Portugal's Labour Code sets specific meal-interval rules. Everhour Timesheets keeps approved working hours ready for review.
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A lunch-break calculation in Portugal answers one practical question: after subtracting the meal interval that sits outside working time, how many working hours remain for the day or week? Portugal's Labour Code requires an adult daily work period to be interrupted by a rest interval of at least 1 hour and at most 2 hours, scheduled so the adult worker does not work more than 5 consecutive hours.
The same rule allows up to 6 consecutive hours when the daily work period exceeds 10 hours. Collective labor regulation or ACT authorization can change some rest-interval patterns, but changes that create more than 6 consecutive hours are barred except for specified activities such as operational security, technically continuous industrial processes, and autonomous management roles.
The lunch deduction starts with elapsed time: end time minus start time. Then subtract only the break time that sits outside working time. Portuguese public-sector style uses 24-hour times such as 22h30 and day-month-year dates, so a clear entry uses times like 09:00, 13:00, 14:00, and 18:00 instead of AM and PM.
For example, a worker starts at 09:00, takes lunch from 13:00 to 14:00, and leaves at 18:00. The elapsed shift is 9 hours. The excluded lunch interval is 1 hour. Paid working time is 8 hours. At €14.50 per hour, straight-time pay equals €116.00 before taxes, deductions, overtime, premiums, or contract-specific additions.
A meal interval in Portugal is paid when it counts as working time. The key test is availability: a meal interval counts as working time when the worker must remain at the usual workplace or nearby to be called for normal work if needed. Otherwise, rest periods are outside working time and reduce the working-hours total.
This distinction changes the calculation. A scheduled 1-hour lunch away from duties usually reduces paid working time. A 1-hour meal interval spent on site while the worker remains available for normal work stays inside working time. Record the reason consistently, because Portugal also requires working-time records showing start and end times and any interruptions or intervals not included in working time.
A one-off lunch-break calculation is enough when you need to check one shift, correct a single manual timesheet, or compare scheduled time with payable working time. The result matters most when the day is close to Portugal's normal working period limit of 8 hours per day or the weekly limit of 40 hours, subject to specific legal and collective-agreement regimes.
A managed workflow fits repeated payroll and billing review. Everhour Timesheets collects weekly project hours and working hours by person, then lets users submit time for approval. Managers can approve, reject, partially approve, and keep submitted or approved time locked, which helps preserve the break record used for payroll or client billing.
This content is for general information only, may not be fully up to date, and is provided without any warranty or liability.
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Portugal's Labour Code requires an adult daily work period to be interrupted by a rest interval of at least 1 hour and at most 2 hours. The interval must be scheduled so the adult worker does not work more than 5 consecutive hours, or 6 consecutive hours when the daily work period exceeds 10 hours.
A Portuguese meal interval is paid when it counts as working time. The interval counts as working time when the worker must remain at the usual workplace or nearby to be called for normal work if needed. Otherwise, the rest period sits outside working time and reduces paid hours.
Collective labor regulation or ACT authorization can allow up to 6 consecutive hours, reduce, exclude, lengthen, or add rest intervals. Changes that create more than 6 consecutive hours are barred except for specified activities, including operational security, technically continuous industrial processes, and autonomous management roles.
Minors follow a shorter consecutive-work threshold. A minor's daily work period must include a 1-to-2-hour break so the minor does not work more than 4 consecutive hours if under 16, or 4 hours 30 minutes if age 16 or older.
Use actual start time, actual end time, and the interruptions or intervals excluded from working time. Employers must keep working-time records showing start and end times and any interruptions or intervals not included in working time, so daily and weekly hours can be calculated.
Everhour Timesheets collects weekly project hours and working hours by person, so managers can review submitted time before payroll or billing. Managers can approve, reject, partially approve, and keep submitted or approved time locked after review.
Track working hours, excluded breaks, and weekly submissions in Everhour Timesheets so payroll and billing review uses approved records instead of scattered manual edits.
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