No-Vacation Nation Revisited 16
working days) between June 1 and September 30. Also, if an employee falls ill to the point that she is
completely incapacitated shortly before her annual leave is to begin, she can demand that it be
postponed; if this happens for at least six days during her scheduled leave, she can demand alternative
leave days later in the year. Most work is prohibited on Sundays (considered public holidays) and the
ten national public holidays – New Year’s Day (January 1), Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter
Monday, Labor Day (May 1), Constitution Day (May 17), Ascension, Whit Monday, Christmas, and
Boxing Day (December 25 and 26).
Special significance is also given to May 1 and May 17 which
are guaranteed paid holidays and collective agreement determine which of the other public holidays
qualify for paid time off.
Portugal
Portuguese law guarantees 22 working days (not counting weekends) of annual leave for workers,
due on January 1 each year. Several stipulations give specific guidance for employees who have
fixed-term contracts. First, employees who have been working under contract for less than one year,
but more than six months are allotted two working days of leave for each month of their
employment, up to 20 days. Second, if the calendar year ends before an employee works six months,
the accrued leave may be used before the following June 30
th
, however a maximum of 30 working
days may be used in a single year. Lastly, contracts that are less than six months, entitle employees to
two days of paid leave for every full month stipulated in the contract.
Scheduling of annual holidays is decided through agreement between employer and employee, with
employer making the ultimate decision. Leave must be taken between May 1 and October 31 for
smaller businesses. Also, the holiday can be broken into periods of no less than 10 days, but is
normally taken as an uninterrupted period.
Portugal also has 13 compulsory public holidays: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday,
Freedom Day (April 25), Labor Day (May 1), Corpus Cristi, Portugal Day (June 10), Ascension
(August 15), Day of the Republic (October 5), All Saints’ Day (November 1), Restoration of
Independence Day (December 1), Immaculate Conception (December 8), and Christmas Day.
Employers must give their workers either paid leave on these days or in agreement between the
employee and employer, the day off can be taken on another day. If an employee does work on the
public holiday, they earn double their normal wage for the day.
“Norway – Working time.” 2009. Database entry in ILO (n.d.). Accessed January 14, 2013.
[http://www.ilo.org/dyn/travail/travmain.sectionReport1?p_lang=en&p_countries=NO&p_sc_id=1001&p_year=2
009&p_structure=2]
Fellesforbundet 2005.
“Living and Working Conditions: Portugal - Leave (annual leave, parental leave etc).” 2012. Database entry in EC
(n.d. ). Accessed January 14, 2013.
[[http://ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?catId=8449&acro=living&lang=en&parentId=7792&countryId=PT&living=
“Portugal – Working time.” 2011. Database entry in ILO (n.d.). Accessed January 14, 2013.
[http://www.ilo.org/dyn/travail/travmain.sectionReport1?p_lang=en&p_countries=PT&p_sc_id=1001&p_year=2
011&p_structure=2]
“Living and Working Conditions: Portugal - Leave (annual leave, parental leave etc).” 2012. Database entry in EC
(n.d. ). Accessed January 14, 2013.
[http://ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?catId=8449&acro=living&lang=en&parentId=7792&countryId=PT&living=]
“Portugal – Working time.” 2011. Database entry in ILO (n.d.). Accessed January 14, 2013.
[http://www.ilo.org/dyn/travail/travmain.sectionReport1?p_lang=en&p_countries=PT&p_sc_id=1001&p_year=2
011&p_structure=2]