Workers may be called upon to work overtime beyond legal limits in firefighting efforts.

The scheme applies to the Public Administration and the private sector that are part of the special mechanism for fighting rural fires for the period to be defined by the Government and the following 15 days.

State and private sector workers who are part of the Special Rural Firefighting Mechanism (DECIR) may be called upon to work overtime beyond legal limits due to “force majeure,” according to the decree-law establishing support and mitigation measures for the impact of rural fires, published this Sunday in the Diário da República.

However, overtime work in the case of force majeure is paid as regular overtime: between 25% and 100% per hour, depending on whether it exceeds 100 hours per year and whether it is performed on a working day, a weekly rest day, or a public holiday, according to clarifications from lawyers consulted by ECO.

The decree states that “overtime work by public administration employees (direct, indirect, and autonomous bodies), as well as by private sector workers who are part of the Special Rural Firefighting Mechanism (DECIR), when performed in the context of these fires, is classified as overtime in cases of force majeure, meaning it is not subject to the legal limits on the duration of overtime.”

“This measure allows workers involved in firefighting, both in the Public Administration and in the private sector, to work overtime without legal limits,” explained lawyer Nuno Cerejeira Namora, from the firm Cerejeira Namora & Marinho Falcão, to ECO.

This means that “overtime work in cases of force majeure is not subject to the same quantitative limits as in situations where the employer needs to cope with occasional and temporary increases in work and hiring additional staff is not justified,” according to Ana Manuela Barbosa, from Abreu Advogados.

“In practice, this means that the daily maximum of two hours, or the annual maximum of 150 or 175 hours (depending on the size of the company), can be exceeded,” clarified Tiago de Magalhães, a labor lawyer at CMS Portugal. “This provision allows workers involved in firefighting to exceed the usual overtime limits in critical situations, ensuring, for example, the continuity of rescue operations and support for affected populations,” added Cerejeira Namora.

The limits set for the average weekly overtime duration of “forty-eight hours over a four-month reference period” are also suspended, noted Ana Manuela Barbosa.

“The legislator makes it clear that the overtime worked in this context is classified as overtime due to force majeure, and therefore not restricted by the ceilings normally applicable to overtime,” reinforced Eduardo Castro Marques, from Dower Law Firm.

This exceptional measure “applies during the period to be defined by a Council of Ministers resolution and remains in force for 15 days afterwards,” stressed Cerejeira Namora.

Although workers may be required to perform more overtime beyond the legal limits, the pay follows the same rules as regular overtime, noted Tiago de Magalhães. “Under the Labor Code, the compensation due to workers for overtime performed in cases of force majeure is the same as under the general overtime regime,” reinforced Ana Manuela Barbosa.

Thus, if overtime does not exceed 100 hours per year, the worker receives an additional 25% for the first hour or part thereof and 37.5% for each subsequent hour or part thereof, on a working day; and 50% for each hour or part thereof, on a weekly rest day, whether mandatory or complementary, or on a public holiday, explained Ana Manuela Barbosa.

If overtime exceeds 100 hours per year, the hourly pay is increased as follows: “50% for the first hour or part thereof and 75% for each subsequent hour or part thereof, on a working day; and 100% for each hour or part thereof, on a weekly rest day, whether mandatory or complementary, or on a public holiday,” according to the same lawyer.

In addition, “the worker is entitled to paid compensatory rest equivalent to the missed rest hours, to be taken within the next three working days, if the overtime prevents daily rest.” If overtime is performed “on a mandatory weekly rest day,” the worker “is entitled to one day of paid compensatory rest, to be taken within the next three working days,” added Ana Manuela Barbosa.

For civil servants under appointment, added Pedro Antunes, from CCA Law Firm, there is still “a legal limit: the amount received for overtime cannot exceed one-third of their base salary per month. Consequently, they cannot be required to work overtime that would exceed this ceiling,” he pointed out.