Overtime pay in Portugal: how it is calculated in 2026

What overtime is

Overtime, the technical name is trabalho suplementar, is the time you work beyond your normal schedule¹. Because it is extra time, the law requires it to be paid with an uplift over the value of a normal hour: it can never be paid at the plain rate.

How much you earn depends on two things: the value of your normal hour and the situation in which you worked, on a working day, a rest day or a public holiday. Let us look at each.

First, the normal hourly rate

The uplift applies on top of the hourly rate. The law (Código do Trabalho art. 271.º²) computes it as:

Hourly rate = (monthly salary × 12) ÷ (52 × weekly hours)

You multiply the salary by 12 months, divide by the 52 weeks of the year and by the hours you work per week. For example, €1,040 a month on a 40-hour week gives (1,040 × 12) ÷ (52 × 40) = €6.00 per hour.

The uplifts on a working day

On a working day (a normal day), the uplift is not the same for every hour¹:

So the first hour is paid at €6.00 + 25% = €7.50, and each hour from the second at €6.00 + 37.5% = €8.25.

The uplifts on a rest day or holiday

When the overtime is worked on a weekly rest day (mandatory or complementary) or a public holiday, every hour, with no distinct first hour, is paid with +50%¹. With a €6.00 hourly rate, each hour is worth €9.00.

On top of the pay, work on a mandatory rest day also gives the right to a paid compensatory rest day in the following days, that is time, not money, and so it is out of this calculation.

Above 100 hours a year, the uplifts double

Since the Agenda do Trabalho Digno (Lei n.º 13/2023, in force since May 2023³), overtime hours beyond 100 a year carry doubled uplifts:

The 100-hour count is annual and cumulative: all of the year's overtime adds up. Anyone doing a lot of overtime should check when they passed that limit.

Worked example

Take a salary of €1,040 a month, a 40-hour week and 3 overtime hours on a working day:

• Hourly rate: (1,040 × 12) ÷ (52 × 40) = €6.00.
• 1st hour: €6.00 + 25% = €7.50.
• 2 following hours: €6.00 + 37.5% = €8.25 each → €16.50.
• Gross total: €7.50 + €16.50 = €24.00 (an average of €8.00/hour).

Social Security (11% = €2.64) is charged on the €24.00, leaving €21.36 before IRS. If those 3 hours were on a public holiday, they would be paid at +50%: €6.00 × 1.5 × 3 = €27.00.

Work it out with your own figures in the overtime pay calculator.

Social Security and IRS

Overtime is remuneration and counts for deductions:

• Social Security: the normal 11% employee rate applies.
• IRS: the withholding on overtime is reduced to half the monthly rate, from the first hour. Note that this is only the withholding (what leaves your payslip); the final tax is settled in the annual IRS return, where overtime adds to the year's income.

What this guide does not cover

To be an honest estimate, some points are left out:

• Collective-agreement rules (IRCT): the art. 268.º values are legal minimums; your sector's collective agreement may set different uplifts.
• The exact IRS withheld, which depends on your monthly withholding rate.
• The compensatory rest, which is a right to rest time, not money.

To understand how much you take home from your base salary, see the net salary calculator and how net salary is calculated.