Portugal: New rules on working hours and recording of working time in road transport approved

• Employees allocated to the use of an automobile[i], in accordance with the provisions of the no. 4 of article 216 from the Labour Code;
• Employees performing a mobile road transport activity not subject to the recording equipment provided for in EU Regulations or the AETR;
• Self-employees performing a mobile road transport activity not subject to the recording equipment provided for in EU Regulations or the AETR;
• Drivers that transport passengers in a uncharacterized vehicle through the use of an electronic platform (TVDE), under the terms foreseen in no. 12 of article 10 of Law no. 45/2018, of August 8.

How employers should disclose working hours and available options to this end

The employer is granted the possibility to disclose the working schedule, driving times, rest breaks and daily and weekly rests of employees subject to variable working hours through one of the following methods:

• Tachograph and respective tachograph recording device;
• Computer system duly approved by the Portuguese Quality System, filling the requirements set out in the annex included in the Ordinance;
• Working hours exemption agreement, in the case of employees exempt from working hours, signed under the terms foreseen in the Labour Code. A copy to of the agreement should be kept in the vehicle;
• In accordance with the AETR provisions, in case of transport operations carried out within national territory under the terms of the referred instrument;

The employer is responsible for choosing the method for the disclosure of the working schedule. Note that the option for the tachograph or the computer system imposes special duties on both the employer and the employee.

Lastly, the present Ordinance abolishes the individual booklet use obligation and the inherent requirement of authentication by the Authority for Work Conditions. Nevertheless, until August 31, 2021, employee mays choose to disclose the working schedule through the individual booklet, without the need for the aforementioned authentication.

Record of working times

The employer should collect and process all the data included in the means of disclosure of the work schedule and keep a record of the working times of all employees, including those exempt from working hours. The recording of working times can be done through the use of a computer system.

The record of working times must include:

1. The start and end time of the working time, driving times, rest breaks and daily and weekly rest periods;
2. The periods the employee is on-call but not does not have to remain at the workplace;
3. The periods the employee is available to provide his/her activity, driving as a team, next to the driver on in bed while the vehicle is moving;
4. The periods of work carried out by its employee for any other employer or as self-employed drivers.

Lastly, the employer must provide to the employee, upon request, a copy of the records referred to in the preceding numbers, within a 8 working days period.

Entry into force

The present Ordinance enters into force on January 1^st, 2022, although all matters concerning the use of computer systems for the disclosure of the working schedule (including the duties that fall upon both the employer and the employee to this regard) will only come into force on September 1^st, 2022.