The end of the day came, you needed the employee to stay an extra hour, and they said no

Can they do that? Short answer: it depends. There are situations where they can refuse and situations where they cannot.

When the employee CAN refuse

The Labour Code (Article 227) lists the situations:

• The annual limit has been reached. 150 hours/year (or 175 for companies with fewer than 50 employees). To learn the limits and detailed calculations, read overtime in Portugal: what the law says.
• Compelling family reasons. Sick minor child, dependent family member in an urgent situation, spouse with incapacity.
• Without reasonable advance notice. Except in cases of force majeure, the employer must give advance notice. 'I need you to stay now' at the last minute can be refused.
• Employee with an approved schedule exemption or reduction. Parenthood, disability, informal caregiver. To learn more, read what a working schedule exemption is

When the employee CANNOT refuse

Outside the above situations, refusal may be considered a breach of contract — especially if:

• The annual limit has not been reached
• There is no compelling family reason
• There is a real and justified urgency (production stoppage, operational emergency)

In these cases, repeated refusal can support disciplinary proceedings.

What to do in practice

• Ask for the reason. Do not assume the refusal is unjustified — sometimes the employee is right.
• Check the limits. How many overtime hours have they already done this year? If near the limit, you cannot demand more. Picco shows this data in seconds.
• If the refusal has no grounds: document the request, the refusal, and the stated reason.
• Avoid immediate confrontation. An isolated refusal rarely justifies escalation. A systematic and documented refusal is different.

A note on culture

Companies that depend on frequent overtime to function have a planning problem, not a problem with difficult employees. If you need to manage this in a more structured way, read how to implement a time bank — it can be a more sustainable solution than constant overtime.