Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

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Ordinance on Teleworking Expenses

New Legislation Enacted

Author: David Carvalho Martins, Partner and Head of Employment – DCM | Littler

The payment of additional teleworking costs, to be reimbursed by the employer, has been a widely discussed topic in the media. On September 29, 2023, a new ordinance was published and entered into effect on October 1, 2023. This ordinance sets the limits on compensation for the additional costs of teleworking, which is tax-exempt income and excluded from the social security contributions.

The compensation value is set as follows for: (1) Residential electricity consumption, EUR 0.10 per day; (2) Personal Internet consumption, EUR 0.40 per day; and (3) Personal computer or equivalent IT equipment, EUR 0.50 per day. These limits are increased by 50% when the amount of compensation results from a collective bargaining agreement concluded by the employer.

Appeal Court of Lisbon: New Restriction to Non-competes?

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Author: Tiago Sequeira Mousinho, Associate – DCM | Littler

Joining the trend across multiple countries, the courts in Portugal are signaling a desire to restrict the use of non-competes. On September 13, 2023, the Appeal Court of Lisbon (ACL) issued a decision to restrict non-compete agreements with employees. The ACL determined that since a non-compete is, by nature, onerous, the employee must be economically compensated for such employment limitation. Further, such non-compete agreements cannot be conditioned on the employer’s sole appreciation.

This is an important decision as the law on non-competes is being debated, especially as it relates to the rules on waiver of rights.

Regulation for Decent Work Agenda

New Order or Decree

Author: David Carvalho Martins, Partner and Head of Employment, and Rui Rego Soares, Associate – DCM | Littler

Decree-law no. 53/2023, which became effective as of August 1, 2023, provides further insights on the first implementation of the Decent Work Agenda of 2023 (which entered into force on May 1, 2023). Companies and organizations should review these new rules, some of which are discussed here, which may impact payroll practices.

The new Decree-Law reinforces social protection for students who work during school vacation periods, making it possible to accumulate annual remuneration of up to EUR 10,640.00 (14 times the guaranteed minimum monthly wage) with the family allowance, study grants, and survivors' pensions. Within the scope of parental protection, the initial parental allowance and the extended parental allowance are increased to 90% and 40% of the remuneration, respectively, when there is effective sharing of parental responsibilities. Parental leave has also been made more flexible, allowing employees with children to take part-time leave after the first 120 days, promoting a return to work while extending childcare during the first year of life. Finally, social protection is strengthened in the event of illness, maternity, paternity, adoption, and death under the general social security system, as well as for the convergent social protection scheme.