021 and will be published in January 2022. The present law extends the number of days for the period of mourning the death of a descendant or relative in the first degree of the direct line from five days to 20. In these situations, both parents are entitled to request psychological counseling, provided by the National Health Service, which must begin within five days after the death.

This has been a long-term initiative that took the shape of legislative proposals. It is important to provide this information to HR Departments. This has been a theme raised regarding the mental health of workers and its impact on the workplace. A felt demand that has been delayed over time.