Your Guide to Hire in Portugal is now out

When considering investing in Portugal to either start or expand your business, there are a lot of considerations to be made.

Unlocking tech talent stories

February 19, 2020

If you’re here then you’re probably looking for answers, well, look no further! We did the research and collected everything you need to know about Portugal, so you don’t have to, and created the complete guide to Hiring in Portugal.

Houses from a typical Lisbon neighborhood. View from a sightseeing spot in Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, the capital of Portugal

Do I get any incentives if I invest in Portugal? Portugal has been reinventing itself as the tech firm’s destination of choice also by encouraging foreign investment with measures such as internship and graduate employment grants. Entrepreneur Europe states that “investments of up to €5 million enjoy tax deductions of 20 percent, meaning the tax rate for startups can be as low as 7.5 percent”, from the normal rate of 24 percent.

According to the South EU Summit, “the Portuguese government also eased residency programs for foreign startups and lessened bureaucracy, so that startup founders can establish their company via a simple online process”.

What about taxes? Shareholders who don’t live in Portugal must have a Portuguese taxpayer number for tax purposes. For EU residents, this can be obtained directly with the tax administration; non-EU residents must appoint a Portuguese tax resident representative to handle this matter with the tax authorities.

“The Taxpayer Identification Number (VAT number within the EU) can be obtained at any Tax Office, multipurpose Administrative Services Centre (Loja do Cidadão) or at a Portuguese consulate”, as Invest Lisboa explains.

If you’re a private individual living in the EU, Iceland or Norway, you’ll have to present an ID card/passport and proof of address (water, electricity or gas bill).

What types of contracts are there available? There are three main types of work contracts in Portugal: Indefinite term contracts (the general rule for hiring in Portugal and the best one for stability), and Term employment contracts (widely used in Portugal), here you can have Fixed-term contracts (with an end date, not recommended for the tech sector), and Unfixed-term contracts (without an end date, but still regarded as a temporary need).

Term employment contracts are generally used to satisfy temporary needs, and have to meet certain criteria: Fixed-term contracts can only be renewed three times may not exceed, in total, three years (although there are exceptions), and Unfixed-term contracts cannot exceed six years. If these limits are exceeded, these fixed-term types of contracts are converted into indefinite employment contracts.

Also, when you hire someone in Portugal, their contract includes a trial period, during which both of you analyze whether you want to go ahead with the employment or cancel it. This probation can be excluded if everyone agrees to, but if not, either party can use the trial period to end the contract. In Portugal, this trial period usually takes six months (180 days), and that’s what we at Landing.jobs recommend you to use.

All of these decisions can become especially hard if you don’t know where to start looking for information.

That’s why we have developed the Hiring in Portugal ebook — a free guide with all the information you need about the Portuguese culture, lifestyle, economy, work culture, plus info on our tech sector, and most importantly, the recruitment sector.

Hiring in Portugal book cover

Hiring in Portugal book

This guide will help you stay ahead. Using clear examples, infographics and official statistics, in partnership with Startup Portugal, Revista Pessoas, and InvestLisboa, we dig into an extensive array of the most credible sources to give you in-depth knowledge of:

  • The Portuguese work culture;
  • The Portuguese Labor laws;
  • Portuguese Taxes & Social Security;
  • The Portuguese Salary kit;
  • How to set up a company;
  • The best digital tools for recruitment;
  • And much more!

We often say information is power, but in this case, information is money. Knowing the available legal options and constraints can help you start in Portugal with the right-foot and secure the financial health of your business. If you’re considering having your company in Portugal, this is the right moment, and we want to provide you with all the insights and tools to do so.

You can get all these insights and info in the Hiring in Portugal ebook for free here.

If you’re ready to start hiring in Portugal and want personalized help, get in touch with us via email @ [email protected]

Aim for more!

Your Landing.jobs team

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