Portugal flag

Portugal

Portugal’s best Men’s World Cup finish is third place, achieved in 1966.

Eusébio won the Golden Boot at the 1966 Men’s World Cup with nine goals.

Portugal came back from 3–0 down to beat North Korea 5–3 in the 1966 quarter-finals, with Eusébio scoring four goals.

Portugal’s best performance since the 1966 World Cup is reaching the semi-finals in 2006.

Contributing firm

Abreu Advogados

Contacts

Sofia Silva e Sousa

Workplace Q&A

1 What actions may an employer take if:

a) an employee is absent from work without authorisation because they were watching the World Cup?

Unauthorised and unjustified absences constitute a breach of the duty of attendance (employees may be subject to disciplinary sanctions, the most severe being dismissal with just cause) and entail loss of salary.

b) an employee submits a suspicious medical certificate or other rationale to justify a work absence where the employer suspects the employee is watching or attending the World Cup?

If fraud is proven, it may be considered as just cause for dismissal besides being considered an unjustified absence, which entails loss of salary.

So that the dismissal with just cause is deemed valid, it is necessary that the employer observes a written legal procedure whose phases and timings are legally stipulated.

c) the employer suspects an employee(s) of consuming alcohol at the workplace or within a proximate time before starting work; can an employer administer breathalysers in the workplace?

Employers may only require alcohol tests, with strict privacy safeguards and proportionate scope (eg., when necessary for safety reasons or where specific demands of the job position /role justify it; the grounds for the need must be identified by the employer in writing).

In any case, tests shall be conducted through occupational health that shall communicate only aptitude/ineptitude (not clinical data).

d) the employer wishes to rearrange the work hours for all employees to accommodate the viewing of particular matches, e.g. their country’s team?

By agreement between employer and employee it would be possible to rearrange hours for match viewing, but the change would need to be implemented through the procedures of the Labour Code (or a valid flexibility regime), keep within working time/rest limits, and apply neutral criteria.

e) the employer suspects that employees are using company IT systems during work hours to watch matches (including the use of illegal streaming services) and/or to participate in gambling related to the World Cup (including illegal gambling)?

Employers may set internal rules regarding the use of IT systems (which is recommended) and, if not observed, may enforce disciplinary sanctions (most serious sanction being the dismissal with just cause).

In any case, use of illegal streaming services and illegal gambling using the company IT systems, if proven, would imply the possibility of severe disciplinary sanctions.

f) an employee potentially misconducts themselves outside of working time either at a staff-organised World Cup event or an unorganised event?

At events organised by the employer, the framework is typically work-related: misconduct may result in sanctions up to and including dismissal with just cause.

In unorganized events, as a rule, employment consequences may arise only when there is a serious connection with the employment relationship (trust, image, environment, safety). Assessment to be necessarily made on a case-by-case basis.

2 If a country declares a national holiday on the day the country’s team plays (or later for a celebration), are employees who work on those days entitled to overtime pay or time off in lieu etc?

Employees who work on a national holiday are entitled to overtime pay (normal working hour rate added of 50%, for the first set of 100 annual overtime hours).

3 Is it lawful for a company’s employees to conduct office pools at the workplace? Would there be any restrictions on the amount of money to enter or the amount of compensation awarded?

In case the organization of games/betting among colleagues with entry fees and prizes awarded by chance (raffles, tombola’s, sweepstakes, ‘pots’ of the ‘whoever gets the result right’ type) is at stake , such context would fall under the gambling/related activities regime and, unless authorized under the Gambling Act, would not be permitted.

4 May employers prohibit public displays of rival country team colours in the workplace?

Prohibiting only the ‘colours of rival teams’ could be considered not to be in line with the principle of equality and freedom of expression (and it lacks generality/abstraction).

5 Could an employer be subject to a discrimination claim if accommodations are given in respect of watching games played by one gender but not the other, or for watching certain nations’ games (e.g. home nation) but not others?

Linking workplace accommodations to characteristics such as gender or nationality entails discrimination risk.

6 Any other advice you would give to employers in your jurisdiction ahead of the World Cup?

Treat the World Cup like any other neutrality-sensitive event: build content-neutral, proportionate and transparent arrangements and/or internal policies; avoid gender or nationality-based carve-outs; communicate early (and consult, as applicable); keep monitoring and scheduling within statutory limits.