Transfer of Business – Cleaning Services
Judgment of the Porto Court of Appeal of 25 of June 2026
Case No: 2115/24.0T8PNF.P1
In the appeal, the Porto Court of Appeal was called upon to determine whether the internalisation, by a municipality, of cleaning services previously entrusted to a private company gave rise to a transfer of business, since the collective bargaining agreement applicable to companies operating in the sector does not apply to the municipality.
Consistently with the Supreme Court of Justice judgment of 13 May, the Porto Court of Appeal held that, although cases of reversion may fall within the concept of transfer of business, the decisive question is whether, on the facts, the activity retains the identity of an economic entity. In labour-intensive activities, such as cleaning services, the identity of the economic entity is maintained only where the alleged transferee takes on an essential part of the workforce previously assigned to the provision of the service, both in terms of number and skills. Engaging a similar number of different employees to continue the activity does not amount to preserving the organised human substratum.
Remote Working – In-person Contact Duties
Judgment of the Lisbon Court of Appeal of 30 June 2026
Case No: 7733/24.4T8STB.L1-4
In this judgment, the Lisbon Court of Appeal held that, where an employee has a medical recommendation — including one issued by Occupational Health — to perform his or her duties under a remote working arrangement, the employer is required to authorise that arrangement.
However, having regard to the employer’s statutory duty to mitigate the employee’s isolation by promoting in-person contact with managers and other employees, the Court found the employer’s refusal to include, at the employee’s request, a clause in the remote working agreement exempting the parties from compliance with that duty to be lawful.
