Article 249 of the Portuguese Labour Code: what it says, and where it points

Posted by Fed Finance in Our employment advice
Posted at 07/09/2026

Summary - Key points

Article 249 sets no days and no deadlines. It lists twelve categories of justified absence and, in almost every case, points to another provision. Reading article 249 alone answers no practical question.
The most widespread error concerns bereavement: it is up to 20 consecutive days for the death of a spouse, child or stepchild, not five. The five days apply to parents and parents-in-law.
The deadlines are almost always stated the wrong way round. Notice of a foreseeable absence is given five days in advance; the 15 days are the window to produce proof once the employer asks for it.

What article 249 is, and what it is not

It is the organising provision of the absence regime, not the one that settles cases. Its first paragraph draws the binary distinction between justified and unjustified absence; the second lists the situations the law treats as justified; the third declares everything else unjustified.

The practical consequence is that almost no category stands on its own. Marriage and employer authorisation are the exceptions: the rest point to provisions that set the duration, the conditions and the proof. Anyone looking up how many days they have for a bereavement will not find the answer in article 249 they will find it in article 251.

Category in article 249	Where the operative rule sits
Marriage	In article 249 itself: 15 consecutive days
Death of a spouse, relative or in-law	Article 251
Sitting an examination at an educational establishment	Article 254
Impossibility through no fault of the worker (illness, accident, legal obligation)	Separate regimes, including social security
Care for a child, grandchild or household member	The parenthood and family care provisions
Attending a child's school	In article 249 itself: up to four hours per term, per child
Gestational bereavement	Article 38-A
Collective representation of workers	Article 409
Standing for public office	The applicable electoral law
Authorised or approved by the employer	In article 249 itself
Treated as justified by law	Separate legislation, including Law 32/2025

Our position at Fed Finance is straightforward: an article that merely transcribes 249 helps nobody. The value lies in knowing where each category points and that is where the information available online most often fails. Before relying on a category, check the wording in force in the consolidated Labour Code, because the numbering has changed several times since 2022.

Error 1: bereavement leave is not five days

This is the most repeated error and the one that costs workers the most days. Many guides, including some published this year, still set out the pre-2022 regime.

Relationship	Consecutive days
Non-separated spouse or equivalent, child, stepchild	Up to 20
First-degree relative or in-law in the direct line not covered above: parents, step-parents, parents-in-law, sons- and daughters-in-law	Up to 5
Other relative or in-law in the direct line or the second degree of the collateral line: grandparents, great-grandparents, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings, siblings-in-law	Up to 2

The extension to 20 days for the loss of a child came in with Law 1/2022 and was extended to the spouse by Law 13/2023. A person living in a de facto union or shared household with the worker is treated as a spouse for this purpose. Breach of article 251 is a serious administrative offence.

One point on counting, which also causes confusion: the labour authority has clarified that the count starts on the day of the death. There is no entitlement for relatives from the third degree of the collateral line onwards uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and cousins fall outside.

Error 2: the deadlines are usually the wrong way round

Two distinct provisions, two distinct deadlines, and a systematic confusion between them.

	Giving notice (art. 253)	Proving the reason (art. 254)
Who acts	The worker, always	The employer, who may request it
Foreseeable absence	Minimum five days' notice	15 days after the request
Unforeseeable absence	As soon as possible	15 days after the request
Extended absence	Notice is repeated	Same regime applies
Effect of non-compliance	The absence becomes unjustified	The absence becomes unjustified

Note the asymmetry: the duty to give notice is immediate and automatic; the duty to prove only arises once the employer asks. A worker who gave notice in time but did not spontaneously hand over the certificate is not in breach until someone requests it. A worker who handed over the certificate without having given notice of the absence is.

On the employer side, reading that asymmetry correctly avoids wrongly reclassifying absences in payroll a subject covered in our guide to the Portuguese payslip.

Error 3: cross-references quoted at random

The numbering of the Labour Code has changed several times since 2022, and many texts cite articles that no longer match what they announce. Three frequent cases.

Gestational bereavement. It is article 38-A, sitting in the parenthood section. It is not a provision of the absences section, even though article 249 points to it.
Sitting an examination. It is article 254. Confusing it with 253 is what produces, in cascade, the reversal of deadlines described above.
Collective representation. It is article 409, in the book on collective labour law, not the provisions in the absences section.

A practical rule before citing: open the consolidated version, confirm the wording and the date of the last amendment, and check that the category you are relying on still carries the same letter. Between 2022 and 2025 new categories were inserted into article 249(2), shifting the letters that follow.

The 2025 change that is still little known

Law 32/2025 of 27 March added article 252-B to the Labour Code, headed "Absence due to incapacitating pain caused by endometriosis or adenomyosis". It is the most substantial change to the absence regime in several years.

A worker suffering severe and incapacitating pain caused by endometriosis or adenomyosis during menstruation is entitled to justified absence, with no loss of any right including pay, for up to three consecutive days per month of work. The medical prescription certifying the condition is given to the employer, constitutes proof of the reason for the absence and needs no monthly renewal. The regime has applied since 26 April 2025.

Two operational points for HR departments. First, the proof is one-off: requiring a certificate every month goes against the law. Second, the proof remains subject to the general regime of article 254, so the employer may request it within 15 days of the notice if it has not already been provided. The law also creates a parallel regime for justified absence from classes.

When an unjustified absence becomes grounds for dismissal

The threshold is settled and well known, but it is worth placing it correctly: it is not in article 249, it is in the rules on termination.

An unjustified absence always means loss of pay for the period concerned.
An unjustified absence immediately before or after a rest day or public holiday is a serious breach.
Five consecutive or ten non-consecutive unjustified absences in a calendar year may constitute grounds for dismissal with just cause.
Unjustified absences reduce the holiday entitlement proportionally; justified ones, as a rule, do not.
Periods of unjustified absence do not count towards length of service.

The full picture of the rights involved is in our guide to workers' rights in Portugal, and the concrete impact on pay is set out in our article on justified absences and what changed in 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How many days of justified absence can I take per year?

Article 249 sets no overall limit. Each category has its own limit, defined in the provision it points to. Adding different categories together to produce an "annual total" has no legal basis.

Does a justified absence always mean losing pay?

No. Some preserve pay by express provision of law, such as marriage, bereavement or the article 252-B regime. Others do not. The applicable rule sits in the specific provision, not in article 249.

Can an employer refuse a medical certificate?

It cannot refuse valid proof issued by a competent authority. It can treat the absence as unjustified if notice was not given under article 253, or if proof was not produced within the article 254 window after being requested.

Can I swap an absence for a holiday day?

Not unilaterally. They are distinct regimes with different purposes and rules. Nothing prevents an agreement between the parties, but it has to exist and is best put in writing.

Does a strike at my children's school justify my absence?

It is not one of the categories in article 249. It can, however, be authorised by the employer under the category covering absences the employer approves, in which case it becomes justified.