Posting workers to Portugal: the ACT prior notification

A foreign employer sending workers to Portugal must notify the labour authority before the work starts.

What it means

Posting a worker means sending an employee to work temporarily in Portugal while the employee stays employed abroad. When a foreign employer does this, it must notify the ACT (Portugal's labour inspectorate) beforehand. This notice is called a prior posting notification. It tells the ACT who is coming, which company is sending them, and where they will work.

Who has to do it

The foreign employer is responsible for filing the notification. This applies whether the employer sends its own staff or supplies workers through a temporary work agency. The client or main contractor in Portugal does not file this notice - it is the posting employer's own duty, not a shared one.

When and how it works

The notification must be filed before the posting starts. Guidance is not consistent on an exact deadline in hours or days, so the safe rule is simple: file it with enough time to have it confirmed before the first working day in Portugal. The employer submits details about the company, the workers, and the assignment to the ACT. Once it is accepted, the employer should keep proof of the submission. Records connected to the posting, such as the contract, pay records, and time records, must stay available for one year after the posting ends, in case the ACT asks to see them.

What happens if it is not done

Posting workers without notifying the ACT is a breach of Portuguese labour law. It can lead to fines for the foreign employer, and it can draw closer attention from labour inspectors during the assignment itself.

What to watch out for

There is no established rule that the Portuguese client or main contractor must check whether this notification was actually filed. Still, keeping a copy of the confirmation on file can be a useful piece of evidence if a dispute or an inspection comes up later.