Member Article

In the area of salary, to be emphasised is that the Code has established that the calculation of supplementary and fringe benefits must be based on the basic salary and length of service payments. Also noteworthy are the new rules relating to special pay for exemption from regular working hours, which is after all justified by the fact that the Code provides for three different forms of exemption (vide III above). Thus, in the cases of exemption for working hours' schedules that take the form of not being subject to the maximum limits for regular working hours or of the possibility of the number of working hours per day or week being extended to a certain limit, the special pay cannot be lower than that for one hour’s overtime per day. Where exemption from regular working hours observing regular working periods is concerned, the special pay must correspond at least to two hours’ overtime per week. Also to be noted is the fact that the Code establishes that, as a general rule, hourly remuneration must be calculated according to the formula (Mr x 12) : (52 x n), where Mr is the amount of the monthly remuneration and n the regular weekly working hours. As regards the holiday bonus, the Code provides that its amount must include “the basic salary and other benefits payable in respect of the specific way in which the work is provided”. Finally, a reference to the fact that for regular work provided on public holidays, the Code allows the employer to choose between giving the employee the corresponding time off or paying him/her an additional 100% for the work performed on those days”. Nuno Guedes Vaz ([email protected])