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Vacation Days Calculator

Annual leave in Portugal

Estimate how many working days of paid annual leave you get in Portugal: normal year, hire year, contract under 6 months or leaving year. We apply articles 237 to 245 of the Labour Code.

By Elijah·UPDATED AUGUST 2026·4 MIN·OFFICIAL SOURCES
KEY FACTS
General rule
22 working days per year
Hire year
2 days/month, capped at 20
Taking leave in year 1
after 6 full months
Contract under 6 months
2 days per full month
Carry-over cap
30 working days in the same calendar year
6
Meses de duração do contrato no ano de admissão.
Use dias úteis. Deixe em 0 se ainda não gozou nem recebeu dias.
DIREITO ESTIMADO
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Fórmula usada—
Já gozados / pagos—
Saldo estimado—
Normalmente pode gozar agora—
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How this works

Annual leave in Portugal looks simple (22 working days per year), but the first year, short contracts and contract termination each have their own rules. This tool calculates working days, shows the formula and separates the estimated entitlement from the balance after leave already taken or paid.

  1. 1
    Choose the right case
    In a normal year, the legal minimum is 22 working days. In the hire year, the rule changes to 2 working days for each month of contract duration, capped at 20 days. If the contract lasts under 6 months, complete months are counted.
  2. 2
    Enter the months counted
    Use the months of contract duration in the hire year, the complete months for a contract under 6 months, or the months of service in the leaving year. The tool shows the formula used in each scenario.
  3. 3
    Subtract leave already taken or paid
    If you have already taken leave, or if some days were already paid in the final settlement, enter that figure to see the estimated balance. If the balance goes negative, check the payslip with payroll or ACT.
  4. 4
    Read the timing note
    In the hire year, leave can only be taken after six full months of contract execution. If the calendar year ends before that point, those days can be taken until 30 June of the following year.

Frequently asked

How many vacation days do I get in Portugal?
The general Labour Code rule is a minimum of 22 working days of paid annual leave. For this purpose, working days are Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. Collective agreements or contracts can give more days, but not fewer.
Do I immediately get 22 days in the first year?
No. In the hire year, the employee gets 2 working days for each month of contract duration, capped at 20 days. Leave can be taken after six full months of contract execution. On the following 1 January the normal annual entitlement arises, but leave taken in the same calendar year cannot exceed 30 working days unless a collective agreement says otherwise.
What if the contract lasts less than 6 months?
For a contract lasting under 6 months, the Labour Code gives 2 working days for each complete month of contract duration. Those days are taken immediately before the contract ends, unless both parties agree otherwise.
How many days count in the leaving year?
On termination, the employee is entitled to holiday pay and allowance for accrued untaken leave, plus pro-rata amounts for service in the leaving year. This tool estimates that pro-rata as 22 days × months of service ÷ 12.
Can I sell vacation days instead of taking them?
The right to annual leave cannot be waived. The law only allows giving up leave days above 20 working days, without reducing pay or the holiday allowance. In practice, always check the contract, collective agreement and payroll.
OFFICIAL SOURCES
DISCLAIMER
Informational tool for standard employees, based on the Labour Code version checked on 11 August 2026. It does not cover every collective agreement, public-service rules, shift patterns with weekly rest on weekdays, absences that reduce leave, long impediments, contractual extra days or employer-specific payroll processing. The leaving-year pro-rata is an estimate in equivalent days; payroll may round or pay differently depending on the case. Not legal advice.