The death of a family member represents a loss at various levels, from the sentimental/emotional, to the economic/financial, and also, at a legal level. Along with these difficulties, other obligations arise, in a chain, from the administrative and bureaucratic point of view – an imposition that makes it difficult to manage the intimate, private, and family life of the person(s) affected by the death.
In order to ensure better management of difficult periods, Law No. 1/2022 of January 3 extends the period of justified absences in the event of death of a descendant or relative in the first degree of the direct line, amending the Portuguese Labor Code. The object of this law is to extend to 20 days the period of mourning for the death of a descendant, or relative in the first degree of the direct line.
Schematically, art. 251 of the Portuguese Labor Code now states that
i) In point a): up to 20 consecutive days, for the death of a descendant or first-degree in the direct line;
ii) Under point b): up to five consecutive days, in the event of the death of a spouse not separated from married couples or of a relative or relative in the first degree in the direct line.
It has been pointed out that the death of relatives (only relatives, truly?) entails, namely (i) a difficult apprenticeship in the management of human pain, namely personal loss, (ii) the imposition of personal sacrifices of a social or even professional nature, (iii) possible economic and financial difficulties. For this very reason, the law in question also deals with the right to psychological support: “[i]n situations of the death of a child or a relative to the first degree in the direct line, both parents have the right to request psychological support from the attending physician at a National Health Service establishment, which should begin within five days after the death”, and the right is also guaranteed “(…) in the event of the death of close relatives, namely spouse and ascendants”.
This law enters into effect on 04.01.2022. We will be cautious towards the evolution of the themes concerning the worker’s mental health.
Tiago Sequeira Mousinho @ DCM | Littler
