28.03.2025
Practice Areas: Employment
Amendments to the Labor Code – Justified Absences for People with Endometriosis or Adenomyosis
On 14 March 2025, the Portuguese Parliament approved the implementation of a system of justified absences from work for people with endometriosis or adenomyosis.
And within this framework, Law no. 32/2025 of March 27 was published, with the aim of promoting the rights of people with endometriosis or adenomyosis, namely by creating a system of justified absences from work.
This legislative initiative amends the Labour Code, adding a new article – Article 252-B, entitled ‘Absence due to incapacitating pain caused by endometriosis or adenomyosis’.
The amendment stipulates that female employees who suffer from severe and disabling pain caused by endometriosis or adenomyosis during their menstrual period are entitled to be absent from work on justifiable grounds, without losing any rights, for up to 3 (three) consecutive days per month of work.
These absences can be justified by providing the Employer with a doctor’s prescription certifying endometriosis or adenomyosis with incapacitating pain, without requiring a monthly renewal certifying such illness.
As with any other situation of justification (article 254 of the Labor Code), the Employer may, within 15 days of the absence being reported – and if the employee has not yet presented the medical prescription mentioned above – demand proof of the justification invoked, to be provided within a reasonable period of time. Submitting a medical statement to the employer with fraudulent intent may constitute a false statement for the purposes of disciplinary action.
Law no. 32/2025 of March 27 will come into force on April 26, 2025.
