Individual and Remunerated Passenger Transport Activity in Unmarked Vehicles via Electronic Platform
Law No. 59/2026, of 25 August
(i) Amends and republishes Law No. 45/2018, of 10 August, which establishes the legal framework governing the activity of individual and remunerated passenger transport in unmarked vehicles via electronic platform (TVDE). Among the amendments relating to employment matters, we highlight the following:
(ii) Reinforcement of vocational training requirements, namely through the introduction of the verification of a functional proficiency of the Portuguese language as a condition for the successful completion of the initial training course;
(iii) Prohibition of the use of images captured inside the vehicle, where the video recording functionality is made available, for any purposes other than the safety of users and drivers — namely for monitoring of working activities and performance assessment — and prohibition of facial recognition, biometric identification, emotion detection or automated behavioural analysis of drivers;
(iv) Reinforcement of the obligation to record the driver's working time and compliance with driving and rest time limits, by including such recording as a technological capability requirement of the platform (which is, in turn, a licensing requirement for the TVDE electronic platform manager);
Express attribution to the ACT (Labour Authority) of competences to process administrative offences relating to the breach of activity duration limits, the failure to implement the mechanisms for monitoring those limits, and the breach of the duty to record working time and to monitor driving and rest time.
The legislation entered into force on 1 September, albeit subject to some transitional provisions.
Safety and Prevention Rules – Citizen Identification in Public Spaces
Law No. 58/2026, of 24 August
Prohibits the use, in public spaces, of clothing intended to conceal or obstruct the display of the face.
For the purposes of the prohibition, public spaces are deemed to include public roads, as well as premises open to the public, premises used for public services, and premises where services generally accessible to citizens are provided, and the prohibition extends to participation in events, sporting activities and demonstrations.
Exceptions to the prohibition apply where the concealment is duly justified on grounds of health or for professional, artistic, entertainment or advertising purposes; concealment of the face in aircraft, diplomatic and consular premises, as well as in places of worship or other sacred sites; and concealment of the face for reasons related to safety or due to weather conditions, as well as others permitted by a legal provision.
Although this legislation is not of a labour nature, it may have significant implications for employment relationships.
It enters into force on 23 September.
Single Social Benefit
Decree-Law No. 166/2026, of 13 August
Ministerial Order No. 394/2026/1, of 27 August
Decree-Law No. 166/2026 establishes the Single Social Benefit (Prestação Social Única — PSU), a non-contributory pecuniary benefit that incorporates 13 social benefits from the solidarity subsystem: (i) social old-age pension, (ii) special social invalidity pension, (iii) widowhood pension, (iv) orphanhood pension, (v) extraordinary solidarity supplement, (vi) social unemployment benefit, (vii) social insertion income, (viii) social benefit for clinical risk during pregnancy, (ix) social benefit for termination of pregnancy, (x) initial parental social benefit, (xi) social benefit for adoption, (xii) social benefit for the need to travel to a hospital located outside the pregnant woman's island of residence for childbirth and accompanying care, and (xiii) social benefit for specific risks.
The operational and procedural aspects necessary for the full implementation of the PSU legal framework are set out in Ministerial Order No. 394/2026/1.
Both pieces of legislation take effect on 31 December 2026.
