Portugal: Amendments to the ATIVAR.PT Internships program

The amendments now introduced have retroactive effects to 1 January 2022, with the following ones to be highlighted:

1. New beneficiaries

The ATIVAR.PT is now aimed at unemployed people registered at the IEFP, I.P., who are:

• Beneficiaries of temporary protection;
• Persons to whom a promotion and protection measure for residential care has been applied.

2. Anticipation of the termination of the internship contract

It is now possible for the company and the trainee to agree to anticipate the end of the internship and the respective certification when they consider that the objectives and plan of the internship have already been achieved.

Termination is formalised by agreement and provided that:

• The traineeship lasted, at least, for three months;
• A written agreement between the company and the trainee exists regarding the acquisition of the necessary skills for the integration of the trainee in the company as employee;
• The written agreement indicates that an open-ended employment contract will be executed with the company (or with a company of the same business group), as well as its effective starting date (within 20 working days after the end of the traineeship).

If the employment contract is not executed with the trainee within 20 working days after the end of the traineeship, the company shall be barred for two years from receiving any support or co-participation from the State with the same nature and purpose. This consequence shall not apply, however, if the employment contract is not executed due to trainee’s will.

3. Extension of trainees with the right to transportation or transportation allowance

Transport provided by the company or to the payment of a transport allowance is to be granted also to trainees:

• Who are persons to whom a promotion and protection measure for residential care has been applied;
• Who carry out internship projects in inland territory.

4. Increase of the financial contribution to internship allowance

IEFP will increase the financial contribution to the internship allowance by 15% for trainees who are persons who have been subject to a promotion and protection measure involving residential care or who are undertaking internship projects in inland areas.

The increase rises to 30% in these cases, whenever the trainee has one or more dependent children up to 17 years of age (inclusive), provided that the increase may not result in the IEFP contributing more than 95% of the internship allowance.

5. Employment bonus

For the attribution of the employment bonus, to be granted by the IEFP to the company, the effective beginning of an open-ended employment contract with the trainee within 20 working days after the end of the traineeship is now required. The mere execution of the employment contract without its effective commencement is no longer sufficient.

Likewise, the 12-month period during which the company must have the open-ended employment contract with the trainee in force and maintain the employment level is also counted from the date when the employment contract comes into. In cases where the traineeship is terminated early by agreement between the company and the trainee, the remaining unused period of the traineeship shall be added to the abovementioned 12-month period.