Lisbon, June 17, 2026 (Lusa) - On Thursday, parliament will debate the draft bill to revise labour laws, which sets out more than 100 amendments to the Labour Code, following ongoing tripartite discussions among the government, unions, and employers.

Lusa spoke to three lawyers to determine whether the amendments under discussion would generally have a greater impact on the public or the private sector.

+++ Will the measures set out in the bill have a greater impact on the public sector or the private sector? +++

“In practical terms, the impact is greater in the private sector,” explains Luís Couto, a partner at SPCB Legal, noting that it is in this sector that “the application is direct”, given that the proposal “primarily amends the Labour Code and it is in private-sector labour relations that the most operational changes are concentrated”, such as fixed-term contracts, time off in lieu or ‘outsourcing’ (the use of external labour).

This view is corroborated by Pedro da Quitéria Faria, a partner at Antas da Cunha Ecija, who emphasised that the General Law on Labour in the Public Service (LGTFP) “merely refers to the Labour Code in specific matters”, meaning that “the direct and immediate impact is considerably more pronounced in the private sector and only affects the public sector when the LGTFP makes such an explicit reference”.

Consequently, “the labour reform will have a significantly greater impact on the private sector, as it is the direct and primary target of the legislation, but with repercussions for the public sector”, summarises Jaime Costa, a lawyer at Santiago Mediano.

+++ Which measures will have the greatest impact on the private sector? +++

Measures relating to employment contracts, redundancies and business organisation will have the greatest impact on the private sector, according to the lawyers interviewed by Lusa.

This includes the extension of the maximum duration of fixed-term contracts from two to three years and from four to five years for indefinite-term contracts, as well as the broadening of the grounds for fixed-term employment; the proposal provides that it will now be permissible, for example, to hire an employee who has never worked under a permanent employment contract, or a long-term or very long-term unemployed person.

With regard to dismissals, the lawyers also highlighted the increase in compensation for collective redundancies from 14 to 15 days, the lifting of restrictions on ‘outsourcing’ and the extension of the possibility of offering alternative measures instead of reinstating workers in the event of unlawful dismissal to small, medium and large enterprises.

This range also includes measures aimed at amending the rules governing work on digital platforms, particularly regarding the presumption of an employment relationship; changes to the rules on the transfer of a business or establishment, “including aspects relating to the exercise of the worker’s right to object”; and measures designed to ensure human supervision over the use of artificial intelligence in companies, curbing decisions made exclusively by algorithms.

+++ And which measures will have the greatest impact on the public sector? +++

The lawyers interviewed by Lusa note that the draft bill focuses on amending the Labour Code and related legislation rather than the General Law on Labour in the Public Service (LGTFP), so it does not include measures specifically aimed at the public sector.

However, in light of the explicit references in the LGTFP, they acknowledged that there are some measures “which will have a direct impact on public sector workers”.

Among these, they highlighted, above all, the amendments to the law on strikes (particularly regarding advance notice) and the extension of the sectors covered by minimum services.

“This is a particularly significant development for public sectors such as health, education and transport, as well as for private operators providing essential services under public interest regimes; however, the impact on the public sector is naturally more pronounced given the scale of the services covered,” says Pedro da Quitéria Faria, partner in charge of the Labour and Social Security Law Department at Antas da Cunha Ecija.

+++ “My spouse and I are civil servants, and I am pregnant. Could I be affected by the changes relating to parenthood?” +++

Yes, due to the existing cross-references. According to lawyer Luís Couto, changes in the area of maternity/parental leave – specifically regarding parental leave (changes to initial parental leave and exclusive parental leave for the other parent), adoption, termination of pregnancy, and situations involving hospitalisation or premature birth – may “have an impact on public sector employment because the LTFP refers to the Labour Code on matters of parenthood”.

According to the lawyer, changes to time off for breastfeeding and nursing may also “have an impact on public sector employment by virtue of the LTFP’s reference to the Labour Code”, whilst acknowledging that “it may also, with caution, refer to a continuous working day associated with family responsibilities”.

“The proposal introduces into the Labour Code a continuous working day scheme for workers with children under the age of 12 or children with a disability, chronic illness or cancer. However, the public sector already features a continuous working day, governed by its own provisions in the LTFP. Therefore, this measure primarily targets the private sector, yet it still offers an opportunity for comparison or coordination between the new common regime and the existing public sector regime”, he emphasises.

+++ Apart from issues relating to strikes and parenthood, what measures apply across both the public and private sectors? +++

Should parliament pass the draft law, the return of the individual time bank could also affect public administration and the private sector.

“The LTFP has its own regime regarding time banking (Articles 106 and 107), which refers to the Labour Code; therefore, the new mechanism for time banking by individual agreement will, in principle, be directly applicable to employees with employment contracts in the civil service, as well as to appointed staff, unless the LTFP is expressly amended to the contrary”, states Jaime Costa, emphasising that it may be necessary to clarify or adapt this regime.

The lawyer also highlighted that the amendments to the right to disconnect, which clarify that “communications expressly stating that a reply is not required outside working hours fall outside the prohibition on contacting the employee during rest periods, and establishing that any less favourable treatment of an employee for exercising their right to disconnect constitutes discriminatory action” apply to both sectors, given that “the LTFP refers to the Labour Code regarding the organisation of working time”, as do the measures concerning information on algorithms.

+++ Could the LTFP undergo a comprehensive review? +++

The lawyers interviewed by Lusa offer mixed views on the prospect of a major overhaul of the LTFP. Broadly speaking, Jaime Costa acknowledged that “a reform of this magnitude in the Labour Code creates pressure for the legislator to review the LTFP”, “in order to promote consistency between the public and private sectors”.

Pedro da Quitéria Faria, on the other hand, considers that “the area most likely to require specific legislative intervention for the public sector is that of the right to strike and minimum services”, in light of “the constitutional and sector-specific nature of the issue and the government’s intention to make the broader imposition of minimum services in essential sectors mandatory”.

For his part, Luís Couto anticipates that any future review will likely be targeted rather than comprehensive, given that the LTFP primarily concerns procedural aspects of public sector employment, such as competitive examinations, career paths, remuneration, mobility, the establishment of the employment relationship, discipline and termination.

Nevertheless, he acknowledged that matters relating to parental leave, individual time banks or strikes may be subject to “specific” amendments, due to the references provided for in the current legislation.

“The aim will be to clarify what applies directly, what applies with adaptations, and what should remain subject to the special civil service regime,” the lawyer acknowledged, emphasising that he sees “abundant basis for affirming that the proposal, in itself, imposes a general reform of the civil service regime”.

JMF // MSF

Lusa/Fim