PORTUGAL | Internship: At work | Work conditions
Working hours
In the private sector working hours are 7.5 or 8 hours a day, in a total of 37.5 or 40 hours per week. The most common working hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with an hour or an hour and a half for lunch (lunch break doesn’t count for the daily working hours). However, the start and finishing hours may vary according to the company or service. In the public sector working hours are 7 per day, in a total of 35 hours per week, with a one-hour lunch break.
Work and residents permit
For those coming to Portugal to work it’s mandatory to register at the Tax Office and at the social security centre. Once you have registered at these services you will be given a NIF (tax ID number) and a NISS (social security ID number).
For those coming to Portugal to do a training placement it’s not mandatory to register at the Tax Office or at the social security centre, provided that it’s not a paid placement and/or that you have a placement grant to finance your stay. However, the trainee must guarantee that he/she has financial resources and has health insurance coverage.
Accident Insurance
It’s obligatory for companies to insure their collaborators against personal accidents in the workplace. You should check with the company regarding the conditions of a personal accidents insurance policy before departure because it may not cover all situations, such as, repatriation. If this is the case, you can take care of all the details before your departure to better guarantee your safety and prevent against any unexpected situations should they arise.
Liability Insurance
Most host companies require civil liability coverage in case of damages. As a safeguard the host company will normally take care of workplace insurance for the period of training or work placements. In any case, the trainee should ask the host company if this is provided for. If it is not provided for, the trainee is required to take out civil liability insurance coverage before leaving his/her country of origin as a precaution.