Factsheet for measure
PT-2020-40/1273
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Updated
– measures in Portugal
Staggered working times - exceptional and transitory regime
Horários desfasados - regime excecional e transitório
Background information
The Resolution of the Council of Ministers 63-A/2020 of 14 August, now revoked, proposes the implementation of different clock-in and clock-out times as well as different times for breaks and meals, as an alternative to telework.
This same measure was included in the Resolution of the Council of Ministers 70-A/2020 of 11 September.
Following the return of most Portuguese to pre-essential work and the start of the school year, the circumstances lead to higher levels of contact and a larger number of social interactions, as well as of people on the move, especially in areas with a higher population density and commuting.
With Decree-Law 79-A/2020 of 1 October, the Government establishes rules for the reorganisation and risk mitigation in businesses in order to prevent the transmission of the infection by SARS-CoV-2 and the disease COVID-19.
These are based on staggered working times.
Content of measure
The Decree-Law 79-A/2020 of 1 October establishes an exceptional and transitory regime of reorganisation of work, in order to avoid gatherings of people performing presential work.
This measure applies to businesses with work places with 50 or more workers, in the territorial areas where the epidemiological situation justifies the application of such a measure - areas to be defined by the Government (article 2).
The employer should organise staggered clock-in and clock-out times, ensuring a time span of at least 30 minutes and up to a maximum of one hour between groups of workers. The employer should also organise alternating breaks, including for meals, among teams or departments. (Article 3)
For the purposes described above, the employer may change working times up to the maximum limit of one hour, unless this causes serious harm to the worker (article 4). It is considered as serious harm notably: the lack of public transports with adequate operating schedules; and the need to provide immediate and necessary assistance to the family.
This change in working times must remain stable for at least one week. This cannot imply the change of the maximum daily or weekly working hours, nor the change from day work to night work or vice-versa.
Some groups of workers are exempted of working according to the new working schedules defined by the employer: workers who are pregnant, have recently given birth or are breastfeeding; minor workers; workers with reduced working capacity, with a disability or chronic disease; and workers caring for children under 12 years old or, regardless of age, with a disability or chronic disease.
According to the Release from the Council of Ministers of 1 October 2020, it was approved a resolution that extends to Public Administration the rules on staggered working times, with the due adaptations.
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
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30 March 2021
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Decree-Law 25-A/2021, of 30 March, extends the rules for reorganisation and minimisation of risks in the context of labour relations with a view to preventing the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease, namely those provided for in Decree-Law 79-A/2020, of 1 October, in its current wording, through the implementation of the mismatch between the entrance and exit times of workers in workplaces with 50 or more workers, in order to avoid gatherings of people during face-to-face work, in order to dilute agglomerations or gatherings of people during concentrated peak hours, as well as with regard to mandatory telework.
The social partners sitting on the Standing Committee on Social Concertation were heard.
The validity of Decree-Law 79-A/2020, of 1 October, is extended until 31 December 2021, without prejudice to the possibility of extension after consultation with the social partners.
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31 December 2020
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Decree-Law 106-A / 2020 of 30 December amends exceptional and temporary measures relating to the COVID-19 disease pandemic.
Proceeds the third amendment to Decree-Law 79-A / 2020, of 1 October, as amended by Decree-Laws 94-A / 2020, of 3 November, and 99/2020, of 22 November, which establishes an exceptional regime and transitory reorganisation of work and minimisation of risks of transmission of COVID-19 disease infection in the scope of labour relations.
Articles 2 and 3 of Decree-Law 79 -A / 2020, of 1 October, in their current wording, are replaced by the following:
Article 2
[...]
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The provisions of this decree-law apply to companies with workplaces with 50 or more workers, in the territorial areas where the epidemiological situation justifies it, defined by the Government through a resolution of the Council of Ministers, as well as in the counties considered by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) as being of high, very high and extreme risk, as declared by the Government by decree regulating the declaration of a state of emergency, without prejudice to the provisions of the following paragraphs.
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The provisions of article 5-A apply to companies established in the territorial areas where the epidemiological situation justifies it, defined by the Government through a resolution of the Council of Ministers, as well as in the municipalities considered by the DGS to be at risk high, very high and extreme, as declared by the Government through a decree regulating the declaration of a state of emergency, regardless of the number of workers, as well as the workers residing or working there.
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The provisions of article 5-B apply to companies and workers to which the previous paragraph applies, as well as to companies with an establishment and workers who reside or work in the municipalities considered by DGS to be of moderate risk, as declared by the Government by resolution of the Council of Ministers or decree regulating the declaration of a state of emergency.
Article 3
[...]
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In the workplaces referred to in paragraph 1 of the previous article, the employer must organise the hours of entry and departure from workplaces in a staggered manner, guaranteeing minimum intervals of thirty minutes up to the limit of one hour between groups of workers."
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Use of measure
No information is available on the use of this measure.
Target groups
Actors and funding
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Actors
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Funding
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National government
Trade unions
Company / Companies
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No special funding required
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Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
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Trade unions
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Employers' organisations
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Role
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Consulted
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Consulted
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Form
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Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies
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Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies
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Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
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Only trade unions
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Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level
Involvement
The social partners were invited to issue written opinion on this measure but the topic was not discussed in the Standing Committee for Social Concertation.
In order to change working times, according to this Decree-Law, the employer should do a prior consultation to the workers involved and to the works council or, in its absence, to the trade union or inter trade union commission or to the trade union representatives.
This Decree-Law is in force until 31 March 2021 but it may be extended following consultation of the social partners.
Views and reactions
The trade union confederations expressed concerns with the possibility open to employers to change working times based only on a prior consultation of the workers, especially in the businesses where trade union structures and representatives do not exist.
Sources
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14 August 2020: Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 63-A/2020
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11 September 2020: Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 70-A/2020
(data.dre.pt)
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01 October 2020: Decreto-Lei n.º 79-A/2020
(data.dre.pt)
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01 October 2020: Comunicado do Conselho de Ministros de 1 de outubro de 2020
(www.portugal.gov.pt)
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30 December 2020: Decreto-Lei nº 106-A/2020
(dre.pt)
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30 March 2021: Decreto-Lei n.º 25-A/2021
(dre.pt)
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29 September 2021: Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 135-A/2021
(data.dre.pt)
