Portugal: Employment and Labour Law

1. Does an employer need a reason to lawfully terminate an employment relationship? If so, state what reasons are lawful in your jurisdiction?

In general, employers can only unilaterally terminate employment contracts if they have just cause (which implies a very serious breach of the duties incumbent upon workers) or based on objective reasons. Employment contracts can only be validly terminated by: (i) mutual agreement between the parties; (ii) termination of the contract during the probationary period; (iii) expiry
of fixed-term contracts (definite or indefinite), upon reaching their term; (iv) expiry due to supervening, absolute, and definitive impossibility for the worker to perform their work or for the employer to receive it; (v) expiry upon the worker’s retirement due to old age or disability; (vi) expiry determined by the death of the employer or the dissolution or closure of the company (in the case of legal entities); (vii) insolvency and business recovery; (viii) dismissal with just cause (this may occur whenever a worker commits a disciplinary offence that is serious, and its consequences make it immediately and practically impossible for the employment contract to remain in force); (ix) collective redundancy; (x) dismissal due to the elimination of a job position; (xi) dismissal due to worker’s unfitness; (xii) abandonment of the job.

You can read the full guide here.