Receiving partial unemployment benefit

Partial unemployment benefit is a monetary benefit given to those who have applied for or are receiving unemployment benefit, but who start working as an employee on a part-time contract or in a self-employed capacity.

The amount of the benefit is calculated based on the amount of the salary from employed or self-employed work and the amount of benefit that the person has received or would receive.

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  • Submit documents online

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    You must submit the documents within 90 consecutive days from the date of beginning of professional activity, on the Social Security services

  • Free of charge

    You must submit the documents within 90 consecutive days from the date of beginning of professional activity, on the Social Security services

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Who can receiving partial unemployment benefit?

  • Those who have applied for or are receiving unemployment benefit can receive partial unemployment benefit when they start working:

    • part-time as an employee – when the working week is less than a full-time working week in a comparable situation, provided that the salary is less than unemployment benefit; or
    • in a self-employed capacity – provided that the annual income is less than the unemployment benefit.

    Please note: Income from self-employed work is considered to correspond to 70% of the value of services provided or 20% of the sale of goods and products, services provided to hotels and similar, and catering and beverages, earned in the previous calendar year.

When can you receive partial unemployment benefit?

You must submit your documents to the Social Security department within 90 days of starting work.

If you submit them after the 90‑day deadline, the period during which the benefit is paid will be reduced by the period of the delay.

What are the documents and requirements to receiving partial unemployment benefit?

  • You must submit the following documents:

    Employees

    • A part-time employment contract, stating the salary paid.

    Self-employed workers

    • Proof of the type of work you do;
    • Proof of gross income from your work;
    • Proof of expected (estimated) income declared for tax purposes, if you have just started self-employment.

How receiving partial unemployment benefit?

You do not need to apply for partial unemployment benefit; all you have to do is submit the necessary documents online or in person at an office:

Online on Segurança Social Direta (SSD – Social Security Direct)

  1. Log in to SSD.
  2. In the ‘Emprego’ (Employment) menu, click on ‘Desemprego – Subsídio de desemprego’ (Unemployment – Unemployment benefit).
  3. Click on ‘Registar pedidos’ (Register a request).
  4. Select the option ‘Subsídio Parcial de Desemprego’ (Partial unemployment benefit).

After selecting ‘Subsídio Parcial de Desemprego’, general information to consider when registering a request will be displayed.

Information will be displayed, telling you whether the request was successfully registered.

You can consult all existing requests and/or obtain proof.

In person

Can you receive partial unemployment benefit in addition to other support?

You can combine partial unemployment benefit with:

  • a salary for part-time work, provided that the salary is less than the benefit; and
  • compensation and pensions for professional and similar risks (such as armed forces disability payment).

You cannot combine it with:

  • pensions paid by Social Security or another social protection system, including from the civil service or foreign social security systems;
  • survivor and related disability pensions, if greater than 1 IAS (indexante dos apoios sociais – social support index);
  • pre-retirement benefits or other regular payments, usually determined by income, made by the employer upon termination of the employment contract;
  • other allowances to compensate for loss of salary (e.g. parental benefit, adoption benefit, sickness benefit); or
  • main informal caregiver support allowance.

How long is partial unemployment benefit paid for?

Partial unemployment benefit is paid from:

  • the date on which you start work, as either an employee or a self-employed worker, if this falls during the period in which unemployment benefit is paid; or
  • the date of your request for partial unemployment benefit, if you started work before the date of unemployment.

Partial unemployment benefit ends when:

  • the unemployment benefit period comes to an end;
  • you start receiving a disability pension;
  • you reach the age when you can apply for an old-age pension and have enough qualifying years to access this pension;
  • you failed to fulfil your duties and your registration for employment at an employment centre was cancelled;
  • you provided false information, omitted information, or used fraudulent means to obtain the benefit or influence the amount of benefit to be received; or
  • your part-time contract ends. In this case, in order to start receiving unemployment benefit again, you must:
    • update your registration at the employment centre; and
    • submit a declaration of unemployment status, issued by the employer, as proof that you are involuntarily unemployed.

How much partial unemployment benefit will you receive?

Employees

You will receive the difference between the amount of unemployment benefit you receive and your salary, plus 35% of the benefit.

Example

Ana receives EUR 650 in unemployment benefit and EUR 400 from her part-time salary.

  1. Calculate 35% of the amount of unemployment benefit she receives

         EUR 650 x 0.35 = EUR 227.50

  1. Add this amount to the amount of unemployment benefit she receives

         EUR 650 + EUR 227.50 = EUR 877.50

  1. Finally, subtract the salary she receives for her part-time work from this amount, and you will get the amount of partial unemployment benefit she will receive, per month

         EUR 877.50 - EUR 400 = EUR 477.50

So Ana will receive EUR 477.50 net in partial unemployment benefit.

Self-employed workers

You will receive the difference between the amount of unemployment benefit you receive and one-twelfth of your expected annual income for tax purposes, plus 35% of the benefit.

Example

Carlos receives EUR 750 in unemployment benefit and has an annual sales volume of EUR 21 000.

  1. Calculate 35% of the amount of unemployment benefit he receives

         EUR 750 x 0.35 = EUR 262.50

  1. Add this amount to the amount of unemployment benefit he receives

         EUR 750 + EUR 262.50 = EUR 1 012.50

  1. Calculate the amount of annual income from his self-employment, which, in this example, is 20% of the amount of sales. Divide by 12 to calculate the monthly amount of income in question

         (21 000 x 0.20) / 12 = EUR 350

  1. Subtract the amount of monthly self-employment income from the amount of unemployment benefit, plus 35%, and you will obtain the amount of partial unemployment benefit that he will receive, per month

         EUR 1 012.50 - EUR 350 = EUR 662.50

So Carlos will receive EUR 662.50 net in partial unemployment benefit.

The amount of partial unemployment benefit cannot be more than the amount of unemployment benefit.

What is the support legislation?

Additional information

For further information, please look at the Practical Guide to Unemployment Benefit and the Social Security portal.

Related topics

Working

Unemployment