Workers’ rights in Portugal: pay, the recibo, and what to do if you are not paid

This page tells you what the law says you must be paid in Portugal in 2026, how to read your recibo, and what to do when the money does not arrive. Every figure comes from the government body that publishes it, and the date we checked is at the foot of the page. The figure changes every year — if that date looks old, open the source before you rely on it.

Where your pay is written down

Salário Mínimo Nacional (Retribuição Mínima Mensal Garantida)

Portugal’s minimum wage is the salário mínimo nacional (in law, the retribuição mínima mensal garantida, or RMMG). The government sets it each year by decreto-lei published in the state gazette, the Diário da República. For 2026 it was set by Decreto-Lei n.º 139/2025:

Part-time work is paid pro rata. If you work in the Azores or Madeira, check whether a higher regional minimum applies — the autonomous regions publish their own. And if the contrato coletivo for your sector sets more than the RMMG, that higher figure is what you are owed.

One thing that catches people out: the subsídio de alimentação is a meal allowance on a separate line. It is not part of your base pay and it does not count towards the minimum.

Reading your recibo de vencimento

Every month you should receive a recibo de vencimento. It is proof that you worked and for how much. Keep them; a PDF or a photo counts if you get nothing on paper.

Segurança Social’s own online service lets you see whether your employer registered you and how many months are recorded. It is a check you can make yourself.

If you are not paid

You can claim unpaid wages even without documents. In Portugal work actually done is still owed, even where you have no residence permit.

The concrete step is the labour inspectorate. The ACT takes a pedido de intervenção inspetiva — a request for inspectors to come to the workplace — and a separate one for harassment or discrimination. Fill it in as fully as you can and attach whatever you have as evidence: the recibo, photographs, messages, your own record of hours.

We still print no deadline, because it depends on exactly what you are claiming. Ask before you count days — and you can ask for free.

Where to get free help

• Linha de Apoio a Migrantes (LAM) — 808 257 257 from a landline, 218 106 191 from a mobile, Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm. Information in 14 languages, on top of the telephone translation pool. Run by AIMA. If you read only one line on this page, read this one: you can ask in your own language, by phone, today.
• CNAIM — national migrant support centres — several public services under one roof, including the ACT and Segurança Social, plus a Gabinete de Apoio Jurídico (free legal advice office). Now run by AIMA, not by the old ACM.
• CLAIM — local migrant support offices — more than 150 of them across the mainland and the islands.
• CGTP-IN — The main trade union confederation.
• ACT — Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho — the labour inspectorate’s own site. Head office 217 924 500, with offices in 33 towns. This is where the request for an inspection is filed.
• Segurança Social — Check here whether you are registered.