WE DEFEND THOSE WHO BUILD. WE PROTECT WHAT MATTERS.
EVERY CASE IS TREATED AS IF IT WERE THE ONLY ONE.
Three decades of legal experience dedicated to defending our clients' interests.
EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL
SECURITY LAW
Legal support for workers, companies and employers in labour and social security matters, with a focus on conflict prevention, protection of rights and the correct relationship with Social Security.
Need legal support?
Get in touch with our team for clear, rigorous legal support tailored to your case.
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The Experience Behind Our Practice
Over 30 Years of Consolidated Experience
With more than three decades of legal practice, we combine strong legal knowledge, extensive practical experience, and a mature understanding of the challenges faced by businesses, individuals, and investors.
Rigorous Legal Expertise with Close Client Support
Every case is handled with attention to detail, technical precision, and strategic focus, ensuring personalized and close support throughout every stage of the process.
International Presence and Coordinated Legal Assistance
Through a network of strategic partnerships across Portuguese-speaking and European markets, the firm provides coordinated legal support for both national and international matters and operations.
Employment and Social Security Law
Employment and social security law governs an essential part of the relationship between workers, employers, and the contributory system. It covers matters such as hiring, the day-to-day performance of an employment contract, pay, working hours, holidays, absences, leave, the ending of an employment relationship, dismissal, social security contributions, and social security benefits.
At Armandino Lopes Advogados, we provide legal advice on employment and social security law to workers, businesses, managers, directors, and employers, guiding them through situations that have a direct impact on the professional, financial, and organizational stability of everyone involved. In Portugal, these matters are governed primarily by the Código do Trabalho (labor code) and the Código dos Regimes Contributivos do Sistema Previdencial de Segurança Social (code of the contributory regimes of the social security welfare system).
Our work in this area covers employment contracts, fixed-term contracts, the probationary period, pay, holidays, absences, working hours, overtime, mobility, the employer's disciplinary powers, dismissal, termination of the contract by mutual agreement, termination by the worker, severance pay, outstanding employment-related sums, commuting accidents from a legal and employment perspective, social security contributions, the contributory status of self-employed workers, and access to social security benefits such as unemployment benefit, parental benefits, and other benefits linked to a person's contribution record.
The Código do Trabalho regulates, among other things, the formation, performance, and termination of the employment contract, while the social security contributions regime sets out the bases, rates, and obligations that apply to employers, employees, and the self-employed.
If you are looking for legal support in employment and social security law in Guimarães, our team offers careful, strategic guidance in situations such as dismissal, changes to a worker's role, unpaid wages, disciplinary disputes, termination of the contract, regularizing an employment relationship, outstanding contributions, the status of self-employed workers, and access to social security benefits.
In many cases, stepping in early helps prevent disputes, clarify rights and duties, reduce risk for the business, and protect the worker against decisions that carry real professional and financial weight. The ACT (Acordo Coletivo de Trabalho - Portugal's labor authority) publishes official information on contracts, dismissal, holidays, working hours, and other employment matters, while Social Security sets out the conditions for accessing benefits such as unemployment benefit and parental support.
As a law firm based in Guimarães with established experience in employment, administrative, tax, and litigation matters, we provide legal advice on employment and social security law with a focus on legal security, managing employment and contribution-related risk, and the effective defense of our clients' interests. We work both on the preventive side, by reviewing contracts, framing employment relationships, and looking at obligations toward Social Security, and on the contentious side, when it becomes necessary to respond to dismissals, claim outstanding employment-related sums, challenge sanctions, follow disciplinary proceedings, or address questions of contribution liability.
For anyone who needs an employment and social security lawyer in Guimarães, we offer close, technically rigorous support in decisions that significantly affect a person's professional and financial life.
Legal intervention in this area is especially important where dismissal is at stake, or where there are irregular contracts, unpaid wages, severance disputes, outstanding employment-related sums, missing contributions, refused social security benefits, or disagreements about the true legal nature of an employment relationship.
Situations where legal support is essential
Employment contracts and framework of the employment relationship
Entering into an employment contract, choosing between an open-ended or fixed-term arrangement, and getting the key clauses right all require a sound legal footing.
