G01E - Domestic Staff

Full-time or just a few hours a week, all domestic service workers are entitled to social protection. Accordingly their employers are obliged to assume some responsibilities and comply with several formalities.

One of the obligations is to inform Segurança Social (by sending the contract) https://www.seg-social.pt/inicio and make the respective contributions/payments. Failure to comply can be considered a crime, punishable by imprisonment of up to 360 days, and a fine that can reach 180 thousand euros. In addition to the criminalisation of undeclared domestic service, other changes were made to the regulation of domestic service through the Decent Work Agenda (Agenda do Trabalho Digno). Below
are some examples:

• 40-hour week – The normal working period was reduced from 44 to 40 hours per week. In the case of workers working internally, night rest increases from 8 consecutive hours to 11 hours and can only be interrupted – as in the general regime – for reasons of force majeure or if the worker has been hired to care for seniors or children up to the age of three years.
• Admission of minors under 16 – The possibility of hiring minors under 16 remains, but they must have completed compulsory education or be attending that level of education.
• Vacation booking – Now regulated in accordance with the rules of the Labour Code. If vacation enjoyment is violated, the compensation will no longer correspond to double the remuneration, but will be triple that amount. The worker may also waive holidays that exceed 20 working days, without losing pay and the respective allowance.
• Termination of the contract due to expiry – The contract may expire due to substantial changes in the employer's family life, for example, if the duties consist of caring for children who no longer require assistance. The new law obliges the employer to inform the employee of the reasons for expiry at least seven days in advance, for contracts of up to six months; 15 days, for contracts between six months and two years; or 30 days, if the contract has lasted longer than two years.

There’s a possibility of deducting expenses for the payment of domestic services in the IRS. This is an incentive for taxpayers to declare domestic work, as only that which is declared can be considered. Taxpayers who do so will be able to recover up to €150.00  in the next year (as are general family expenses or health or education expenses). In this case, the limit will be 5% of total annual expenses, with a maximum of €150.00.

What is considered Domestic work?
A domestic service worker is considered to be any person who provides another with a set of activities related to meeting the needs of the household. There is a requirement for remuneration and regularity. Among others, activities such as:

• support and assistance to children or seniors
• preparation of meals
• clothing treatment
• cleaning and tidying the house
• surveillance and treatment of domestic animals
• gardening
• sewing

Employment contract for domestic workers
The employment contract (example G01 – Annex 1) for a domestic worker must contain the identification of the employer and employee, the duration of the service, the tasks, the place where the work is performed, the amount of remuneration and the rules regarding days off and vacations. The salary can be agreed on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis. Holiday and Christmas bonuses must correspond to the value of the monthly salary. Employment contracts must be written.

How to declare the contract to Social Security
Mandatory notification of the domestic employee's admission to Segurança Social must be made up to 15 days before the employee begins work. You can do this in person, or by sending an email or a registered letter, to the District Centres in the employer's area of residence, you can find it here: Modelo RV 1009, accompanied by the documentation indicated there, such as identification documents and a copy of the contract. It is also possible to communicate the admission of a new domestic service worker via Segurança Social Direta, as long as there is no actual remuneration (in this case, it is still necessary to fill out form RV 1028 and follow the traditional procedures).

You will not be able to register workers who have family ties with you.

In the event that the worker is not yet registered with Segurança Social, firstly, this registration must be completed and, once in possession of their identification number (NISS), the services must be notified about the contract. If are already registered but not as a domestic service worker, this formality must also be completed.

In turn, the worker must also communicate the start of work and can do so together with the employer or within 48 hours from the day on which the activity begins.

If the worker is a foreigner or stateless person, it is no longer mandatory to communicate the conclusion of an employment contract to the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT - Autoridade para as Condições de Trabalho) according to the Decree-Law 13/2023, of April 13, as well as its termination. However, the worker must have a valid residence permit or work visa and be registered with Finanças.

How to communicate the admission of a domestic worker online: step-by-step
On the Segurança Social Direta page, go to “Employment (Emprego)> Domestic Service (Serviço Doméstico)”. Then choose “Report (Comunicar Vínculo)” and confirm. Next comes the worker's identification, for which you need to indicate the respective NISS or NIF, as well as the date of birth.

