Surely, workers are allowed to resign during their medical leave period, according to the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT), which clarified this point on Monday through a post shared on social media.
“Yes, the worker can resign during the medical leave period,” said Marta Rodrigues, a labor inspector from the ACT, on the MinutoACT shared on Facebook.
Can they also be dismissed?
The answer is the same: “Yes. There is no connection between dismissal (or the disciplinary procedure that necessarily precedes it) and the worker’s medical leave situation,” reads the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation’s website.
However, it is important to highlight that “individual dismissal can only occur when the worker has committed acts that, due to their severity and consequences, make the continuation of the employment relationship impossible.”
“If the worker goes on leave in the meantime, the disciplinary procedure will run its course. In the end, it is up to the employer to decide if the alleged behavior (presumably proven) justifies such a severe sanction,” the same site states.
You should also know that “the validity of the dismissal depends on observing the right to a defense.”
“The worker must be informed of the facts imputed through the charge note. They have ten working days to respond, presenting their defense, attaching documents if applicable, and requesting evidence procedures to clarify the truth. As for witnesses, for example, the employer is obliged to hear up to three for each fact described in the charge note,” it further reads.
It is also emphasized that the “worker can always be represented by a lawyer or another legal representative, or appoint someone, even if not a lawyer, to act in their defense.”
Does the Government want to facilitate dismissals?
The Government intends for micro, small, and medium-sized companies to proceed with dismissals for just cause, for reasons attributable to the worker, without presenting evidence requested by the worker or hearing witness testimonies for the defense during the disciplinary process. This measure is part of Luís Montenegro’s government’s draft bill to revise labor legislation.
Ana Rita R. Ferreira, Senior Labor Associate at PRA – Raposo, Sá Miranda & Associados, explained to Notícias ao Minuto that, “currently, labor law demands that if the employer intends to dismiss the worker for just cause, they must first present a charge note, informing them of the facts attributed to them and the intention to proceed with their dismissal.”
Meanwhile, “the worker is allowed to consult the process and respond to the charge note within the next 10 working days, attaching documents and requesting the performance of evidence procedures, including witness questioning.”
With changes in the law, “the Government wants to make this exception the general rule and exempt all micro, small, and medium-sized companies with up to 250 workers from these formalities,” she concludes.
Lawyer Ana Rita R. Ferreira explained to Notícias ao Minuto the changes the Government seeks to introduce concerning dismissals for just cause, in the scope of labor revision.
Beatriz Vasconcelos | 09:08 – 13/08/2025