Fixed-term contracts and renewals
Whether a fixed-term contract is permitted in the first place, and its duration, renewal, and termination, all depend on specific legal requirements. Failing to meet them can have significant consequences for the employer.
Holiday pay, holiday allowance, and Christmas allowance
The calculation, taking, and payment of these entitlements often gives rise to disputes, particularly when the contract ends. The Labor Code expressly provides that, on termination, the worker is entitled to holiday pay and the corresponding allowance for both accrued and proportional holiday entitlement.
Disciplinary proceedings
Whenever the employer intends to exercise disciplinary authority, or the employee is the subject of disciplinary proceedings, it is essential to assess the legality of the process and possible defenses.
Termination of the contract by the worker
When it is the worker who brings the contract to an end, it is important to check the notice periods, the financial consequences, and any liability that may follow. The ACT provides calculators to help with the notice of termination.
Regularizing employment relationships
Where there are doubts about the true legal nature of a working relationship, a fresh legal assessment of the relationship and its associated obligations may be needed. This is a general observation based on the rules of employment law and should be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
Parental benefits and other social security benefits
Parental leave, illness, and other events that trigger social security payments require a careful look at the legal framework and the worker's contribution record.
In-Person or Online Legal Support
Do you need legal support?
Schedule a consultation with our firm and receive clear, professional guidance tailored to your case.
About Us
More Than Three Decades of Strategic Legal Practice
Armandino Lopes Advogados is a law firm headquartered in Guimarães, with offices in Porto and Maputo, founded in 1995. With more than three decades of activity, the firm combines consolidated legal experience with an international outlook, advising businesses, private clients, and investors in Portugal and across Portuguese-speaking markets.
Our practice covers Civil, Tax, Administrative, Commercial, Employment, Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring, Family, and Foreign Investment, with particular expertise in tax litigation and the defense of companies before the Tax Authorities and Social Security.
Through a network of partnerships with law firms in Lisbon, Vigo, Madrid, Paris, Luanda, São Paulo, Macau, Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago, we provide our clients with coordinated legal assistance across the markets where they operate or intend to invest.
This international positioning is further strengthened through collaboration agreements with professors and academics from Universidade Portucalense, the Faculty of Law of the University of Porto, the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, and the Catholic University of Porto, maintaining a close connection to academia and leading legal scholarship.
Rigor, proximity, and results. That is what defines us.
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Sectors of Activity
A Rigorous Legal Approach, From Assessment to Representation
1.
Assessment
We begin by understanding the facts, reviewing the documentation, and identifying legal risks, relevant deadlines, and the full scope of the situation.
2.
Strategy
We define the most appropriate approach for the case, based on the client’s objectives, the applicable legal framework, and the best way to protect their interests.
3.
Action
We handle the matter with technical rigor, whether through negotiation, contract drafting, document regularization, dealings with public authorities, or litigation proceedings.
4.
Ongoing Support
We keep the client informed and supported throughout every stage of the process, with close communication, clarity, and a focus on achieving a legally sound solution.
In-Person or Online Legal Support
Rigor, experience and confidentiality
Schedule a consultation with our firm and receive clear, professional guidance tailored to your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is employment and social security law?
It is the area of law that governs the relationship between workers and employers, along with the contributory framework and access to benefits under Portugal's Social Security welfare system.
What is legal advice in this area for?
ï‚·It helps you prevent disputes, structure contracts, ensure compliance with employment law, respond to dismissals, defend outstanding employment-related entitlements, clarify contribution obligations, and handle applications or disputes involving Social Security.
Who might need support in employment and social security law?
Legal support may be needed by workers, employers, businesses, managers, directors, self-employed workers, and anyone receiving Social Security benefits with questions about employment, contributions, or social benefits.
Who can help with employment and social security law matters?
ï‚·A lawyer experienced in employment contracts, dismissal, employment-related entitlements, contributions, and social benefits can guide you through these matters with rigor and strategic insight. Armandino Lopes Advogados provides legal advice in this area, focusing on the protection of rights, the prevention of employment and social security risks, and on ensuring that employment relationships are legally sound and secure.