A recent legal act was approved and entered into force in Portugal introducing substantial changes to the existing legal rules on temporary agency work, “employee lease”, safety and health at work and liability for the infringement of labour standards regarding independent service subcontracting. The preamble of the new law states that these measures are meant to “fight modern-day means of forced labour” but, in fact, when we look at the specific measures and changes that it recently introduced, one neither immediately identifies this with “forced labour” situation nor with measures to fight forced labour. In general terms, the new rules have established that all corporate bodies involved in temporary manpower agreements (temporary agency work), in service subcontracting and in temporary “employee lease” are personally and directly liability (as well as all entities that are in a control, group or reciprocal interest relationships with same entities) together with the actual employer company for all duties and credits that impede the employer towards employees, in any of the above referred cases (temporary agency work, “employee lease” and independent service subcontracting). The same responsibility is also extended to all directors, managers or board members of same entities. This responsibility applies regardless of these entities actually being in fault for the employer having infringed any of its duties towards the employee (legal obligations, compensations or sanctions). With these provisions in mind, the engagement of contracting services to third companies (and the engagement of manpower solutions) should be surrounded by redoubled care, namely by controlling and monitoring labour operating areas, and companies should engage in an in-depth revision of contractual relations currently underway.
Portugal