Portugal Ends Paid Leave for Abortion Companions, Worrying Foreign Workers

A few months from now, anyone who needs time off work to stand beside a partner during an abortion in Portugal will face a very different set of rules. Gestating employees will gain an automatic 2-4-week paid recuperation period, yet their companions will see the loss of a small but important wage-protected buffer. That trade-off, buried deep inside a sweeping labour-law overhaul, is rattling employee groups, comforting some employers and leaving foreign residents unsure of what to expect.

The new framework in plain English

Successive governments had long treated a partner’s presence at an interrupção voluntária da gravidez as part of “gestational mourning leave”, worth 3 fully paid days. The revised Code of Work, scheduled to take effect once Parliament finalises it after summer recess, erases that clause. Instead, the non-pregnant partner may stay home for up to 15 justified days but the period will be unpaid, falling under the broad allowance for “assistance to a household member.” Meanwhile, the pregnant employee now enjoys a guaranteed 14–30-day licence remunerated at 100% by Social Security, whether the pregnancy ended by medical indication, spontaneous loss or personal choice.

Officials at the Ministry of Labour argue the swap creates a clearer, more generous safety net for the person who undergoes the procedure. Critics counter that it effectively shifts the emotional and financial burden onto the companion, often the other parent. Either way, the days of automatic, salary-protected absence for support partners are numbered.

Why expatriate staff should pay attention

For foreigners accustomed to Northern European or North American rules, Portugal’s compromise may take some getting used to. On one hand, state-funded salary replacement for the gestante—without the need to prove medical incapacity—remains comparatively generous. On the other, companions working in Portugal’s multinational hubs such as Lisbon’s tech corridor or Porto’s service centres must now decide whether they can afford an unpaid fortnight.

Human-resources departments employing non-Portuguese talent have already begun updating staff handbooks. Employment contracts executed under foreign governing law (a common arrangement for remote workers) will not exempt the employee from Portuguese social-security rules if they hold a local residence permit. That means an American software engineer seconded to Lisbon cannot simply invoke Californian family-leave statutes; they will fall under the new unpaid model unless their company voluntarily tops up pay.

The clash of viewpoints inside Portugal

The policy shift has triggered rare alignment between feminist organisations and mainstream trade unions, both warning that partners often provide crucial after-care during the recovery period. The women’s-rights collective Associação pelos Direitos das Mulheres called the removal of pay a “step back in gender equity,” arguing that many losses are unplanned and traumatic. The national metalworkers’ union SINDIMETAL went further, labelling the measure “a stealth wage cut disguised as flexibility.”

Business federations acknowledge the emotional stakes but welcome what they term "budget predictability." Spokespeople for CIP, the leading employers’ confederation, told reporters the unpaid option mirrors existing rules for accompanying relatives to hospital and “aligns Portugal with common EU practice.” Cabinet officials insist the broader reform package—spanning remote-work norms and endometriosis protections—remains worker-friendly overall.

Looking beyond Portugal’s borders

From an international standpoint, Portugal’s matrix of rights now sits mid-table in Europe. Spain grants 16 weeks of contributory leave only to the person ending the pregnancy, offering no statutory days for partners. France provides up to 3 paid days for companions, keeping a limit similar to Portugal’s outgoing model. Sweden makes no special provision but offers universally generous parental allowances that can be repurposed for pregnancy loss.

Because Portugal continues to pay the gestante in full, it stays ahead of economies where only sick-leave rates apply. Yet the loss of pay for companions means multinational staff may compare notes unfavourably with colleagues based in Berlin or Dublin, where corporate policies often supplement statutory gaps.

Navigating the paperwork

Employees will still need medical certification issued by the hospital or clinic to trigger the pregnant worker’s licence. The document must be delivered to the employer within five days, after which Social Security covers 100% of reference salary. For companions, justification will hinge on the standard “assistência a familiar” form: a simple statement of presence signed by the attending physician.

Companies may ask for proof of cohabitation or parentage if the companion is not married to the patient, a sticking point for some expat couples whose residency documents are still in process. Immigration attorneys advise keeping official translations of marriage certificates or tenancy contracts on hand to avoid HR disputes.

Financially, the companion’s unpaid absence can still count toward the annual 15-day ceiling for family care. Exceeding that limit could expose the worker to disciplinary measures unless an individual or collective agreement states otherwise. Several multinational firms with sizeable foreign payrolls—Siemens, Natixis and Outsystems among them—told this newspaper they are considering internal top-ups to retain talent.

The bottom line for foreign residents

Portugal remains one of the few EU countries where the state shoulders the full wage of the person who terminates a pregnancy. The trade-off is that their partners must now absorb the cost of solidarity. For expat households, that means running the numbers before scheduling a procedure, checking whether private insurance or employer policies bridge the gap, and keeping bilingual documentation ready.

As Parliament hammers out the final language, interest groups vow to continue lobbying for reinstated pay. Yet barring a late-stage reversal, August’s legislative session is expected to rubber-stamp the unpaid model. Forewarned is forearmed: expatriates planning a family—or facing the unpredictable realities of pregnancy—should bookmark the government gazette and revisit their HR portal before year’s end.