Companies and self-employed individuals whose activities were directly affected by wildfires may receive an exemption from Social Security contributions for up to one year, as indicated by the government decree published on Sunday in the Diário da República.
Decree-Law 98-A/2025, dated August 24, which sets out support measures to mitigate the impact of rural fires, came into effect today, retroactive to July 1. It specifies a “total exemption from Social Security contributions for a period of up to six months, extendable to a maximum of an equal period, upon evaluation, for companies, cooperatives, and self-employed individuals whose activity has been directly affected by the fires.”
The decree also provides a partial exemption of 50% from Social Security contributions for employers over a one-year period for companies and cooperatives that hire workers whose unemployment was directly caused by the fires.
This exceptional and temporary regime of total or partial exemption from Social Security contributions is not cumulative with other extraordinary measures that fulfill the same purpose.
The decree also establishes an extraordinary financial incentive for maintaining jobs for three months, extendable upon evaluation by the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP), for companies and cooperatives “whose economic viability is likely to be affected by the fires.”
The objective is to “act preventively on unemployment.”
As detailed in the decree, this incentive is “exclusively intended to support the fulfillment of wage obligations up to the amount of the employee’s normal gross remuneration, minus the Social Security contribution. It cannot exceed twice the guaranteed minimum monthly wage, plus support for meals and transportation.”
The incentive does not suspend employment contracts, except in cases of business crisis. The employer may “assign the worker to temporarily perform functions not included in the contracted activity to prevent or repair serious damage to the company or cooperative or to its viability as a result of rural fires.”
For employers “demonstrably in a business crisis as a result of the fires,” the decree allows the “use of the regime of reduction or suspension of employment contracts.”
Verification of the business crisis status is carried out by the competent services, namely the IEFP, upon the employer’s request.
The decree-law 98-A/2025 also includes an extraordinary financial incentive for self-employed workers whose income has been directly affected by the fires, valid for a period of up to three months, with the possibility of extension.
Additionally, under the terms of the decree, workers affected by rural fires are given priority in selection and placement in active employment measures.
Regarding the unemployed in areas affected by rural fires, the coordination of professional training actions will be developed by the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, aiming to enhance professional value, improve professional skills, and increase employability levels.
