At the beginning of this month, more precisely on Labor Day, Law No. 13/2023, of April 3^rd, came into effect substantially amending the Labor Code and related legislation within the scope of the so-called "Agenda for Decent Work and Empowerment of Young People in the Labor Market."

As we know, the Covid-19 pandemic, which has ravaged the world, has had a significant economic impact, forcing the search for new alternatives in terms of work execution. To address this gap, the market had to adopt new forms of work. It is now necessary to anticipate all these situations and improve the situation of young people who do not have all their labor rights guaranteed.

Moreover, Portugal is losing educated youngsters, who have been emigrating at an alarming rate, searching for an improved quality of life. The problem is that there is no due return to the country’s development. This situation has been causing major concerns, enforcing the search of new legal solutions.

The Agenda for Decent Work and Empowerment of Young People in the Labor Market aims to improve labor precarity. It is defined as a set of measures that primarily focus on improving working conditions and achieving a balance between personal, family, and professional life. It consists of approximately seventy measures that essentially target the following ten areas: temporary work; fighting false self-employment and unjustified use of non-permanent work; fighting undeclared work; digital platforms and algorithms; collective bargaining; work-life balance; protection of young worker-students and interns; strengthening the Authority for Working Conditions and administrative simplification; public procurement and public support; and informal caregivers.

Regarding the fight against precarity, the maximum duration of temporary contracts will now be limited. After four years of temporary assignments by employment agencies, those companies must integrate the workers into their staff. The compensation for termination of fixed-term contracts increases from 18 days to 24 days. The data from the Social Security, the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT), the Tax Authority (AT), and the Institute of Registries and Notaries will be interconnected to facilitate labor inspection. This integration is useful in tracing, for example, "false green receipts" or wage inequalities between different genders. The systematic and continued use of self-employment contracts will be penalized if there is evidence of recurrence in hiring "false green receipts." In such cases, employers may lose the right to apply for public tenders for two years, as well as the ability to benefit from tax incentives or benefits. As for the newly graduate students, the internship’s compensation will be, at least, 80% of the national minimum wage, and the internship grant for graduates will be increased to 960,00€. Young working-students’ protection will be strengthened. They’ll be able to cumulate family benefits and scholarships with the income they already earn.

It is also worth noting that informal caregivers now have the right to telecommuting, flexible hours, or part-time work. The exclusive paternity leave for fathers increases from the current 20 consecutive days to 28 days. The right to telecommuting, without the need for an agreement, is extended to parents of children with disabilities, chronic illness, or cancer. Workers in digital platforms are considered employees.

This legal reform is a step forward in protecting workers, especially the younger ones. It is expected that, in the future, new measures will be introduced to address the needs of other age groups that also require equal protection and should not be overlooked.