Enter the start date of the activity, taking into account that communication must be made 15 days before the employee begins work. Indicate the type of remuneration (daily, hourly or monthly). Finally, click on “Report (Comunicar Vínculo)”.

As a result, you will receive a confirmation message, which will also be sent to the worker.

How to calculate Social Security Contributions
When registering with Segurança Social, you will have to indicate the contributory regime that the worker intends to adopt – conventional or based on real remuneration. The first is calculated based on the value of the social support index (509.26 euros, in 2024), which establishes a value of 2.94 euros per hour. In the second, the calculation is made on the amount actually paid. To opt for the latter, this must be stated in the contract, and the amount earned cannot be less than the national minimum wage
(820 euros in the mainland, Madeira is 850 euros and in the Azores is 861 euros). Furthermore, the worker cannot be over 66.4 years old, in 2024, and must present a medical certificate confirming that the person is capable of performing the role.

With the exception of unemployment benefit, which only benefits workers whose real remuneration is deducted, all domestic service workers benefit from social protection in cases of illness, parenthood, occupational diseases, disability, elderly age and death.

See below some examples of calculating the Segurança Social contributions, with the amounts that must be paid by the employer and deducted by the employee:

Conventional monthly regime
Monthly salary: €820.00
Rate: 28.3% (€144.12)
Employer: 18.9% (€96.25)
Worker: 9.4% (€47.87)

Contribution scheme for real remuneration
Monthly salary: €820.00
Rate: 33.3% (€273.06)
Employer: 22.3% (€182.86)
Worker: 11% (€90.20) 

If the worker provides services to more than one employer, each one must pay Social Security the minimum monthly amount corresponding to 30 hours, even if a lower number of hours of service are involved. In this case, the rate applied is also 28.3 percent.

Conventional timetable
Price per hour: €8.00 
Hours per month: 20 (the minimum discount is for 30 hours)
Monthly salary: €160.00
Rate: 28.3% (€23.52)
Employer: 18.9% (€15.71)
Worker: 9.4% (€7.81)

The employer must pay contributions between the 10th and 20th of the month following the month to which they relate, at the Segurança Social branches, via home banking or at an ATM. The part of the contributions that belongs to the worker is deducted from the salary.

By the 10th of February of the following year, the employer must also submit Modelo 10 through the Finanças portal (you need log in first with your NIF and Password) with the amounts paid to the employee in the previous year, and with the value of the contributions paid to Social Security. 

If you are not sure how to fill it in, ask an accountant to help you.

For income above the minimum monthly salary, with withholding tax for IRS purposes, the employer must submit, every month, on the Finance portal, the monthly income statement, which automatically generates the payment guide. In these cases, you are not required to present Model 10.

Work Accident Insurance is MANDATORY
Obtaining occupational accident insurance for domestic workers will guarantee protection if the worker suffers any type of injury, whether while providing the service or on the journey between the workplace and home, or even between workplaces, if the worker has more than one job. 

This obligation applies not only to full-time domestic service workers, but also to those who perform their duties for only a few hours per week. 

In case of an accident, the insurance covers medical expenses, transport costs for possible treatments, compensation for temporary or permanent disability and, in extreme situations, death benefits and funeral expenses.

Health and safety at work
The law requires a place of work to have a first aid kit, the contents of which depend on the type of work. At the same time, both employees and employers have responsibility for safe work practices.

For further information, we advise Members to seek for professional guidance (an accountant will be able to give you all the details) or contact directly Segurança Social through 300 502 502 (press 3), we are not sure if the person that answer the phone will be able to speak in English, so make sure that you have someone with you that can assist you.

Below we have include G01E - Annex1 Example Draft of a Fixed-Term Employment Contract for Domestic Workers.

Useful links

• www.seg-social.pt
• https://www.seg-social.pt/trabalhador-do-servico-domestico
• https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/lei/13-2023-211340863

Source:
Deco Proteste
Segurança Social