Holiday and Christmas Subsidies in Portugal: Who Gets Them and When
Portuguese employees are paid 14 times a year. What the law says about the two extra payments, how first and last years are counted, and when twelfths are allowed.
Employees in Portugal receive 14 salary payments a year: 12 monthly salaries plus a holiday subsidy (subsídio de férias) and a Christmas subsidy (subsídio de Natal). Under the Labor Code (Código do Trabalho), the Christmas subsidy equals one month’s pay and is due by 15 December; the holiday subsidy is paid before your holidays start unless agreed otherwise in writing.
Both are taxed and subject to Social Security like salary. The rules below apply to employment contracts, not to freelancers on recibos verdes, and are as of November 2026.
Who is entitled to the holiday and Christmas subsidies?
Every worker with an employment contract, open-ended or fixed-term, full-time or part-time. The right comes from the Labor Code itself, so a contract cannot remove it. Part-time workers receive the subsidies in proportion to their pay.
Self-employed people who issue recibos verdes (green receipts) are not employees and have no legal right to either subsidy. If that is your situation, see our guide to working on recibos verdes.
How much is each subsidy?
Article 263 of the Labor Code sets the Christmas subsidy at one month of pay (retribuição). Article 264 sets the holiday subsidy as your base pay plus other payments tied to the specific way you work, calculated for the minimum length of annual leave.
| Holiday subsidy | Christmas subsidy | |
|---|---|---|
| Labor Code article | 264 | 263 |
| Amount | Base pay plus payments linked to how the work is done | One month’s pay |
| Deadline | Before the holidays start, unless agreed in writing; proportionally if leave is split | By 15 December |
| Year you start or leave | Linked to the holidays earned that year | Proportional to time worked in the calendar year |
| Breach | Very serious administrative offense | Very serious administrative offense |
Meal allowance is not part of either subsidy. Overtime and some bonuses may or may not count, depending on whether they are regular and on your collective agreement; ask your employer or the labor inspectorate if your subsidy looks low.
When are they paid?
The Christmas subsidy must be paid by 15 December each year. Your employer can pay it earlier, for example with the November salary, as long as it arrives by that date.
The holiday subsidy is due before you start your holidays, according to article 264. If you take leave in separate blocks, it can be paid in proportion to each block. A written agreement can set a different date, such as a fixed month for everyone in the company.
What happens in the first and last year of a job?
For the Christmas subsidy, the law is explicit: in the year you are hired, the year the contract ends and the year the contract is suspended for a reason related to you (long sick leave, for example), you receive an amount proportional to the time worked in that calendar year. Someone who starts on 1 July receives half a month’s pay in December.
For holidays, the year of admission works differently. Under article 239, a new worker earns 2 working days of holiday for each complete month of contract, up to 20 working days, and can usually take them after 6 months. The holiday subsidy follows those days. When the contract ends, the final settlement (acerto de contas) must include the holiday pay and subsidies still owed, including the proportional amounts for that year. If your final pay looks wrong, ask the employer for a written breakdown before you sign anything.
Can the subsidies be paid in monthly twelfths?
Yes, but only by agreement. Paying the subsidies spread over the year in twelfths (duodécimos) was a temporary legal regime from 2013 to 2017, when half of each subsidy could be paid monthly. That regime ended on 1 January 2018. Today twelfths depend on an agreement between employer and employee or a collective agreement, and the full amount still has to be paid by the legal deadlines.
Twelfths raise your monthly net pay but leave no lump sum in summer and December. On a payslip they appear as lines like Duodécimos Sub. Natal.
How are the subsidies taxed?
As salary. You pay 11% Social Security on each subsidy, and IRS is withheld. Despacho 233-A/2026, which sets the 2026 withholding tables, tells employers to calculate the withholding separately for each payment when a month includes a subsidy on top of salary. This stops a December pay packet from being pushed into a much higher withholding line.
In November 2026 there is an exception in mainland Portugal: AT Circular 5/2026 says withholding on pay made between 1 and 30 November is half the table amount, and that this also applies when the payment includes more than one salary, such as a Christmas subsidy paid in November. Our guide to net salary in Portugal shows the tables and a worked example.
What if my employer does not pay?
Ask in writing first, quoting article 263 or 264 of the Labor Code. If the subsidy is still not paid, you can complain to the Authority for Working Conditions (Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho, ACT), the labor inspectorate, which can fine employers; failing to pay either subsidy is classed as a very serious administrative offense. Unpaid amounts can also be claimed in the labor courts, where a lawyer or your trade union can help.
Bottom line
The two subsidies make a Portuguese annual salary 14 times the monthly figure, which matters when you compare job offers quoted as monthly pay. Check your contract for twelfths, put both dates in your calendar, and keep payslips from your last year in a job, because that is when proportional amounts are most often miscalculated.
FAQ
Do I get a Christmas subsidy if I started in September?
Yes, proportionally. Article 263 gives a subsidy in proportion to the time worked in the calendar year, so four months of work gives about four twelfths of a month’s pay.
Is the meal allowance included in the subsidies?
No. The meal allowance is paid only for days worked and is not part of the holiday or Christmas subsidy.
Do freelancers on recibos verdes get these subsidies?
No. They apply to employment contracts. A client may agree to pay more, but the law does not require it.
Can my employer pay the holiday subsidy in December?
Only with a written agreement. Without one, article 264 requires payment before your holidays begin.
