Family-related absence in Portugal is much broader than “maternity leave”. The Labour Code protects pregnancy and birth, the other parent’s leave, adoption, breastfeeding, care for children and other relatives, gestational bereavement and bereavement after a family death. The exact right, notice requirement and payment source depend on the reason for the absence.
Birth: parental leave is a legal right, not employer discretion
Portugal’s initial parental-leave system combines Labour Code leave with Social Security income replacement. Current official guidance provides initial parental periods built around 120 or 150 days, with an additional 30 days where the statutory sharing conditions are met. Multiple births can increase the period further. Do not rely on an employer’s informal summary: confirm the current option and payment percentage with gov.pt’s parental-support guide and Segurança Social.
The mother may take up to 30 days before birth and has 42 days (six weeks) compulsory leave immediately after birth. The other parent also has compulsory and optional exclusive periods around the birth under the current rules. Parents should notify the employer within the applicable statutory deadlines and apply for the relevant Social Security benefit; the leave itself is not something an employer may simply refuse because the timing is inconvenient.
Adoption, breastfeeding and later childcare
Separate rights exist for adoption, breastfeeding/feeding, extended parental leave and care of a child. The conditions differ by age, household situation and type of absence. If a child is ill or has an accident, use the specific child-assistance rules and corresponding Social Security benefit rather than treating the absence as your own sick leave. Start with gov.pt — assistance to a child.
Caring for another family member
Article 252 of the Labour Code provides up to 15 days per year for urgent and indispensable assistance in case of illness or accident to specified family/household members. An additional 15 days can apply for urgent and indispensable assistance to a spouse/partner with a disability or chronic illness. The employer may require the statutory evidence and declarations.
Bereavement: death of a family member
Bereavement leave is a statutory justified absence. It is not a favour that depends on whether the employer considers you “close enough” to the deceased.
The core rule is Article 251 of the Labour Code. Under the current text:
| Death | Statutory justified absence |
|---|---|
| Spouse/equivalent, child or stepchild | Up to 20 consecutive days |
| Other 1st-degree direct-line relative or relative by affinity — e.g. mother, father, mother-in-law or father-in-law | Up to 5 consecutive days |
| Other direct-line relative/relative by affinity or 2nd-degree collateral relative — commonly including grandparents, grandchildren, siblings and qualifying in-laws | Up to 2 consecutive days |
Union-de-facto/economy-common situations are also covered where the statutory conditions apply. A collective agreement or employment contract may improve on the legal minimum; Article 250 prevents the statutory absence regime being displaced to the worker’s detriment.
What if two close relatives die within days of each other?
Suppose your mother dies and, a few days later, your mother-in-law dies. Both are separate qualifying deaths under Article 251: your mother is a first-degree direct-line ascendant and your mother-in-law is a first-degree direct-line relative by affinity. Each event therefore gives rise to the statutory up-to-five-day bereavement entitlement. An employer should not treat bereavement as an annual five-day allowance and say that the second death creates no right merely because you already used leave for the first.
But do not automatically assume “5 + 5 = 10 days after each other”. Article 251 describes consecutive periods tied to the respective deaths and does not expressly create a rule that pauses the first period and appends every overlapping day after the second period. If the two bereavement periods overlap, there are two qualifying events but the same calendar absence can fall within both periods. BorderlessAdvice has not found a primary statutory provision creating an extra bank of replacement days solely because of that overlap. If HR disputes the final return date, ask for its calculation and legal basis in writing and take the dates to ACT, a union or an employment lawyer.
Real-life exceptional example: two deaths, then a safety-critical return to work
This situation happened in real life: an international truck driver lost his mother and then, only a few days later, his mother-in-law. The employer did not give him a fresh full five days after the second death because the statutory periods overlapped, and required him to return to work. He was still extremely distraught.
Legally, there are two separate questions. First, each death is independently a qualifying event under Article 251, but the Labour Code does not expressly say that overlapping bereavement days must be banked and added to the end. That makes the exact end date of two overlapping periods a point on which it is sensible to obtain ACT, union or employment-law advice rather than assume an automatic ten consecutive non-overlapping days.
Second, bereavement leave ending does not mean a worker who is genuinely medically unfit must simply work anyway. Severe grief can affect sleep, concentration and the ability to work safely. That distinction is especially important in safety-critical work such as driving a heavy vehicle internationally. Bereavement itself does not automatically create sickness leave, but if the worker is genuinely unfit for work, sickness-absence rules are a separate route.
If grief makes you medically unfit to work: report the sickness absence to the employer promptly. For an illness lasting no more than 3 consecutive days, Portugal’s SNS24 Autodeclaração de Doença (ADD) can be used under the statutory conditions, up to twice per calendar year. The government states that the ADD can be requested within five days counted from the first day of sickness absence. For longer incapacity, seek appropriate medical assessment/certification.
SNS24 — Autodeclaração de Doença · gov.pt — access the SNS24 personal area. The legal basis for proof of sickness is also explained in Article 254 of the Labour Code.
Reporting a family death
- Tell the employer as soon as possible when the death is unexpected.
- Prefer a written HR/email trail even if you also telephone your manager.
- State who died, the relationship and the date; you do not need to provide unnecessary intimate detail.
- Keep proof. The employer can require evidence supporting a justified absence under the Labour Code’s absence rules.
- If a second qualifying death occurs during the first bereavement period, notify the employer again; do not assume the first message covers the second legal event.
- If the employer refuses the entitlement, ask it to identify the legal basis in writing and contact ACT if necessary.
Gestational bereavement
The Labour Code separately recognises justified absence for gestational bereavement. Do not force a pregnancy loss into the ordinary family-death table above; the parental-protection provisions contain their own rules. Check the current Labour Code and Social Security guidance for the exact situation.
Who pays?
“You may legally be absent” and “who replaces your income” are separate questions. Parental and child-assistance periods can be supported by Social Security benefits if the conditions are met. Bereavement under Article 251 is a justified employment absence and should not be presented as a discretionary employer bonus. For any longer family absence, check both the Labour Code right and the corresponding Social Security benefit before assuming your normal salary simply continues unchanged.
If the employer disagrees
- Put the facts in writing: dates, relationship, type of leave/absence and the legal provision you rely on.
- Attach or offer the required evidence without oversharing unrelated medical/private information.
- Ask HR to respond in writing if it rejects the absence, changes the dates or records it as unjustified.
- Check the applicable collective agreement, which may improve the statutory minimum.
- Escalate employment-law disputes to ACT, a union or employment lawyer. Social Security disputes about benefit eligibility/payment use the Social Security route instead.
Official sources
- Código do Trabalho — Articles 248–252, including bereavement
- gov.pt — parental support guide
- gov.pt — apply for parental benefit
- gov.pt — mother’s exclusive initial parental benefit
- gov.pt — assistance to a child
- Segurança Social
- ACT — employment rights and complaints
Last verified: 2 October 2026. Family and parental rights contain detailed notice, eligibility and benefit rules. This guide gives the practical map; use the linked current law and official benefit page for the exact event.