Time registration is mandatory for all companies in Portugal without exceptions. The law is in Article 202 of the Labour Code and requires records to be kept for five years. If the ACT appears and you do not have the records, it is a serious administrative infraction. Fines start at 612 euros for micro-enterprises and can exceed 9,690 euros for larger companies.

Why this law exists

Time registration does not exist to bother employers. It exists to protect employees against unpaid hours, illegal overtime and violations of rest periods. And to protect employers against unfounded claims.

What the law requires in practice

• Daily record of each employee's actual hours: start, end and breaks.
• Records must be reliable: a paper sheet signed at month-end does not meet this requirement.
• Records stored for 5 years and accessible at the workplace.
• Available immediately upon ACT request.

What constitutes valid proof

A paper sheet signed by the employee has weak legal weight - the ACT knows it can be backdated. A digital system with timestamps and an unalterable record is the standard that holds up in an inspection or labour dispute.

ACT fines in 2026

Micro-enterprise with negligence: from 612 euros. Large company with intent: up to 9,690 euros per infraction. For a company with 20 employees caught without records: potentially over 12,000 euros in a single day.

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