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Work Accident Compensation Calculator

How much does a work accident pay in Portugal? The law sets exact percentages of your annual retribution: a daily indemnity while you are off work, and a lifetime pension if you are left with permanent incapacity. Pick the incapacity situation, enter the pay and see what the insurer owes, with the calculation step by step.

Use the pay at the date of the accident. The legal base is the annual retribution: 12 months plus the holiday and Christmas bonuses (14 months in the ordinary case), with the meal allowance counting for 11 months and any other regular annual amounts added in full.

The degree of incapacity is not chosen by you or by this calculator: it is set by the National Table of Incapacities, by a medical board or by the labour court. Enter the degree already assigned.

Compensation per day
€26.85
Total over 60 days
€1,610.96

For absolute temporary incapacity you receive 70% of the daily value of the retribution during the first 12 months, that is €26.85 a day. From day 366 the rate rises to 75%.

How the figure is reached

Gross annual retribution (article 71(3))€14,000.00
Daily value (annual retribution ÷ 365)€38.36
Daily indemnity€26.85
Total over 60 days of incapacity€1,610.96

The employer's insurer pays, because work accident insurance is compulsory. With no insurance the employer is liable and, failing that, the Work Accident Fund.

These indemnities and pensions fall outside income tax (article 12(1) of the IRS Code), with the express exception of the public administration work accident regime.

Educational estimate: it does not compute the remição capital, the death pensions and subsidies, the supplementary third-person assistance benefit, the uplift for employer fault, or medical and transport expenses. Occupational diseases follow these same benefits, but are certified and paid by Social Security.

This calculator provides educational estimates and does not constitute financial advice.

The base: annual retribution, not one month’s salary

Unlike Social Security sick pay, the base here is the gross annual retribution normally due at the date of the accident (art. 71(1)). The law defines it as 12 times the monthly pay plus the holiday and Christmas bonuses (14 months in the ordinary case), plus any other regular annual amounts. The meal allowance counts, but only for 11 months a year, because it is tied to actually working and is not paid during holidays. The daily value is the annual retribution divided by 365, and the indemnity is paid for every calendar day, including weekly rests and public holidays.

Accident sick leave: 70%, then 75%

For absolute temporary incapacity you receive a daily indemnity of 70% of the daily value for the first 12 months and 75% for the period after that (art. 48(3)(d)). If the incapacity is partial and temporary, you receive 70% of the reduction in earning capacity, and here there is no step up to 75%: the percentage stays the same. The indemnity is due from the day after the accident; the day of the accident itself is paid by the employer.

Permanent incapacity: a lifetime pension

If you are left with definitive after-effects, the benefit becomes an annual lifetime pension. For partial permanent incapacity it is 70% of the reduction in general earning capacity. For absolute permanent incapacity for your usual work, the law sets a range of 50% to 70% of the retribution, depending on the functional capacity left for another occupation. For absolute permanent incapacity for any work at all it is 80% of the retribution, plus 10% for each dependent, capped at 100%. The pension is paid in 14 instalments a year, each one fourteenth of the annual pension (art. 72).

The high-permanent-incapacity lump sum

On top of the pension, anyone left with absolute permanent incapacity, or partial incapacity of 70% or more, is entitled to a one-off subsidy (art. 67). The base is 12 times 1.1 of the social support index, that is €7,090.08 in 2026. You receive the full amount for absolute incapacity for any work; between 70% and 100% of it for absolute incapacity for your usual work; and the amount multiplied by the degree for a partial incapacity of 70% or more.

When the pension is swapped for a lump sum (remição)

A small pension is not paid monthly forever: it is compulsorily converted into a single payment when it results from a partial permanent incapacity below 30% and the annual pension does not exceed six times the minimum wage (€5,520 in 2026). The calculator flags when that is your case, but does not compute the capital: it comes from the actuarial tables of the annual portaria, which depend on the injured worker’s age and sex.

Who pays, and what is left out

The employer’s insurer pays, because work-accident insurance is compulsory; with no insurance the employer is liable, and failing that the Work Accident Fund steps in. These indemnities and pensions fall outside income tax (art. 12(1) of the IRS Code), with the express exception of the public-administration regime. The calculator does not assess the incapacity: the degree is set by the National Table of Incapacities, by a medical board or by the labour court, and here it is a figure you enter.

Worked example

Take a monthly pay of €1,000 with no meal allowance. The annual retribution is €14,000 (14 months) and the daily value €38.36. On 60 days of absolute temporary incapacity you receive €26.85 a day, that is €1,610.96; if the leave stretches to 400 days, the first 365 pay at 70% and the next 35 at 75%, for a total of €10,806.85. If you are left with a 40% partial permanent incapacity, the annual pension is €3,920 (70% of 40% of €14,000), or €280 per instalment. At a 15% degree the annual pension would be €1,470 and, being below 30% and within the €5,520 ceiling, it is compulsorily converted into a single payment. At the other extreme, for absolute incapacity for any work with two dependents the percentage reaches 100%: the pension equals the retribution, €14,000 a year, plus the €7,090.08 lump sum.

Frequently asked questions

How much do you get on sick leave from a work accident?
You receive a daily indemnity of 70% of the daily value of your annual retribution for the first 12 months and 75% after that (Law 98/2009, art. 48(3)(d)). The daily value is the annual retribution (14 months of salary in the ordinary case, plus 11 months of meal allowance) divided by 365. On €1,000 a month that is €26.85 for every day off.
Is work-accident sick leave different from ordinary sick leave?
Yes, and considerably better. Ordinary sick leave is paid by Social Security at 55% to 75% of pay, after a three-day waiting period. Work-accident leave is paid by the insurer, starts at 70% and rises to 75% after a year, has no waiting period (it is due from the day after the accident) and is calculated on the annual retribution with the bonuses included.
How is the permanent incapacity pension calculated?
It depends on the type. Partial: 70% of the reduction in general earning capacity, applied to the annual retribution. Absolute for the usual work: between 50% and 70% of the retribution, depending on the capacity left for another occupation. Absolute for any work: 80% of the retribution plus 10% for each dependent, capped at 100%. The pension is paid in 14 instalments a year.
What is the remição of a pension?
It is swapping the monthly pension for a single payment. It is compulsory when the partial permanent incapacity is below 30% and the annual pension does not exceed six times the minimum wage (€5,520 in 2026). Above 30% a partial remição may be requested, provided the remaining pension does not fall below those six minimum wages. The capital comes from official actuarial tables based on age and sex, so this calculator flags the remição but does not compute it.
Is work accident compensation taxed in Portugal?
No. Article 12(1) of the IRS Code excludes indemnities and pensions due as a consequence of bodily injury, illness or death from income tax, including those paid under an insurance contract. The express exception is the public-administration work-accident regime (Decree-Law 503/99), which is taxed.
Does an accident on the way to work count as a work accident?
Yes. The accident in itinere, on the normal journey to and from home and work and on trips to meals, is expressly treated as a work accident by Law 98/2009, with the same benefits. Accidents while working away from the usual workplace and during work breaks also count.
Who pays work accident compensation?
The employer’s insurer: work-accident insurance is compulsory for every employee. If the employer has no insurance, or the policy does not cover the real pay, the employer is liable for the difference; if the employer is insolvent or unknown, the Work Accident Fund steps in. The worker never pays contributions for this insurance.

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Author: Thorben Rasmus Idel · Reviewed by: Nahar Geva · Last reviewed: 2026-08-05