Following a request to amend the existing labour legislation, which reached Parliament through a public petition, with the authorship of Acreditar - Association of Parents and Friends of Children with Cancer, named "The grief of a life does not fit into 5 days", which had 82.620 subscribers, the Portuguese Parliament approved the amendment to article 251 of the Labour Code on November 26, 2021.
Today, December 15, 2021, the law was enacted by the President of the Republic. It will come into force on the 1st working day after publication in National Official journal (“Diário da República”).
What are the amendments to article 251 of the Labour Code?
The scope of the article was widened by adding in paragraph a) that the employee may be absent without loss of pay, up to twenty consecutive days, due to the death of a descendant or relative in the 1st degree in the direct line
It should be noted that in situations of the death of a child or a relative in the first degree of the direct line, both parents have the right to request psychological counselling from the National Health Service, which must begin within a maximum period of 5 days after the death, and the same right must be guaranteed upon the death of a close family member such as spouses and ascendants.
